Transmission Failing? Looking For These Signs
Posted on: 11 February 2022
Your vehicle's transmission has two important jobs. While it's primarily responsible for transferring the power generated from the engine to the vehicle's wheels, it also changes between different gear sets to control the speed and torque of your vehicle. Here are some signs that your vehicle's transmission is in need of repair.
Slipping Transmission
A transmission slip is a common problem associated with a failing transmission. This can happen as your vehicle is going into a gear change, but the gear change never happens. The RPM meter on your dashboard will start to increase and your engine will get louder, but the vehicle will not actually go any faster. Then the gears may suddenly change and you get a sudden burst of acceleration.
It is worth checking your transmission fluid if this happens since the problem could be due to not having enough of it in the system. If the transmission fluid is low, try filling it to the proper levels and see if that fixes the problem. If not, you could have a bigger problem with your transmission and may need to take it in for a car repair.
Shaking Vehicle
Pay attention to how your vehicle behaves when it is shifting between gears to accelerate faster. You will never even notice a gear change if your transmission is operating properly since it will be smooth and seamless to you as the driver. However, a bad transmission will cause the vehicle to shake as it is trying to shift into the next gear and struggling to do so.
Engine Light
There are a few different error codes that can trigger a check engine light to turn on. For example, if the transmission is struggling when it reaches the 4th gear, you will likely get the error code P0734. There are specific error codes related to each gear, which can really help narrow down the part of the transmission that needs to be repaired. However, there are also more generic codes that could indicate the transmission as a whole is having a problem, such as P0701.
No Shifting Response
It's also possible that your vehicle will not respond at all when shifting from park to either neutral or drive. This problem can be as simple as having a leak and not having enough transmission fluid in the vehicle, or it could be much more complicated. You'll likely need to have your vehicle towed to a local auto shop so that the transmission can be inspected further by a mechanic.
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