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What Should You Do If Your Transmission Is Slipping?
Your car’s transmission is a critical component that is designed to transfer the power from your engine to the wheels of your car. As transmissions get old the internals can start to wear down which can lead to the transmission slipping when changing gears. But what does it mean if your transmission is slipping and what can you do to prevent your transmission from slipping?
What are the signs that my transmission is slipping? With a slipping transmission, your car won’t be able to effectively transfer the power from the engine to the ground like it used to. This can manifest in the form of lurching forward when changing gears, your tachometer jumping when changing gears, or your car struggling to make it up hills.
But what should you do if your transmission has started slipping? And what can cause your transmission to start slipping in the first place? Keep reading to find out.
What Does It Mean If My Transmission Is Slipping?
Your clutch discs can begin to slip over time especially if the vehicle is old and the transmission has seen a lot of miles. You will be able to feel this in your vehicle because when you go to press the accelerator the power from the engine will not all be applied to the ground and the vehicle will feel sluggish in acceleration.
Automatic transmissions will slip when the clutch discs are not able to effectively grip the planetary gears to be able to apply the energy coming from your flywheel to the ground. Once the clutch packs and clutch discs become worn out the transmission will need to rebuilt or replaced.
On the flip side, if you have a manual transmission that is slipping it can be fixed fairly easily by just swapping out the clutch with a new one. Manual transmissions have one clutch disc that designed to be replaced periodically as they wear down similar to brake pads.
Since you have to tear into an automatic transmission to replace the clutch packs it will typically cost about $3,000 to rebuild an automatic transmission. If you have an older car this means the cost to replace your transmission may be higher than what your car is currently worth. The good news is that if you have a manual transmission that is slipping the cost to replace a clutch is much less at around $1,000.
What Are The Signs Your Transmission Is Slipping?
To understand what you can do to fix a slipping transmission first, you need to understand what a transmission slipping feels like inside of your vehicle while you’re driving. If you don’t know what to look out for to determine if your transmission is slipping keep an eye out for the four signs below.
1. You Push The Accelerator But Don’t Accelerate Quickly
If you push the accelerator but your car doesn’t respond as quickly this is one of the signs that your transmission is slipping. If your transmission clutch packs are not able to fully engage your engine will increase RPMs but that kinetic energy won’t make it through your transmission and onto your wheels. When you push the accelerator your car should go forward with no problems.
2. Your Tachometer Jumps Around Randomly
Normally your tachometer will show an increase in RPMs and then a decrease when it shifts to the next gear. When your transmission is slipping your tachometer will not go back down in RPMs and may even increase when you press the accelerator. This is because your clutch packs are not engaging and your transmission is not actually making it to the next gear.
3. Your Car Stutters Changing Gears
If your car is stuttering or clunking when changing gears this is one of the signs that your transmission is slipping. If your transmission is acting wonky or is having problems finding gears then this can also indicate that your transmission is low on fluid or is on the way out. If your transmission is struggling to move on to the next gear or downshift you may want to have your transmission checked out.
4. Your Car Struggles To Make It Up Hills
Another of the signs that your transmission is slipping is that your car struggles to make it up hills. Your car will usually downshift to give you more power to get up a hill. However, if your car’s transmission is slipping or not working properly it will struggle to downshift to get you up a large hill. This is also a sign that your transmission is on the way out.
What Can Cause A Transmission To Start Slipping?
What can you do to prevent your transmission from slipping in the first place? There are a few reasons why your transmission can start to slip over time. Most of them are related to the state of the transmission fluid inside of the transmission. Other causes are related to the normal wear on clutch discs over time.
1. Low Transmission Fluid Level
If you do not have the correct levels of transmission fluid in your transmission case this can cause your transmission to start to slip especially if you have an automatic transmission. With automatic transmissions, they use transmission fluid to be able to shift the transmission as your vehicle reaches different speeds.
If your automatic transmission fluid is not up to the correct level this can cause your transmission to not be able to go through the gears properly and cause your transmission to slip. With manual transmissions transmission fluid is still required but is not necessary for the transmission to shift gears.
2. Burnt Transmission Fluid
If your transmission fluid is old and burnt up this can also cause your transmission to start to slip. Your transmission fluid needs to be replaced from time to time to allow it to be effective inside of your transmission.
If your transmission fluid has never been replaced it’s likely that the fluid is burnt up or it’s filled with contaminants from the clutch discs that are causing transmission wear. If you are interested in changing out your transmission fluid you may want to check out my other article on what is the difference between a transmission change vs flush?
3. Worn Clutch Discs
As you use your vehicle even during normal driving your clutch discs will begin to wear out and will need to eventually be replaced. In an automatic transmission, this will typically mean that you need to rebuild your transmission with new parts.
With a manual transmission, you can just replace your clutch since it is just one part of the transmission. This means that transmission repairs on manual transmissions will be a much cheaper repair when compared to rebuilding an automatic transmission.
What To Do If Your Transmission Is Slipping
1. Check Transmission Fluid Levels
First, check your transmission fluid levels to make sure that they are in line with where they should be. If you notice that your transmission fluid levels are low then you should add more transmission fluid to get it to the proper level. If you check your transmission fluid levels and they seem to be fine then you would want to proceed to the next steps on this list.
2. Try A Transmission Stop Slip Additive
Lucas Oil sells a product that they call a transmission fix that is designed to help stop your transmission from slipping. Lucas Oil says that it can stop rough shifting, hesitation, and can eliminate worn seal leaks.
