Is there an issue with your car’s transmission? The car’s most crucial system is the one that ensures smooth operation, in this case, your transmission. Shifting of gears in automatic cars is done by the automatic transmission.
The gear change is done without the driver’s intervention. The process is seamless while the vehicle is in motion. Transmissions are intricate systems and must work ceaselessly for the vehicle to function optimally.
With regular usage, they might deteriorate over time.
But you were just told that your car needs a transmission repair. In which case, what is the first question you will want answered? Normally, you might also ask how many days it will take to repair the entire transmission.
It will depend on how critical the part is to the car, but the repair will certainly take some time. It becomes rather tricky to manage the finances in advance for costly transmission repairs. Car owners looking to have their transmission fixed need to prepare for total costs in the range of $1800 to $3400.
Symptoms Of A Damaged Transmission
Your vehicle doesn’t make that weird a sound as long as it works perfectly. And in terms of working continually, no one drives the car more than you do, so you pick up on small differences during usage right away.
When was the last time you’ve ever heard weird sounds from your car or noticed a burning smell while driving? Smell and hear these things during the period your car is not working properly, and there is a chance of having to pay for repairs.
Learning and continuously monitoring the signs of impending failure can help save you a lot of headaches—and money.
The following is a list of signs your transmission may need servicing:
Transmission Is Slipping
It feels like your vehicle is attempting to switch gears without you physically doing anything – this might indicate that your transmission is slipping. Whining sounds are also not out of the question in this case. In any case, this is a serious problem that will require prompt attention.
A lack of maintenance could result in low transmission fluid and even wear down the entire system over time; failure to act will eventually lead to repairs becoming unavoidable.
Shifting Gears
Does your car take a while to engage? If so, that sluggish response might indicate the presence of transmission problems. The system could have fluid leaks.
Ignoring this can lead to the transmission overheating, which will subsequently lead to damage elsewhere in the system. If the transmission fluid is unable to circulate to other working parts of the system, overheating is inevitable.
The vehicle’s parts have to be cooled off and lubricated to prevent overheating.
Failure to resolve this issue at its primary stage may leave you dealing with a costly transmission repair.
Transmission Won’t Stay In Gear
Have you encountered the out-of-gear issue? You have probably put your car in drive, expecting it to move, only for it to stay in the same position. If your car is not moving, you could have some issues with your transmission that may require professional assistance.
Your transmission system could also be the source of this particular problem. Reliable performance of any system component, including the transmission, requires establishing proper maintenance checklists to avoid premature wear and tear.
If your transmission system no longer risks dirt accumulation or low fluid levels, you may avoid catastrophic damage to the system, and more so transmission repair services.
Burning Smell
If you are driving your normal route, and for some reason notice a burning odor, pull over safely and call for a transmission technician. You may be dealing with a case of leakage, low transmission fluid, or low fluid levels.
Ignoring these precautions may cause fluid to dramatically drop or completely vanish, damaging the entire system and rendering it useless. You may, at this point, be putting your entire vehicle at risk for single parts failure, massively increasing repair stresses. You can use the dipstick to check their levels.
Costly repairs await if you do not address the burning issue timely, as it leads to damaged transmissions, and they are expensive.
Leaking Fluid
In case you have a red liquid oozing from under your car, then you have a transmission fluid leak. It can stem from a gasket, seal, or even a cooler line.
The leaking fluid also causes a lot of damage to the transmission system. The fluid can leak onto the hot pipes and damage their working parts.
Ignoring the source of this leak might cost you big time. Chances are if the fluid remains unattended in the transmission for a while, there will be dire consequences for the entire system.
Check Engine Light Is On
Does your check engine light turn on? That is used to indicate some sort of trouble with your automobile. It is ideal to proactively see what the source is. Do not overlook this.
Disregarding the check engine light will in most cases lead to problems with the engine, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. The general misconception is that this light activates solely when there’s an issue with the engine, which is not true at all. The issue could quite possibly be with your transmission too.
Such as slipping transmission, issues with the solenoid, or a case of an overheated transmission.
Make sure to identify the issue right away. The illumination might be notifying you that there is an issue with your transmission.
Buzzing Or Humming Noise
If your car has any issues while you are driving the car, that is a major red flag. Hearing clicks, hums, or buzzing sounds is not part of the normal driving experience and indicates that something is wrong.
Given the context of the problem, nagging sounds coming out of somewhere in the region of the vehicle engine would most likely be the transmission.
This could stem from broken gears or bad bearings. On the other hand, if the transmission fluid is low, there is bound to be a certain amount of noise that will alert the driver. Regardless of the cause, the consistent noise guarantees that something unusual is widespread.
