3 Signs Your Honda Needs a Transmission Service

Transmission Leak

Transmission fluid is vital for your transmission, providing the hydraulic power that enables the gears to shift smoothly and easily. Many transmission components depend on friction to work effectively, and this fluid coats them in a friction-resistant covering. The covering allows them to glide rather than grind against each other, reducing wear and tear. Finally, the fluid helps reduce the temperature inside the transmission, reducing component damage.

Fluid can leak from several places, but the most common leak site is through a worn transmission pan gasket. The pan gasket seals the transmission but can shrink due to age, and the fluid will leak. Fortunately, a leak is easy to identify as transmission fluid is bright or dark red. Our technicians will examine the transmission and repair the leak. Once the leak is fixed, we’ll refill the fluid.

Slipping Gears

Once your Honda transmission shifts gears, it remains in the new gear until you or the transmission computer shifts it again. Slipping gears is a dangerous situation where the gears shift without warning and usually drop to the previously used gear. Depending on the gear, this can cause your Honda to lurch as it is forcibly slowed or even stop dead and potentially cause an accident.

Slipping gears can be caused by worn gear teeth, broken transmission bands, a transmission computer error, or a fluid leak. The most common cause is low transmission fluid, as the lack of fluid reduces the hydraulic power used to shift the gears. Insufficient power prevents the transmission from remaining in the new gear. We’ll examine your transmission and repair the problem.

Check Engine Light

The transmission is one of the few systems in your vehicle that doesn’t have a warning light. This is because the engine and transmission work so closely together that a transmission problem will automatically affect engine performance. If the transmission develops a problem, the engine works harder to compensate, causing additional wear and tear on engine components and possibly causing damage.

We’ll connect an OBD II reader to your Honda computer if you have an illuminated check engine light. Any issues identified by the computer are logged with error codes, and once the reader reveals the code, we will fix the problem.

If you have a transmission problem, contact the experts at Coeur d”Alene Honda in Coeur d’Alene, ID.

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