Orinda Motors journeyman technician Vince Poehnelt is an ASE Master Technician and always has opinion about car repair and maintenance. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION MAINTENANCE: A common reason for cars ending up on the back of a tow truck is transmission failure. One main reason is due to lack of maintenance. Transmission fluid does get dirty during normal wear of the transmission. Fluid gets dirty with friction materials, metal fragments occur as a the transmission wears. When this dirty fluid continues to circulates through the transmission it will accelerate wear of the internal transmission components. Changing transmission fluid will help your transmission last longer, shift properly and prevent that inconvenient breakdown. When the transmission is not shifting properly it will have a negative affect on performance, fuel economy, emissions, and reliability. Some manufacturers don't list a recommendation for transmission service, stating lifetime fluid in the transmission. This is cause for concern because we have seen transmission failures due to dirty or contaminated fluid. I would not recommend going over 50,000 miles before changing the fluid in any vehicle. The fluid in most vehicles should be changed every two years or 30,000 miles which ever comes first. Most vehicles use engine cooling system to help cool the transmission fluid. Proper cooling system maintenance is also important to transmission life. Vehicles with repeated cooling system problems that are not properly addressed often have transmission failures due to overheated transmission fluid. Transmission failure is not a good reason to trade in your car for a new one you can not afford. Servicing transmission fluid is less expensive than buying a new car and more convenient than calling a tow truck.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
