AA Automatic Transmissions Reminds You That It is Very Important
We know what it is like. You have many, many items on your to-do list. You need to get your kids to school, go to your job, get the kids from school and to soccer or ballet practice, go to the grocery store, fix some things around the house, and maybe get to bed by 10:30 p.m., if you are lucky. Life can be very hectic, and through it all, car maintenance may not even be on your radar. Even if it is, it may just be “fill up the gas tank” and “make sure you have enough oil.” Have you ever given any thought to your vehicle’s transmission fluid, though?
The transmission is a very important part of your car, truck, or SUV, and transmission fluid is vitally important to its operation. Our expert team of technicians here at AA Automatic Transmissions in Christiansburg, VA, want to remind you to regularly check your transmission fluid as part of your essential car maintenance.
After all, your vehicle’s health depends on it.
What Does Your Vehicle’s Transmission Do?
Whether your car, truck, or SUV has an automatic transmission or a manual, “stick-shift” transmission, that transmission is key to your vehicle running properly and getting you from one place to the next. Simply put, it regulates the amount of power transferred from the engine to the wheels at any given time in any given situation, by shifting the gears.
If you own a front-wheel-drive vehicle, you can find your transmission beside the engine. If you drive a rear-wheel-drive car, truck, or SUV, your transmission will be behind your engine.
An automatic transmission will shift your vehicle’s gears for you. The transmission will detect when you speed up or slow down and shift to the proper gear for the situation. With a manual transmission, the driver is “hands-on” and decides when to shift gears, using a clutch and a gearshift.
If you fail to check up on your transmission during your car maintenance tasks, you could end up with some very serious, very costly issues, or your car, truck, or SUV may not even run at all.
Get the 411 on Transmission Fluid
While your transmission is very important for the proper operation of your car, truck, or SUV, transmission fluid is very important for the proper operation of either an automatic or a manual transmission.
Transmission fluid works as both a hydraulic fluid to transmit energy through the system and as a lubricant to lubricate and cool the transmission’s parts while you drive. When your transmission fluid is low or old, your vehicle can experience some detrimental issues. Low transmission fluid can lead to transmission slip. This occurs when your vehicle falls back out of gear when the gears shift. Other symptoms of this problem are grinding gears, sudden and unpredictable shifts, and spiking RPMs (revolutions per minute). Low fluid can also cause a delay when you shift from “drive” to “reverse.” It will also fail to properly lubricate the parts inside the transmission, which can cause it to heat up and damage the mechanical equipment. This then will lead to costly malfunctions and even catastrophic failure.
How Do You Check the Transmission Fluid?
Like we said before, maybe car maintenance is not even on your radar among the other hectic moments of your life. It should be, though, because your vehicle truly is your lifeline. And a check of your transmission fluid should always be a part of that car maintenance.
Before you check your transmission fluid, verify if your car, truck, or SUV should be running or not running when you check. You can find this information in your vehicle’s manual. This is vital to getting an accurate reading.
Open your hood and find the transmission fluid dipstick. When you pull the dipstick, transmission fluid should cover it, all the way to the “full” line. Always make sure by wiping the dipstick with a clean cloth and double-checking it. If you need to add some transmission fluid, pour it through a funnel into the dipstick hole, and do not overfill it.
And if you have any questions, call AA Automatic Transmissions today!
Call AA Automatic Transmissions for Great Service!
AA Automatic Transmissions is the New River Valley’s authority on transmission service. You can find us at 591 Depot Street in Christiansburg, VA. We are proud to serve Christiansburg, VA; Blacksburg, VA; Radford, VA; Pulaski County, VA, including Dublin, VA, and Pulaski, VA; Giles County, VA; and Floyd County, VA. Our customers can depend on our expert team of technicians for the best automatic and manual transmission repair, full-service auto repair, and car maintenance. We are a proud part of Virginia’s New River Valley, so we always give our customers the “hometown” treatment – honest, hard work and unforgettable service. When you need your vehicle back on the road and running smoothly, you can trust AA Automatic Transmissions to do the job right.
For more information on checking your transmission fluid or any type of transmission work on your car, truck, or SUV,
call AA Automatic Transmissions at (540) 382-5959.
