Anyone who drives an automatic transmission knows that the automatic transmission oil needs to be changed, but the interval is so long that we often ignore its existence. Every day we drive, the car moves forward in D gear, and reverses in R gear. It is almost a simple action like a neural response, but one day, we found that the car had a big problem, and only when we went to the repair shop did we know that it turned out to be a gear shift. Caused by not changing the tank oil.
So, what will be the consequences if the automatic transmission does not change the oil for a long time?
What is automatic transmission fluid for?
The automatic transmission is a very complex mechanical structure with countless things called clutches and brakes. It is used to transmit power and to shift gears. There are probably dozens or even hundreds of these things in a gearbox. Usually you evaluate whether a car shifts smoothly or not, whether the shift is fast or not, and even whether the car is smart enough to shift, to a large extent these small things decided.
Therefore, one of the important functions of transmission oil is to provide hydraulic pressure for these small things. These clutch plates and the like are all driven by hydraulic pressure, and that hydraulic pressure comes from the transmission oil. This is the first aspect. On the other hand, the transmission oil also has the function of lubricating and cooling, which is similar to the nature of engine oil.
What happens if I don’t change the oil?
First of all, as mentioned earlier, those clutch plates are driven by transmission oil, which also takes some metal debris away. When the oil is not changed for a long time, there will be more and more metal debris, and when the amount reaches a certain level, it will affect the physical properties of the transmission oil itself, the clamping force on the clutch plate will be greatly reduced, and a large amount of the transmission oil will Metal shavings can also severely wear out the clutch plates, and the end result is that the clutch fails to engage, and it causes a lot of metal wear throughout the gearbox. It is manifested that the gearbox cannot shift gears, or even the D gear cannot start and other major faults.
Even if it has not reached that level, too dirty transmission oil will cause confusion in the transmission shifting logic. What you see is that the transmission changes randomly Gear shift, slow upshift and downshift, or slow acceleration, abnormal vibration or abnormal noise in the car, these are all phenomena that the transmission oil is too dirty.
Can I substitute other oils for transmission fluid?
Absolutely not, the transmission oil not only cleans and lubricates, but also undertakes the role of hydraulic power. These requirements are far from other types of oils. Instead, change the automatic transmission to another type of oil, just like adding diesel to a petrol car. Similarly, the replacement of the transmission fluid must be changed according to the requirements of the vehicle manual, because the transmission fluid of different types of transmissions is likely to be different.