Car Sales Maintenance Tips: How to Know Your Transmission Needs Replacing

We all know our cars need regular service. Usually, regular servicing at a professional location means your car, truck, or SUV is going to be in better shape for the long haul. It can also help you catch potential disasters before they happen — like your transmission going out, for example. Your transmission is vital to your vehicle’s ability to function, and finding a problem early could help you avoid a costly replacement later on. In this blog, the car sales team at Thompson Sales is going to take a look at some of the early warning signs, along with some more obvious ones, that your transmission needs to be looked at by a professional.

Stick or Automatic?

Most drivers in the US drive an automatic vehicle, rather than a stick shift. Even so, any car sales pro will tell you that the transmission is still an important part of your car. It’s still shifting gears when it needs to, just automatically, which means the transmission is still doing its job. This also means that many of the signs a transmission in a manual car is failing are the same for an automatic.

Slipping

Slipping is when your car feels like it’s shifting gears in a much more obvious way when you’re driving on a steady, even surface. This can also be accompanied by a whining sound and a feeling that your car is struggling to accelerate.

Delay in Engagement

“Engagement” refers to when the car engages the gear you’ve shifted it into. For example, in an automatic, you might shift the car into “drive” and experience a delay before the car actually moves.

Rough Shifting

One of the most obvious signs of a bad transmission is rough shifting between gears. In both automatic and manual drives, a heavy clunk when gears change means something is wrong.

Shuddering in Your Vehicle

Many of the signs above are accompanied by your car having a hard time accelerating or getting up to speed, which often presents as a slight shudder as you drive. You can sometimes especially feel this shuddering in the steering wheel.

Your Warning Lights Are Trying to Get Your Attention

Our car sales team knows full well how common it is for drivers to ignore various warning lights on their dash display. We also know how important those lights are. If your engine light is on and you’re experiencing any of the problems you’ve read here, it doesn’t mean it’s time to stick some duct tape over the little warning symbol. It means it’s time to get your car properly serviced.

Talk to Our Car Sales Team About Your Next Purchase

If you’re looking for a new or certified pre-owned car because you ignored the warning signs and let your transmission fall into disrepair, our car sales team can help. We offer a wide range of new and used vehicles of all kinds to match all budgets and needs. Thompson Sales has spent decades building a reputation as the best in car sales in the Springfield, MO area, and we’re ready to help you. Visit our Springfield, MO lot, contact Thompson Sales online today, or by phone at (417) 763-6811.