Are you having car troubles? Here are three signs that it might be your transmission, according to a mechanic.
What is a car’s transmission?
A car’s transmission is its gearbox, like a more complex version of the gear and chain system on a bicycle. It’s responsible for converting the gas in your car into physical momentum, according to JD Power.
A typical transmission has a series of gears, belts, and chains that allow the driver to control the amount of power delivered to the car without changing the speed of the engine.
Most transmissions nowadays are automatic (who do you know who can drive a stick shift?). With an automatic transmission, the driver doesn’t have to change gears as they change spread or adjust to road conditions; the car does that on its own.
In a viral video with more than 850,000 views, a mechanic for @gillspointstire shared the three signs your transmission might be failing.
1. Uphill battle
If you’re driving up a hill at say, 30MPH, but your RPM (a measure of how fast your car’s engine is spinning) keeps going up, you may have an issue.
2. A nasty sound
When you’re driving, you shouldn’t hear any random sounds coming from your car. That’s the universal sign to take it to the mechanic.
In this case, the mechanic says if you hear a clunking noise as the gears change, like when you speed up to get on the highway, that could be a problem.
3. Fluid color
You’re supposed to change your transmission fluid regularly. According to Cars.com, this fluid change should happen every 30,000 to 100,000 miles, depending on your car’s make and model.
Though the mechanic said most cars need it changed at the 60,000-mile mark,
This fluid acts as a lubricant and also prevents the mechanical parts of the transmission from corroding. However, the more you drive, the more the heat generated breaks down the fluid, causing it to lose its capabilities.
If the fluid level gets low it can cause issues when shifting gears.
“Best ways to keep your transmission from going and stay healthy is 1 make sure you don’t drive like a nascar driver and 2 get the fluid changed every 60,000 miles,” the mechanic wrote in the caption.
@gillspointstire Best ways to keep your transmission from going and stay healthy is 1 make sure you don’t drive like a nascar driver and 2 get the fluid changed every 60,000 miles. 🚙 #car #cars #truck #trucks #carmaintenance #transmission #suv #cartok #trucktok #gillspoints examples video credit: @Topmansammy @John Guerrera ♬ original sound – Gills Point S
Commenter reactions
“I’ve never changed my transmission fluid and my truck just hit 270k miles lol,” the top comment read.
“Mines scary clean for 200000 miles any suggestions or just leave it,” a person asked. To which the mechanic recommended leaving it as is.
“if everyone followed the recommended service intervals on these new cars, nobody would have a car,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to the tire shop via email and Instagram direct message.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
