Transmission Services in Richmond, Kentucky

An Overview of Transmission Maintenance

Every car has a transmission—most of them automatic, some manual—and all of them do basically the same thing: The job of the vehicle transmission is to regulate the amount of power that goes to your wheels, always relative to the speed at which you’re traveling. The transmission actively shifts gears, much like on a multi-speed bike. Of course, there are some key distinctions between automatic and manual transmission, but what’s the same across every vehicle is that attending to regular transmission maintenance is vitally important.

What Makes Transmission Fluid Necessary?

Your transmission system itself works a bit like a bike. When pedaling a multi-speed bike in a low gear, it’s easy to get acceleration, but hard to work up much speed. By shifting into a higher gear—once the bike is on level ground and moving at a decent clip—higher speed can be achieved. That’s essentially the same function that transmission serves within a car—regulating the power relative to speed. And that requires the use of transmission fluid, which serves a critical function—lubricating your gears and minimizing the effect of daily wear and tear. All of this points to a basic point about vehicle maintenance: You should have transmission fluid inspection—and yes, transmission flush—as part of your regular preventative maintenance schedule.

Why Might You Need Transmission Repair Done?

Transmission service is needed for a couple of reasons. One, you may have dirty transmission fluid—and dirty transmission fluid needs to be flushed and replaced, otherwise it’s just not very effective. Two, even with transmission fluid, your gears may still take on some wear and tear, and transmission repair work can become necessary for them to work properly again.

The Reason to Check Your Transmission Fluid

Your vehicle’s transmission is essential for optimal performance—and if you allow the transmission to fall into disrepair, you shouldn’t be surprised when you encounter a whole host of other problems; potentially issues that are expensive to repair. Basically, your transmission is responsible for shifting gears, regulating the power generated by your engine. You can think of it sort of like a bicycle: You start pedaling in a low gear, building acceleration but not much speed; then, when you start coasting along a flat surface, you can switch to a higher gear and really ramp up your speed. Your transmission works in much the same way, and it can only do so when you take care of it—and that means being careful to check transmission fluid regularly, and perhaps even schedule a transmission flush.

Why Check Transmission Fluid?

Transmission fluid is a critical part of your transmission, serving in one key capacity: It keeps your gears lubricated, and safeguards them against wear and tear. In other words, it extends the lifespan of your transmission system. As the transmission fluid becomes dirty, though, it doesn’t lubricate nearly as well, which is why you’ll eventually need to schedule a transmission flush.

Why Check Transmission Fluid in Your Vehicle?

The transmission flush is critical because it’s what helps you replace dirty transmission fluid. You see, the function of transmission fluid is to lubricate your gears, safeguarding them against everyday wear and tear. When the transmission fluid becomes dirty, the effects on your entire transmission system can be corrosive. It’s imperative to keep your transmission fluid in good working order, which is why both the transmission fluid check and transmission flush should be on your maintenance radar.