News

by: John Khoschcar

 

Your cars transmission serves many purposes for your vehicle.  Aside from giving it the ability to maintain speeds and forward momentum, it also makes sure that you can stop, reverse, and idle properly.

Dirty transmission fluid and higher than normal transmission fluid temperatures along with filter restriction are the number one causes of transmission failures.  This is why some manufacturers include a temperature warning light that appears on your dash when certain preset temperatures are exceeded.  The towing of heavy loads with your vehicle add extra stress to your transmission.  This is why it is suggested that before any such activity you see your mechanic and possibly have a transmission cooler installed to decrease the fluid temperatures.

Neglecting and not servicing the transmission filter can cause the fluid to circulate improperly or not circulate at all.  When this happens, it can cause cavitation - the creation of air bubbles in the fluid - which causes a loss of pressure within the transmission allowing it to slip out of gear.

We at Auto Express Sacramento recommend that you service your transmission around every 30,000 miles or in the even that you will be doing a greater than normal amount of towing.  We also recommend that you have the fluid inspected at least once a year or every 15,000 miles to prevent malfunctions and give you a long lasting, trouble free, transmission.