Back to all

The Tuffy Lake In The Hills Guide to Caring for Your Transmission

August 16, 2022

Most vehicles have automatic transmissions, yet a lot of Lake In The Hills drivers only have a fuzzy understanding about what a transmission does. Think back to the last time you rode a bike in Lake In The Hills. You started out in a lower gear and shifted to higher gears as you went faster. Down shift for hills, stuff like that. Think of your legs as the engine – there's an ideal speed you can pedal and you change gears to leverage the work you're doing.

Lower gears for power on hills or for starting out. Higher gears for more speed. That's what the automatic transmission does – it automatically starts in lower gears and shifts up to higher gears to go faster on Illinois roads. And it automatically shifts back down to climb Lake In The Hills hills, pass or start up again.

Vehicle automatic transmissions have certainly gotten more sophisticated in recent years. They have more speeds than before: the base is four speeds, five is very common.

At Tuffy Lake In The Hills, we routinely service transmissions with six speeds and several have seven or even eight speeds. As you can imagine, this means more parts. Any they all have to fit into roughly the same space.

Transmissions are computer controlled these days, with some high end transmissions having two or three computers. Transmissions are engineered to last. But they are also engineered to tighter tolerances. If a portion of the transmission is starved for lubrication, it can lead to failure.

Not enough fluid can starve the transmission, or dirty transmission fluid can clog small passages in the transmission. Then the lubricant is blocked and can't get to all the parts to protect them, so they wear out prematurely. The technicians at Tuffy Lake In The Hills see far too many transmissions that needlessly failed due to neglect.

And, as you can imagine, repairing one of these new transmissions at any Lake In The Hills service center can be quite costly. That's why owner’s manuals have a schedule for how often you should change the fluid and what type of fluid to use.

It's really important for Lake In The Hills area drivers to carefully follow the manufacturer's transmission service schedule.

At Tuffy Lake In The Hills in Lake In The Hills, we hope you never become shiftless in Lake In The Hills because you didn't take care of your transmission.

Tuffy Lake In The Hills
59 West Acorn Lane
Lake In The Hills, Illinois 60156
847-854-9850

 

More articles from Tuffy Lake in the Hills

3 Winter Windshield Tips (Care of Windshield)

April 6, 2025

Cold weather can present some real challenges when it comes to your vehicle's windshield. Think of it. Your windshield is your window to the world when you're driving, and clear visibility is extraordinarily important for safe travels. So here are 3 tips to ensure that your windshield can do it... More

When it Comes to Air Filters, Change is Good (Clogged Air Filter)

March 30, 2025

Engine air filters may not seem like a big deal, but when theyre clogged up with dirt, dust, and insects, your engine could wind up choking for air and not delivering you the power and performance it was designed to give. There are actually a couple of air filters in your vehicle. One filters th... More

Ready, Set, COLD! (Getting Vehicle Ready for Winter)

March 23, 2025

When the temperatures plunge, your vehicle better be ready because it faces a whole new set of challenges. Rubber stiffens, glass fogs, fluids freeze. Just thinking about it can get your heart beating faster. So here are some tips for getting ready for those inevitable colder temperatures. Mak... More