Most current-production vehicles are well-engineered and can last for a very long time when cared for properly. According to Consumer Reports, modern vehicles routinely accrue 200,000 miles when maintained and occasionally repaired. Transmissions are among the costlier repairs that your vehicle might need to help it reach the 200,000-mile mark. Here are some signs that indicate your transmission needs to be repaired.

Clunking Sound When Shifting

Defective transmissions don’t shift smoothly. Instead, they commonly make a clunking noise when it shifts. The clunk is caused by the gears wearing down and creating slop. This loose slop causes the gears to clunk when they engage. Slop also causes the transmission to wear down the gears even faster, causing the clunking sound to get louder and progressively worse as you drive more.

Engine Revs While Maintaining Speed

You might notice the engine suddenly revving while you are maintaining a constant speed. A loss of power to the drive wheels often happens while the engine is revving. When the transmission slips out of gear, it will cause the engine to jump to high RPM because there’s no resistance. The revving will continue until the transmission gears re-engage, which may cause a violent jerk or jolting sensation.

Transmission Makes Loud Grinding Noise

When the transmission has badly worn gears, it can make a loud and very unsettling grinding noise. Gears that aren’t meshing properly and grind on each other cause the loud grinding sound. The more you hear the noise, the more the gears are wearing down. It’s a sure sign that the transmission will fail catastrophically very soon if you don’t fix or replace it.

Fluid Leaks From the Transmission

All automatic transmissions have fluid that reduces friction and makes shifts from one gear to another easier. When a transmission runs low on fluid, its gears will start to wear from the increased friction. There are two telltale signs of leaking transmission fluid. One is a puddle of red fluid beneath your vehicle near the back of the engine. The other is when you smell burning fluid due to the excess friction in the transmission.

Are you experiencing any of these issues? Call or visit MasterShift Transmissions to maintain, repair, or replace your transmission as needed to keep your vehicle running well. Our team is ready to help solve your problem!