Killing your transmission in Colorado seems like a far-fetched idea. There’s nowhere for that to exactly happen unless you put your car in harm’s way, right? Well outside of crashing into something or someone, there are a lot of ways that you can damage your transmission beyond repair. Most of these ways hurt your transmission a little at a time before the problem becomes too big—so if you recognize any of these as a habit you have while driving, or something you should check on, do it quickly before your car and wallet suffer. The goal is to help your transmission last if possible.
Let Your Car Warm Up, Not Burn Up
All people who live in places where there is heavy snow fall know that the morning after snow requires extra time when you leave for work in the morning. Letting the car heat up while you clear snow off of it is the best thing that you can do for it in the winter—but sometimes that warm engine can get too warm and lead to overheating. As you drive you should be watching the road, but you should also periodically check the engine temperature as you run into inclines and problem areas of heat. Let your car work while overheating long enough, and you may find yourself with a smoking-hot car.
Change Your Fluids More Regularly
Do you know what transmission fluid is? It’s run through the transmission to cool it down (which stops it from overheating). It also lubricates the parts inside of the engine and makes everything work better for the inside of your car. Changing your transmission fluid is a great step in taking care of the basic required maintenance needed for your car. Checking your fluid is a good way to start the process—you want a bright red liquid, so anything that is dark red, brown, or black, means that you have a big problem.
If you have any questions about your transmission or how to diagnosis simple problems give us a call. You can even schedule an appointment with us if you need to. Or drop off the car after hours at our parking lot and use our key drop. If you’d like to read more about us and how we take care of transmissions, read through our blog. You’ll find helpful articles and interesting insight into transmission care and repair.