Auto-tranny breakdown: Any warning signs ?

[Darth_mel]

Are there any visible symptoms leading to a faulty auto-tranny ?

[Hogster]

Leaks, burnt smell from the ATF on the dip stick I guess if you're talking about visible signs.

 

The rest would be jerks, slow shifts as compared to before. Maybe getting it to the working shop to tear it apart and see what's happening inside is still the best.

[Vit4wd]

Mine went kaput after only 110,000km

 

Gear slippage especially when engine is cold (very prominent). Loss of power.

 

High rpm but lower speedometer speed than usual. You may also hear the engine revving hard but car is not picking up speed as fast as before.

 

I got a recond unit from Khang's at $3,200.

Edited April 4, 2007 by Vit4wd

[Ah_liang]

Wah simi chia lai ye, so expensive for a recond unit

 

On my previous corona, when u pull to D and step the gas, the engine just rev and the car doesn't move.

Got to try a few times before can move off.

Remember one time doing a illegal u turn, not enough space got to reverse scully engage reverse same thing happen and kenna horn by a bus.

[Mxchen118]

My previous ride was also Mondeo, got problem with my tranny after 110K mileage. Sign was slippage was felt for about a month till cannot 'tahan'. When to Tranny shop and check. Confirm there was leakage in cooler into cooling system. Radiator got oil(Brownish) but did not encounter high temp in engine. Shop top up three litres of Trans Oil for $40. Engine back to full power but started to lose power slowly after about three weeks, guess oil leaking slowly to radiator. Shop recommend to change to recon or service. Finally decide to change ride. Not sure whether you encounter the same problem. If same, just top up tranny oil every month(DIY) cheap cheap. Hope info of help to you.

[Teddi]

The best sign is from ODO. Auto tranny starts to breakdown about 120-150K Km.

 

This is due wear & tear.

 

Simple.

 

Of course, there are other tell-tale signs, but not an immediate breakdown.

[Toyo]

The lifespan of auto gearbox is so short? does it help if we do regular service such as changing the oil regularly?

[Jchuacl]

Heat is what kills the gearbox most of the time rather than just poorly on the usage lifespan. My mileage is already more than what the previous poster claimed to be. Bear in mind that I go for night sprints and tracking as well, not just normal driving in sg/my.

 

I based on the below minimum change intervals to determine at least how often to change ATF.

 

90 celsius - 80K

100 celsius - 40K

110 celsius - 16K

 

But you'll need to access to the ATF temp info which can be read off the OBD.

[Friendstar]

oh man i tot auto tranny can last much longer.

 

i always service with borneo. do u tink they'll inform me of the need to change?

cos i dont want my car to die on me on the road

[Kelpie]

imho, the greatest insurance for at is to install an aftermarket atf cooler. change your atf regularly with approved type. heat and wear are 2 big enemies to at.

[Toyo]

Ic. i usually change at 40K

[Vit4wd]

A colleague's 1992 G7 Corolla 1.6A's auto tranny is still original & working fine after 220,000km.

 

Very impressive indeed.

 

Gone are the days of rock solid Made-in-Japan Toyotas.

[Toyo]

Which is why COE toyotas are selling at a higher price compared to other brands.

[BoneStock]

My B13 Sunny's auto tranny clocked over 200,000km before I traded in for another car. The dealer renewed COE cos the ride was in such good condition. Actually if ATF is regularly changed, auto trannies should be able to last very long.

[Toyo]

tat's what i thk too.

[Jchuacl]

IMHO, Borneo just present to you a standard menu of items to be carried out, no more no less. As a car owner, you need to have some basic knowledge what needs to be done for regular maintenance.

For eg, a simple thing like tyre change, most owners don't know when to change. To them, clocking mileage beyond 60K-80K or having them for more than 2 years is ok, as long the tread looks ok.

 

If I'm not wrong, typically agents normally change the ATF every 80K. Mine is a PI car, so I don't go to agents for servicing. I keep track of what needs to be changed and just advised the workshop on what needs to be done.

 

Even though I equipped my car with a cooler, the temp can go beyond 90 degrees celsius with hard driving in hot weather. I don't have the comparison with and without the cooler to validate the effects of the cooler.

 

 

oh man i tot auto tranny can last much longer.

 

i always service with borneo. do u tink they'll inform me of the need to change?

cos i dont want my car to die on me on the road

[Cyberet]

hmm.. i'm @ 151k km now, and my auto trans is still working fine..

i drain and fill my auto trans every 30-50k km.

just drop the autotrans oil pan recently after 100k km.

 

once i notice gear slippage, earliest i ever felt is @ 30k km, i'll do a drain and refill.

 

regular fluid changes will help extend the life. of course jack rabbit starting, driving up to genting, flooring the accelerator after getting stuck in the jam.. etc.. will make things wear and tear faster.

 

mazda 323

[Boxster]

Sorry do pardon my ignorance, does auto transmission require flushing or ATF oil change will do? Does the same applys to CVT transmission?