Three Signs That Will Let You Know You Need Transmission Repair

A vehicle's transmission refers to a set of components responsible for changing and engaging gears. The main parts of a transmission system include a torque converter, clutch, planetary gear set, and transmission fluid.

Irrespective of whether you conduct regular maintenance on your vehicle, a transmission system is prone to wear and tear, and as a result, you will need transmission repair services at some point in time. However, it is essential to learn how to determine if your transmission needs repairs.

Fortunately, irrespective of whether your car has a manual or automatic transmission, the vehicle will give you several warning signs to let you know the transmission system has an issue. With that said, here are three warning signs that indicate you need transmission repairs.

Gear Shifting Problems

When your vehicle changes gears, the transition from one gear to the next should be smooth. However, due to wear and tear in some components, you may experience the following signs that indicate your transmission is faulty:

• Gears hesitating to engage
• Gears slipping while driving
• The vehicle abruptly changes gears for no reason while driving

All the above signs are associated with a faulty component of the transmission system. For instance, slipping gears, engagement hesitation, and abrupt gear changes are often the result of worn-out gear cogs. When the cogs get worn out, your transmission can't maintain a specific gear number without slipping because the cogs slide apart. As a result, the gears may hesitate to engage, slip back to neutral while driving, or changes gears abruptly.

Thus, when you notice these signs, it is advisable to seek a transmission repair specialist to replace or rebuild your transmission.

Vibrations and Grinding Noises

Though the gears of a vehicle rub together when shifting, you are not supposed to experience any vibrations or hear a grinding sound. Thus when you notice the above signs, it means there is an issue with your transmission system.

In most cases, grinding and vibrations occur when you are running low on transmission fluid. Transmission fluid plays two major roles in a vehicle. The first role is to provide hydraulic power to the torque converter so that the car can regulate power output based on the selected gear. The second role is to minimize friction between gear cogs.

Thus, if your transmission fluid is running low or you have a leak, the gears will not have enough transmission fluid to reduce friction. As a result, the vehicle will start to produce a grinding sound or vibrations.

When you notice these signs, it is advisable to seek transmission repair services because the more you ignore the issue, the more your gears rub together. When gears rub together for a long time without sufficient transmission fluid to reduce the friction, they will get worn out more quickly, which will result in more expensive repair costs.

Burning Transmission Fluid

It may be difficult to detect the smell of burning transmission fluid while driving. However, when you get out of your car after a drive, you should notice an unpleasant burning odor emanating from your vehicle.

Transmission fluid burning often means that your gears are overheating due to excessive friction. Gears may overheat when they don't receive enough transmission fluid to reduce the amount of friction. As a result, the intense friction in the gears produces so much heat that it burns up the transmission fluid.

When you notice the smell of burning transmission fluid, you need to get in touch with a transmission repair specialist to inspect your system. Failure to do so could lead to your gears getting damaged or the transmission fluid reservoir boiling.