3. Replace Transmission Fluid
If you’ve checked your transmission fluid levels and they look good and you’ve already tried adding Lucas Oil Stop Fix to your transmission and it’s still slipping then I’d recommend replacing your transmission fluid.
Replacing your old transmission fluid with new transmission fluid can sometimes remove old gunk and debris from your transmission that kept the transmission from working properly. But there’s also the chance that replacing your transmission fluid won’t have any effect on your transmission.
Sometimes to fix a slipping transmission it will need to be rebuilt with new parts
4. Have Your Transmission Rebuilt
You can rebuild your transmission using new parts to bring your old transmission to be like new again, if you go this route you would want to make sure that most if not all of the parts are replaced during this process.
You don’t want to replace some parts of your transmission to have another old part break down the line which would then need your transmission to be removed again to be replaced. It’s best to replace most of the internals of your transmission if you decide to rebuild it.
5. Buy A Used Transmission at a Junkyard
If you do not want to rebuild your existing transmission on your car you can also buy a used transmission from a local junkyard. One downside to doing this though is that you never know if the transmission was the reason that the car went to the junkyard, to begin with. I personally would want to make sure that any transmission I was going to have installed on my car worked before I paid to have it installed in my car.
6. Buy A Used Transmission Online
If you do not want to rebuild your current transmission you also have the option of buying a used or new transmission off of the internet and having it shipped to you for installation. The nice thing about this is most of these types of transmissions will be removed from a parts car that was likely in a wreck.
The mechanics will strip down the car for all of the valuable parts and then sell them online piece by piece. These parts will typically come with some sort of warranty as well if you buy from a reputable seller.
7. Buy A New Transmission
The last option that you have is to replace your transmission with a new transmission from the dealer. If you want to get the most out of your vehicle and want to make it last as long as possible you may want to look at replacing your old transmission with a new one from the manufacturer that made it.
One thing to note here though is that some vehicle manufacturers make their transmissions weak from the factory. If your transmission goes out in under 50,000 miles I would bet that the next transmission you got from that manufacturer is likely going to meet the same fate.
If you have this happen to you hopefully you are still within the vehicle manufacturers’ warranty period and they have to pay to replace your transmission for you. If your transmission goes out on you under 50,000 miles I would look to sell that vehicle as soon as it made financial sense to. You don’t want to keep having to replace the transmission on any of your vehicles.
When Should You Replace Your Transmission Fluid?
It’s important to note that if your transmission fluid is old in your automatic transmission that you may not want to replace the old fluid. As your clutch discs wear down over time this excess clutch disc material will end up in the transmission fluid that is passed through the transmission.
This fluid will begin to become thick and gritty over time as the clutch discs wear down if you don’t change your transmission fluid. What can happen if you replace your transmission fluid after this has happened is that the new transmission fluid would not have the same consistency and then allow your transmission to start slipping.
If you know that your transmission is older and the fluid has never been replaced on it you are probably better off not replacing your old transmission fluid with new transmission fluid. In that case, you would want to monitor your transmission fluid levels to make sure that they stay in line with where they need to be and refill as necessary.
How To Tell If Your Transmission Is Leaking fluid
If you fill your transmission fluid to the proper levels and you find that it keeps dropping low quickly you would want to check the underside of your transmission for any leaks. Your transmission drain plug may not be tightened enough and maybe allowing your transmission fluid to flow out of it.
Another piece of your transmission that may be leaking is the gasket surrounding your transmission fluid pan. If the gasket of your transmission drain pan begins to fail this can cause the small particles of the transmission fluid to start slipping around the gasket and onto your garage floor.
Another indicator that your transmission fluid is leaking is red fluid underneath your vehicle after it has sat parked for a while. Transmission fluid has a red or pink hue to it so if you see any red fluid underneath your vehicle after it has sat parked for a bit you are likely looking at a transmission fluid leak. Depending on where your transmission is leaking from is what you would need to repair to keep it from leaking in the future.
Related Questions
Can you drive a car with a slipping transmission? Yes, you can still drive a car with a slipping transmission as long as it still gets you around. I would first check that the transmission fluid is not low. If your transmission fluid is low then fill up the transmission fluid to the proper levels.
If that doesn’t help I would try changing your transmission fluid and replacing it with new transmission fluid to see if that helps out things. If neither of those things helps out then your transmission will likely need to be rebuilt or replaced down the line if you plan on keeping the car.
To learn more about the differences between a transmission change vs a flush check out my other article that explains the differences and which is the safer option.
Can a transmission flush fix slipping? Yes, a transmission flush or change can help with slipping as long as the damage is not too significant already. However, one thing to note is that if your transmission fluid has not been changed for a long time then this may actually cause your transmission to slip more.
This is because as the clutch breaks down clutch material gets into the transmission fluid. That extra clutch material may be helping your transmission change gears if the fluid has not been changed for a long time. Sometimes changing out the transmission fluid with new fluid and removing that clutch material will cause your transmission to slip more.
Is it better to rebuild a transmission or buy a new/used one? Usually, it will be cheaper to rebuild a transmission but sometimes when you rebuild a transmission, not all internal parts are replaced.
This means that another part of the transmission may fail over time. It may be better to get a new transmission altogether if you plan on keeping the car for a long time. Another option is to buy a used transmission off of a car with lower miles.
Transmission Is Slipping Signs – In Conclusion
If you start to notice that your transmission is starting to slip hopefully your transmission is just low on transmission fluid. You should now know the most common reasons why your transmission slips and the signs your transmission is slipping so that you can take action to get it fixed.
If you have to ultimately repair or replace your transmission you are looking at a costly procedure that can vary in cost depending on what mechanic you take it to.