If you are looking at reading or writing this bullet point, you are probably wondering what in the heck is wrong with your car’s automatic transmission. As the name suggests, it requires a gear!
If your transmission is not operating in gear, then you are out of luck. You can no longer use your car to get around as it will not shift into any other gear. There are times when this happens with an automatic because the shift may not happen when you want it to.
Sometimes there is a problem with the lever on the transmission and/or faulty cables, so hopefully you can get some help from your car insurance company or someone at the dealership. Auto transmissions can sometimes be hard to find where the gears are, so maybe there is something wrong with yours.
Contents:
Check the transmission fluid level
When driving a car with an automatic transmission, make sure the fluid level is full. The engine will need enough transmission oil to function properly.
Check the drive shaft for wobble
If the transmission looks smooth and tight, check the drive shaft for any wobble. A little bit of wobble can cause the gears to not mesh together as well as a heavier, stiffer shaft would. This can result in poor transmission shift quality or inability to shift into one gear due to the other gears not working correctly.
When riding in difficult terrain or situations where you need a more powerful transmission, you should know about this. Having a weaker transmission could result in heavy drops or wheelies which would not look very professional if the car does not move properly.
If your bike has an automatic transmission, you should check that it works with both wet and dry conditions. If it does not, then you may need to install a water pump kit to add water pressure when required.
Check the wheels for wobble
If your car has big wheels, make sure they are safe. If the car has smaller wheels, make sure they are secure.
If you drive on roads, look for broken or loose pavement or guardrail to gauge safety. If you drive on highways, check that there is adequate clearance for your car and other vehicles.
If you have off-road travel such as hiking or biking, make sure there is adequate traction to hold you and your vehicle safe. If you have to run special lights or sound equipment, make sure they can withstand the occasional fall or shock without breaking them.
To protect yourself from very high automobile cars striking homes, check for sturdy fences around your property to protect any children from harm.
Have the transmission checked by a professional
The automatic transmission in your car can fail without being touched by an experienced transmission mechanic. The failure can be sudden or occur over time.
If the transmission has not been replaced in a few years, it can start to slip and turn when changing gears. This is called a “dashboard” shift or “passive” transfer case.
This happens rarely, if at all, so it is usually not necessary to replace. If it has been recently replaced, then there is a good chance that the new one will not fail but keep working. This is due to the recent transmission repair business using high quality materials to fix it.
When trying to shift into a gear, the case may move slightly before shifting and confirm this look for any signs of movement.
Change the transmission oil
When your car has an automatic transmission, it can be difficult to know how much oil you should have in it.
An automatic transmission needs a certain amount of oil to function properly. The oil inside the transmission moves the gears as it spins and descends the shaft.
When the oil is out of balance, it doesn’t move correctly. If too much oil is present, it may not entirely descend the shaft and sit in one place when an engine part like a gear goes into it.
An out of balance oil can be green or blue in color due to water being present in it. This indicates that someone should take a closer look to see if your car needs new oil.
Change the drive shaft oil
When your car is not driving well, it is important to check the drive shaft oil. Your car needs new shaft oil when the driver’s side wheel does not shift smoothly, and the rear wheels do not spin easily.
Shaft oil gets dirty as it travels through your car and helps with friction, which is important when doing a quick repair on your car. If you notice one of the tires getting bigger or more prominent while working on your car, this is a good indicator that you need to buy a new one.
When buying replacement shaft oil, make sure that it has bearings in it to help with smoothness and that it hasthalten in order to have proper lubrication.
Change the wheel bearings
When you drive your car, the wheels roll along the ground and rotate when the car is moved. When you put your car in drive, the wheels turn and the chassis shifts into high gear.
When you drive a manual transmission, theres a chance the transmission doesn’t shift into low gear as intended. The chance is lower for an automatic than for a manual.
This happens to automatic transmissions that don’t have enough power to move the wheels fully in low gear. As a result, your tire could get stuck. Or it could explode!
If you have this problem, then look for missing teeth on your wheel bearingsondeckers of smooth metal on either side of the bearing. These indicate there is insufficient power being transferred through the transmission to move the wheel smoothly through its gears.
Have the car scanned for trouble codes
If the car does not shift into park or drive away in automatic mode, it may have a transmission problem.
Manual transmissions require you to put some force into the gearbox to change gears. As this can be difficult at times, many auto shops will test the transmission by putting on lots of speed and watching it move. If the speed is high, then it works!
Automatic transmissions have something called a transfer case which adjusts the gears for you. If the gears do not move when they should, then it may be wrong.
If you can smell anything burning or hear any grinding noises as your car drives off with automatic mode selected, then auto transmission is working properly.