5 Common Ways Transmissions Can Be Damaged
Transmissions are notoriously complex – and because they are so important to your car’s functionality, it’s important to understand what they do and how you can avoid causing damage. When you run into transmission problems, it can be a costly repair. By taking care of your transmission, you’ll avoid unnecessary and expensive transmission repairs and extend the life of your car.
What Does Your Transmission Do?
Let’s start with a crash course on what your transmission does. Put simply, your transmission helps get your car moving. When you accelerate, your transmission is transferring power from your car’s engine to the drivetrain, causing it to move forward.
In manual transmission cars, it also includes the clutch. No matter which type of transmission you have, your transmission will control how your car shifts through gears, though the design and inner workings will be different in a manual versus automatic transmission.
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Common Ways to Damage Your Transmission
Given how essential your transmission is, it’s a good idea to understand how to best take care of it – and avoid causing unnecessary strain. Here are five key habits to keep in mind to make sure your transmission continues running optimally.
Don’t Shift into Reverse Early
Automatic and manual transmissions are different in this regard. While the clutch in a manual transmission allows you to safely change gears, including shifting into reverse, an automatic transmission operates in a much more linear way. When you shift your automatic transmission into reverse while the car is still moving, you’re causing damage to the teeth on your car’s gears. You can also potentially cause damage to your driveshaft and suspension by forcing your car to shift into reverse.
Maintain Proper Transmission Fluid Level
Most commonly, the problem here will be low transmission fluid caused by a leak. When your transmission fluid level is too low, your transmission will be under-lubricated when running and this will cause extra wear and tear on the parts inside. This not only will cause extra contamination of what transmission fluid is in there but also will mean more costly transmission repair costs because of damage done to the parts.
You also don’t want to have too much transmission fluid, so if you top yours off due to it being low, don’t over-do it. Plus, be sure to use the correct type of transmission fluid by referring to your owner’s manual – or take your car to a local mechanic to have it serviced instead.
Avoid Heavy Towing
Sure, some cars are built for heavy towing. But if yours isn’t, don’t try towing heavy loads anyway – and regardless, be sure to follow manufacturer guidelines for towing limits. Towing above your car’s limits will cause extra strain on several systems in your car, including your transmission and drivetrain.
Use Your Parking Brake
Especially in an automatic transmission, leaving your car in park without engaging the parking brake will put extra strain on your car’s pawl, which holds the weight of the car in place. Using the parking brake, especially on inclines, will alleviate that strain by helping keep your car in place.
Don’t Ignore Necessary Transmission Repairs
Additionally, your car’s transmission should be serviced regularly. In particular, your transmission fluid should be flushed and replaced roughly every 50,000-100,000 miles, though this will vary depending on what type of car and transmission you have. When you put off this maintenance, you run the risk of driving with overly contaminated transmission fluid. The particles within that fluid will end up causing even more damage to the parts within your transmission.
At the very least, if you’re able to easily check the level of your transmission fluid, you should do so regularly. If your fluid level is low, it should be topped off as soon as possible – and it also means you likely have a leak, since transmissions are closed systems.
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