Few types of automotive problems will get your heart racing faster than those related to your transmission system. Worrying about complicated and time consuming transmission repair can make anyone break into a sweat. Yet Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz or BMW transmission repair doesn’t have to be so frightening. If you can catch transmission trouble early on, you can save yourself some dough – and stress – when it comes to transmission repair in San Diego.
What Does Transmission Repair Involve?
Before we delve into warning signs for transmission repair, let’s review what a transmission system is and why it is one of the most important components of your car. In most basic terms, your car’s transmission system harnesses the engine’s power and sends it to the wheels allowing the car to drive. The transmission’s job is to regulate and convert that energy allowing the car to drive faster or slower in an efficient, responsive manner. Without it, your car would only drive at one speed. Your transmission system is sort of like a traffic cop telling the engine, “Send more power to the wheels now,” and then, “Slow it down, send less power.”
Your vehicle’s transmission is perhaps the most complex system in your car. For it to work properly, its many gears and components must work together in a precise, well-orchestrated manner. If there’s a breakdown in one area, it causes a domino effect that starts to negatively impact other areas of the system. The level of transmission repair can escalate quite quickly, which is why spotting problems early is so important.
Signs Your BMW, Mercedes or VW Might Need Transmission Repair
- Gear Slipping: If you’re driving along at one speed and then the car quickly slows down for no apparent reason, this is known as gear slippage. It’s often accompanied by a loud whirring or whining sound coming from the engine because the engine wants to go faster or maintain the fast speed but the transmission won’t let it.
Imagine you’re riding a 10-speed bike and the chain slips off and falls to a lower gear. That’s sort of what happens with gear slippage. If this keeps happening, you need to get a diagnosis right away in order to save money on BMW, Mercedes, or VW transmission repair.
- Rough or Delayed Shifting: This can be a little more difficult to detect in its early stages because the signs are more subtle. If your car isn’t accelerating as it normally does, transmission repair may be required. Your transmission system for your BMW, Mercedes or VW should be immediately responsive so if you are pressing on the gas pedal but it’s not responding right away, something is wrong.
- Low Fluid Levels: You can detect a lot of signals for auto repair early by paying attention to fluid levels, and your transmission system is no exception. Low transmission fluid levels or poor quality fluid can compromise the performance of your entire vehicle. A reddish colored puddle on the pavement where you normally park your vehicle could signal a leaky gasket in the transmission system. Catching a leak early can prevent high-cost transmission repair later on.
- Check the Transmission Dipstick If You Can: For older model BMWs, VWs and Mercedes Benz vehicles, you can check your vehicle’s transmission fluid in much the same way you check your vehicle’s oil using a similarly functioning dipstick. In optimal conditions, the fluid should be red or reddish in color. Brown or burned looking fluid or chunky-textured fluid means it is aged and may need to be replaced. If required, slowly and with the help of a funnel, add transmission fluid so that it is to the line. Low fluid levels, especially after you’ve refilled it, signal a leak or poorly sealed gasket. It’s best to catch this type of transmission repair early to save yourself some real headaches later on.
- Transmission Warning on the Dash: If this light illuminates on the dashboard – it looks like a gearhead with an exclamation point in it — this may signal transmission repair. This dashboard light should not be ignored and its best to drive your vehicle to an auto repair shop for an inspection.
The Disappearing Transmission Dipstick
For better or worse, some newer model BMWs, VWs and other European vehicle manufacturers no longer have transmission dipsticks so you can’t readily access their fluid levels. Instead, they have a completely “sealed” transmission system and are made so that the transmission fluid “never” needs to be flushed.
In reality, this means the average car owner is not able to gauge and refill transmission fluid. As such any transmission repair or maintenance such as fluid flush and replacement will have to be performed at an auto repair shop.
