Every vehicle will have either a manual or automatic transmission. A manual transmission, often referred to as a stick-shift vehicle, requires you to know when to shift the vehicle into different gears as you accelerate. While some people have trouble handling this responsibility, it puts less wear on the part and it has fewer problems as a result. An automatic transmission does all of the gear shifting for you, but at the expense of creating more problems. Here is how to identify some of those problems early on so you can have your transmission repaired. 

Odd Sounds

You want to pay attention to any new sounds from your vehicle that are not normal. You may hear the sound of grinding gears or squealing coming from under the hood. While these sounds can come from a manual transmission, it is less likely to happen because there are fewer parts within it that can break down. 

These noises can happen due to all those gears not getting the lubrication that they need, and then wearing out gradually over time. These sounds may happen more often as you are accelerating and the transmission is automatically changing gears, which may be more noticeable as you are accelerating quickly to get up to speed on the freeway. 

Gear Slipping

When an automatic transmission is working properly, the part will seamlessly change gears up and down to the appropriate speed. However, you may notice a problem where the vehicle slips down in gears unexpectedly. This is most noticeable when on the freeway, where you need to be at a much higher speed. The transmission may slip down a gear, and you suddenly notice that you cannot accelerate any faster and the RPM meter on the dashboard is incredibly high. This is an instance where the transmission has slipped down into a lower gear, which is a big problem. 

Fluid Leak

Notice an odd fluid under your vehicle? Be sure to check the color to figure out what it is. Transmission fluid is going to be red in color, with it being a darker shade of red as it gets older and dirtier. If you notice any liquid underneath your vehicle that has a red tint to it, this means you have a transmission fluid leak. It could be why your transmission is not getting the lubrication it needs and making those odd sounds that you are hearing. 

Reach out to a company like Terwood Auto Repair for more information.