Know What Can Damage Your Vehicle's Automatic Transmission

Your vehicle's transmission is one part that does a lot of work when you're driving. It's responsible for switching gears automatically as you drive, replacing the need to have a manual clutch and gear shifter. However, there are things you may be doing with your car that is causing your transmission to wear down prematurely. Here are several things to avoid doing to help your transmission last.

Don't Rock The Vehicle

Ever have your vehicle stuck in mud or snow? If so, you may have been tempted to rock the vehicle by going back and forth between drive and reverse. While this may get you out of whatever you are stuck in, it's not good for the transmission. It can actually cause the transmission to overheat from shifting gears, changing directions, and having you give the engine a lot of gas so quickly.

Using The Wrong Fluid

There are a lot of fluids that need to be replaced in your vehicle, many of which you can do on your own. Make sure you know exactly what you are doing whenever you replace fluids since putting the wrong kind of transmission fluid in your vehicle can be bad for the parts you're trying to maintain. Read your owner's manual and make sure you are putting in the recommended type of fluid, and if you make a mistake, you'll have to have all the transmission fluid flushed out and repair any damage that was caused to the transmission.

Not Refilling Fluid

You shouldn't ignore your transmission fluid for fear of making a mistake either. Having low transmission fluid can cause excessive wear on this part due to not having enough lubrication. Stay on top of checking transmission fluid levels, and add more when necessary. That said, be aware of the fill line, since putting in too much fluid is not good for the transmission either.

Shifting Gears Prematurely

When going between reverse and drive, you'll want to come to a complete stop before doing so. Shifting gears prematurely means that you are forcing the car to change directions by putting force on the transmission. This will cause the transmission to break down prematurely by making this simple mistake. The damage you cause may not become apparent right away, but you'll pay for it later.

For more advice on what you should be doing to care for your transmission, speak to your mechanic about auto transmission repair when having your vehicle serviced.