Transmission Maintenace: How to care for your automatic transmission

Using an automatic transmission car does feel more comfortable, especially if we have to drive on a jammed and busy road. We no longer feel aches and fatigue in the left leg because the automatic transmission car has no clutch pedal. So, we only need to adjust the brake and gas pedal, and then the car can move by itself.

Even though an automatic transmission car feels more comfortable, it requires good maintenance and order that we should not break, such as late for an automatic transmission oil change.

Delay in changing the automatic transmission oil can immediately cause problems with the transmission, such as slipping or shaking when shifting gears.

transmission maintenace-how to care your automatic transmission

However, automatic transmission maintenance is not limited to the oil only; several other important things need to do to keep the automatic transmission durable and long-lasting. Here is how to care for an automatic transmission to keep it durable and long-lasting.

1. Warm up the car before use

No matter how sophisticated the automatic transmission system is used in the car, you should warm up the car before its use, even if it is only 2 minutes warming up.

We should note at this time, automatic car transmissions almost entirely still rely on hydraulic systems. This hydraulic system relies heavily on automatic transmission oil to create pressure and lubricate parts of the automatic transmission components.

If the air temperature is cold and the car is in the off position, resulting in all lubricating oil (including automatic oil) going down to the oil tank. In addition, the oil will also thicken slightly due to the cold temperature.

Therefore, it takes a little time for this automatic oil to be fully circulated to all components in the automatic transmission when we start to use the car. The only way to be sure is to preheat the vehicle before use.

We have given the time and opportunity for the automatic oil to circulate in the most important components inside the automatic transmission by heating the car's engine before use. It will keep the automatic transmission components to be more durable.

2. Perform periodic service regularly

The next step to do to care an automatic transmission is performing periodic service regularly. This periodic service aims to anticipate early damage to the automatic transmission due to use.

At least, there is some work to be done to maintain the automatic transmission during periodic services, such as:

Check the automatic oil regularly (generally done in multiples of 6000 miles). This inspection aims to ensure that the automatic oil is always in good quality and quantity. If the quality of the automatic oil is not good (such as blackish or have change colour), it is necessary to repair and replace the automatic oil immediately.
Do an automatic oil replacement regularly (generally done in multiples of 24000 miles or according to the service manual on your vehicle). This replacement is a maintenance step to keep the lubrication system in automatic transmission components good and reliable.
Do an automatic oil filter replacement (generally done in multiples of 48,000 miles or adjust to the service manual on your vehicle). The automatic oil filter also needs to be replaced. It ensures that the automatic oil that enters the automatic transmission components is always in a clean condition.
Inspection and scanning of the Transmission Control Module (TCM) to ensure the performance of all sensors and actuators on the automatic transmission can work according to standard work specifications.

By performing periodic and regular service, at least we have attention to the maintenance of the automatic transmission correctly to ensure the automatic transmission can be durable and long-lasting to use.

3. Use the gearshift lever correctly during driving

After regular service is carried out, the next thing to do to maintain the automatic transmission is to pay attention to using the gearshift lever correctly during driving. Be sure that it is always following road conditions and usage time.

It means that we need to position the transmission gearshift lever correctly. For example, every time we stop for a while and then run again, it's good to move the lever to the neutral (N) position. If we want to stop for a long time and park, then position the lever to the park position (P).

Or, when we are driving on a steep incline, moving the gear lever from position D to position two or L also helps maintain the automatic transmission to remain durable and long-lasting.

It's a good idea for you to re-learn the use of the automatic transmission gearshift lever following the general instructions in the owner's manual.

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4. Drive the car properly and correctly

The next thing needed as an automatic transmission maintenance step is to drive the car properly and correctly. What we mean here is to use the vehicle according to the rules and its intended use.

Several conditions often make users curious and want to try new things on their vehicles. It turns out that these actions can accelerate the damage to the automatic transmission, such as:

Step on the gas suddenly from a stop position (sprint)
Shifting the shift lever to the R position when the car is moving forward
Turning off the car engine suddenly while the vehicle is still speeding on the road
Automatic city cars, except for SUVs, are forced to drive on muddy roads and full of potholes.

With the conditions above, we can say that the use of the car is not good and not correct. It can accelerate damage to the automatic transmission. Therefore, a step to perform good automatic transmission maintenance is to drive the car properly and correctly and in accordance with the ways of using it.

5. Immediately go to the workshop when the automatic transmission feels problems

The last step in maintaining the automatic transmission is to immediately go to the repair shop when you feel there are problems with the automatic transmission. It means not delaying the necessary repairs when the automatic transmission starts having problems.

Here are some examples of conditions that are often overlooked to perform an automatic transmission check:

When the neutral light on the dashboard is blinking (indicating there is a problem with the transmission oil)
When the engine overheats (Automatic transmission oil damaged due to overheating)
Seepage or leakage of automatic oil (oil reduced and the quality is starting to drop)
The car feels shake when the gearshift lever shifted to another position. (needs a full scan and inspection)

These conditions are often overlooked because they generally occur only occasionally or indirectly affect the automatic transmission. Even so, the above conditions significantly affect the performance of the automatic transmission (especially about automatic oil).

Therefore, an immediate inspection of the automatic transmission if it starts to feel there are problems is very necessary, of course, to carry out automatic transmission maintenance to be more durable and long-lasting.