Two Points You Need To Know When Your Car's Automatic Transmission Is Whining More Than Your Hungry Kids
There is nothing more worrying than starting to drive your car and hearing a whining noise coming out of your transmission area. As a busy mum who drives an automatic, you know it is not supposed to whine, but you are not too sure whether you need to take the car down to the mechanic now, or if it is something which can wait until next payday. These are the two things you need to know when your automatic transmission starts to whine louder than your kids when they are hungry.
Noise And Other Issues
A whining noise is one issue but when accompanied by other problems such as the transmission falling out of gear while you are driving, you have a more urgent problem. A whining noise accompanied by gear shifting issues commonly occurs when the transmission fluid level is low.
There is a dipstick to check your transmission fluid located in your engine bay. The transmission dipstick has what looks like a small round hook on it. The dipstick should be pulled out and checked when the engine is warm but not hot. Turn the car on and let the engine run for a few minutes before you pull it out to check the level. If the dipstick indicator states that it is below the full level, you can purchase more transmission fluid at your local automotive store.
Run a little bit of the fluid from the dipstick between your fingers. If you notice small particles of dirt on your fingertips, take your car to the transmission mechanic as soon as you can afford to do so. The residue is an indication grime and grease have built up in the system and needs to be flushed out.
Noise Only
If your gears are behaving themselves, and the only issue you have is a whining noise, then it is likely that your transmission filter needs to be replaced. The job of the filter is to keep the gunk out of the transmission fluid, and when it gets clogged up, you will hear the noise because air is moving around the blocked area.
A transmission filter must be replaced by an expert, as it involves jacking the car up and removing the transmission pan. Since this involves breaking a seal, it is best to leave this task to the experts. Again, this is not an issue to be left for long as contaminant particles are entering your transmission fluid, and these can damage the transmission itself over time.
Since you do need your car to keep up with all your kid's appointments, it does pay to take it down to the transmission repair shop at the first sign of noisy trouble.
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