Your transmission is a crucial part of your powertrain—the system responsible for producing power and transferring it to your wheels. With so many important components and moving pieces, your transmission is prone to issues. These issues can range in severity from minor hiccups to complete failure, but each of these problems have something in common—when they happen, you’ll know.

Lurching or Jolting Vehicle

When your transmission is faulty, your car cannot shift properly, and you’ll likely notice right away. Under normal conditions, an automatic transmission seamlessly shifts up or down with little to no impact on what you feel inside of your car. However, if you feel your car suddenly jolt, lurch, shake, or shudder when changing gears, that’s a sign that your transmission isn’t shifting properly and there’s a good chance it’s on the verge of imminent failure.

When your transmission fails, you may not think that much of it because your car may continue to drive at a reduced speed. It may happen when you least expect it, so bring your car in right away if you’re experiencing any of the issues above.

Skipping Gears

If you can say yes to the following symptom questions, you may have a faulty transmission on your hands:

• Does your car struggle to shift into a particular gear?
• Does it skip second gear and go straight from first to third?
• Has your gas mileage drastically decreased?
• Does your car lurch or jerk when accelerating?

Skipping gears will quickly cause added strain on your transmission, leading to transmission failure and costly repairs. Fortunately, most modern cars can sense when this is happening and will alert you with a check engine light or other warning code right away. In fact, many vehicles will go into what’s known as “limp home” or “fail safe” mode, which reduces power and capability so you can get it to service before it breaks down completely.

Total Failure to Move

If you press the gas pedal and your engine revs up but doesn’t go anywhere, first check to make sure you didn’t accidentally bump your shiftier into neutral. If you’re in the correct gear and still aren’t moving, then it’s likely that your transmission has failed. In most cases, you won’t be able to go anywhere. Your next best step is to call a tow truck and have them bring your car directly to a service shop so it can be repaired.

About Christian Brothers Automotive

The best way to ensure your transmission won’t fail when you least expect it is to schedule your vehicle for regular preventative maintenance. This service allows our expert auto technicians to do the following:

• Ensure your transmission is working properly
• Change or flush your transmission fluid
• Make small repairs so they don’t lead to bigger problems in the future

Christian Brothers Automotive is the name you can trust when it comes to a preventative maintenance, minor repair, major overhaul, or total transmission replacement. We offer a full range of transmission services from expert technicians who sport a customer-first attitude that you won’t find anywhere else. We also offer a convenient shuttle service and a comfortable waiting area so you can relax while we handle the hard work for you!

Enjoy the Nice Difference ® while Christian Brothers Automotive handles your preventative vehicle maintenance or transmission repair. Call us today or stop by any of our locations nationwide.

Posted by, Christian Brothers Automotive