What Will I Experience When My Transmission Goes Out?

Your transmission is a crucial part of your powertrain—the system responsible for producing power and transferring it to your wheels. With so many important components and moving pieces, your transmission is prone to issues. These issues can range in severity from minor hiccups to complete failure, but each of these problems have something in common—when they happen, you’ll know.

Lurching or Jolting Vehicle

When your transmission is faulty, your car cannot shift properly, and you’ll likely notice right away. Under normal conditions, an automatic transmission seamlessly shifts up or down with little to no impact on what you feel inside of your car. However, if you feel your car suddenly jolt, lurch, shake, or shudder when changing gears, that’s a sign that your transmission isn’t shifting properly and there’s a good chance it’s on the verge of imminent failure.

When your transmission fails, you may not think that much of it because your car may continue to drive at a reduced speed. It may happen when you least expect it, so bring your car in right away if you’re experiencing any of the issues above.

Skipping Gears

If you can say yes to the following symptom questions, you may have a faulty transmission on your hands:

• Does your car struggle to shift into a particular gear?

• Does it skip second gear and go straight from first to third?

• Has your gas mileage drastically decreased?

• Does your car lurch or jerk when accelerating?

Skipping gears will quickly cause added strain on your transmission, leading to transmission failure and costly repairs. Fortunately, most modern cars can sense when this is happening and will alert you with a check engine light or other warning code right away. In fact, many vehicles will go into what’s known as “limp home” or “fail safe” mode, which reduces power and capability so you can get it to service before it breaks down completely.

Total Failure to Move

If you press the gas pedal and your engine revs up but doesn’t go anywhere, first check to make sure you didn’t accidentally bump your shiftier into neutral. If you’re in the correct gear and still aren’t moving, then it’s likely that your transmission has failed. In most cases, you won’t be able to go anywhere. Your next best step is to call a tow truck and have them bring your car directly to a service shop so it can be repaired.