Sneaky Signs Of Transmission Failure Every Used Car Shopper Needs To Know
Posted on: 6 January 2016
You may think that when you test drive a car with transmission problems it would be an easy problem to spot, but this is not always the case. Problems with an automatic transmission are usually far less obvious than a vehicle that refuses to go into gear. When you are shopping for a used vehicle, it is crucial that you get to know some of the more common signs that there is a transmission problem. Otherwise, you could end up paying for a car that has no warranty and needs as much as $6,000 of an investment for a rebuilt transmission.
1. Lagging shifts during acceleration.
Lagging shifts during acceleration are sometimes difficult to appropriately associate with the transmission. A lot of times people who test drive a car that is lagging during shifts will assume the car has a bad engine miss, and that it may need something like plug wires or a new fuel pump. If you notice any odd behavior at all during acceleration, especially something that feels like a lag, it is a good idea to have the car fully checked by a mechanic before you hand over any cash.
2. The vehicle stalls when you try to put it into reverse.
Because reverse is a completely different function of the transmission than the usual gear changes, it is not uncommon for this function to be the first to go in a vehicle. Before the reverse feature fully stops functioning, it will show signs of trouble by stalling when the car is shifted into the reverse gear. It may not be a long pause, maybe even just a few seconds, but any stall at all should be something you notice when you are shopping for a used car.
3. The engine seems to shift and move when changing gears.
If the engine is moving or jarring when you are traveling down the road and shifting gears, it is a good sign that you have broken motor mounts. Even though broken motor mounts sounds like a problem that would be simple to repair, what you may not know is that broken motor mounts and a faulty transmission often go hand in hand. The steel brackets that keep the motor of the car stable when the transmission shifts only break with extreme force, and this extreme force can come from a transmission that is not shifting as it should.
Contact a service like A Transmissions for more help.
Share