Looking into the causes of these issues will save you a lot of grief before dealing with the intricacies of dealing with faulty transmissions in the future.
How Much Will It Cost To Repair My Transmission?
One of the over-demanded repairs from mechanics is transmission repair, as it directly affects the functionality of the car. The transmission itself, being of immense importance to the operational capabilities of a car, leads it towards immediate check-ups on failures; otherwise, a huge chunk of one’s finances could go missing on repairs.
Periodic evaluations of diagnostic symptoms, such as holding apart the steering wheel in case facing multiple parallel lines can gauge, add up, and average out around $1,800 to $3,400 of invaluable dollar bills.
When the changes extend beyond the essentials, the provided options deliver the extreme need for overhauling the transmission while still highlighting the ease of bolting the whole thing on.
A used transmission can be bought for the price range of $800− $1,500. The prices for a rebuilt transmission is around $1,100− $2,800, while for a remanufactured one is somewhere in the range of $1,300 − $3,400.
Included in these prices is the cost of the transmission itself. Labor will be additional. To remove and repair a transmission, labor will require a payment of $500− $1,200. A mechanic is likely to spend 4 – 10 hours on this task.
If you are looking to purchase a rebuilt system, the cost will be somewhere around that of a replaced transmission. The total damage will greatly influence the final price. Expensive transmissions are generally meant for high-end vehicles or have very skilled mechanics working on them.
For those seeking basic repair jobs, the cost will be the least $300 − $1,400. There are many different approaches a mechanic can take, and the type of car they are working on heavily influences the price. The range is greatly influenced by the type of car being repaired, the type of transmission, and the mechanic.
Looking To Save Money?
When looking to cut costs on repairing a transmission, there are several routes you can take.
You have the option to buy a remanufactured transmission by yourself and just pay a local repair shop for the installation labor.
If the shop buys the unit on your behalf, they will charge you extra for it. It is more cost-effective to buy the transmission yourself and take it along with all the necessary parts to a mechanic.
What Are Some Factors That Will Affect The Cost?
The repair of your transmission will depend on multiple factors. The most important of all is determining which Type and how extensive the repair will be. If your case involves getting a complete overhaul of the transmission, prepare yourself for several thousand dollars worth of repair.
- Extend of the damage done to the transmission: Consider the maintenance history of your transmission. Has your car endured a lot of damage, wear and tear, and neglect? The state of your car and how it has been treated will impact the repair cost.
- Manual vs Automatic: Which type of transmission do you have? Like in most cases, Automatic transmissions are known to cost more than manual transmissions.
- Make of the car: What’s the make of your car? Is it locally manufactured or an imported model? This will affect the price of your transmission. Typically, American models are going to cost less than the imported vehicles.
- Repair Shop: The prices for transmission repairs vary from one shop to another. It usually depends on the location and the reputation of the shop.
- Old vs New: Older vehicle models may be more difficult to source parts for. This drives up the cost of finding these obscure parts and repairing the transmission.
- Where You Live: Residents living within higher cost-of-living areas tend to experience higher demand for automotive services and, subsequently, a greater charge for labor. This increases the price of your transmission repair.
How is a transmission rebuilt?
Rebuilding a transmission is an extremely intensive manual task. There are multitudes of stages involved when it comes to fixing a transmission.
A mechanic first has to take apart the transmission and check it for any underlying problems. In the case that the components that are causing it to malfunction are replaceable, the mechanic will be able to fix the transmission with these three checks.
They must first change the fluid. The transmission will not work properly if there is low or dirty transmission fluid. Next, they will have to look for trouble codes.
The car comes equipped with a computer that manages the automatic shifting. The problem might stem from the computer system if the RPM readings are not correctly processed by the computer system. The sensors are going to have to be installed by a mechanic.
The final step before they attempt to fix the transmission is to diagnose and take the vehicle for a test drive. After all of those stages have been completed, the mechanic is now able to commence with the actual repairs on the transmission.
Conclusion
Having issues with the transmission? You must complete the repairs immediately. If you keep driving with a struggling transmission, at some point, the entire system will seize, leading to your car being rendered unusable. Driving the vehicle puts you and other drivers on the road at significant risk.
Following the consultation for a transmission repair, the decision is yours to make on which steps to pursue. The repairs to be done are indeed quite costly, as has been stated.
As it is a vital component for your vehicle, it is quite expensive to fix.
Determining the value of your car, do you think investing thousands of dollars is reasonable? Are you replacing other components in your vehicle and paying additional costs? If you have answered yes to these questions, it would be worth contemplating not fixing it. Selling it to us allows you to easily remove that burden.