Transmission Repair

How It Happens, How Much It Costs To Repair, and How To Talk To An Expert Mechanic About It For Free

"When these brands have questions about their cars, they use TalkToMyMechanic"

Basics and Symptoms of Transmission Repair

One of the most common problems of car owners when it comes to transmission repair is misdiagnosis. These problems which may result in expensive and unnecessary repairs are normally caused by car owners themselves who opt to self-diagnose their car problems.

It is important to understand that such expensive transmission repair costs can be easily avoided with the proper diagnosis of the problem. In the same manner it is important to note that not all transmission problems require replacement of the entire transmission mechanism.

So how do you know if the transmission repair involves replacement of the entire mechanism or simple tuning of the parts? This is where consulting qualified transmission technicians come in.

Basically, they not only have the proper equipment to address the problem but more importantly the training to identify the specific cause and solution for transmission repair. Undoubtedly it is important to have some basic knowledge on the transmission basics to make sure you are not taken advantage of.

Kathryn J.

My car broke down in Vail, CO. The two mechanics in town seemed untrustworthy. TalkToMyMechanic helped me make sure they didn't take advantage of my situation.

DIAGNOSTIC

Diagnostic Audit

There are dozens of things that could have led to your blown head gasket and dozens of other problems that could have occurred. This checks your car's diagnostic report with our database of 500,000 faulty repairs and our panel of 10 ASE Certified Master Mechanics, so you know that the mechanic is fixing the right thing. (3 of 10 car repairs attempt to fix the wrong thing).

PRICE

Price Audit

Want to know whether you need to pay $300 or $3,000? This checks the price of parts for your repair AND labor rates against our database of nationally accepted wage rates, so you'll know that you are getting a fair price. (6 of 10 repair customers are overcharged).

SERVICE

Service Audit

If you drove your car after you blew out your head gasket, there's a 50/50 chance you ruined something else in your car. But would you like to know if that is really true or if it is just a greedy mechanic trying to charge extra? This checks additional repairs and suggested maintenance to find out if the repairs are necessary...or not.

NEGOTIATOR

Negotiator

Once you've received your final bill, we will negotiate with the shop on your behalf to see if they have any VIP special customer discounts. About 60% of auto shops are willing to drop the price if approached the right way. Once you know you've gotten a fair price AND THEN it gets negotiated down even further, you know that you've received the best possible price you could.

WARRANTY

Repair Warranty

If you purchase before you take your car in, we can direct you to an auto shop in your area that offers a 24,000/24 month warranty on any repair they do (about 20% of shops in the US offer this protection).

Mike

I hate feeling like the mechanic is screwing me over when he hands me the bill. Just to never have that feeling again is totally worth the price.

The Basics of Automotive Transmission

In an automotive vehicle the main role of the transmission is to draw power from the engine and deliver it to the wheels using a series of gear sets including friction devices. For automatic transmission mechanisms, it is equipped with a brain that is normally referred to as the valve body. This is responsible for responding to the electronic and hydraulic signals that drive the wheels.

Majority of newer vehicles make use of a complex and computer driven system combined with switches and solenoids that are designed to implement different tasks that include telling the transmission system the right time to change gears.

Simple as it may sound the transmission is actually the most complex component of the vehicle which is why transmission repair should never be taken lightly and left to qualified transmission technicians only.

The Right Handling of Transmission Repair

For majority of car owners the issue of transmission repair can become very confusing. If you are one of them, there is no need to be alarmed. Basically, it is important to understand that transmission repair is a highly specialized niche of the car repair industry. It is a common mistake that people make to bring their vehicle to qualified automotive repair mechanics when experiencing transmission problems.

Essentially when it comes to transmission repair, the ideal people to handle the problem would be transmission repair and rebuilding professionals. This group is definitely not the same. Basically, the transmission repair and rebuilding professionals have the specialized equipment that is needed for transmission diagnostics. They can also understand specific transmission problems and tear down the mechanism, rebuild, and replace it if necessary.

Symptoms that can lead to Transmission Repair

Because of the complex nature of the transmission mechanism in a vehicle, there are potential transmission problems that can be hard to identify. Moreover, there are several forms that transmission problems can take so it is important that you can identify them to prevent permanent and possibly expensive damage to your transmission mechanism.

Some of the potential symptoms that can lead to transmission repair include:

The Check Engine Light turns on.
Strange noises of the knocking, clicking, buzzing, screeching, clanking, grating or whistling variety are experienced. These unusual sounds would normally emanate form the hood or towards the rear of the vehicle and may be accompanied by a humming or low whining sound.
During cold starts, the vehicle may fail to move or can shift late on the first few minutes that it is running.
You experience slipping. This is a condition where the engine is already racing but the vehicle is unexplainably running slowly or does not accelerate at the rate that it should.
Stalling where the vehicle has difficulty gaining initial momentum to move.
The vehicle simply would not move. The transmission is in gear and the accelerator is pressed but the vehicle stays in place.
Difficulty or impossible to move the shift lever into the reverse position.
Constantly find fresh fluid stains under the vehicle which are mainly caused by leaks of the transmission fluids.
Identifiable loss of power when driving. The expected surge of power in not there despite flooring the accelerator. Engaging the passing gear also does not have any effect on acceleration.
Improper or erratic shifting. There is an obvious early or late shifting which causes unexpected shifts or the rate of shifting unexplainably changes constantly.
There is noticeable difficulty in moving the stick in or out of any position. At times the stick may be stuck in a specific position.
The vehicle may exhibit a jerking motion when in park or neutral. This may happen when the car is first started or right before it is turned off.
A rancid or burnt smell is observed from under the hood or underneath the vehicle.
For automatic transmission vehicles, the shift indicator normally does not point to the proper range where the shift is located.
Excessive debris or metal shavings are deposited into the transmission pan.

There is no question that transmission repair can result in relatively high costs. This is why it is extremely important that symptoms that may lead to expensive transmission repair be identified immediately.

Since diagnosing potential transmission problems is never an easy thing to do and may require the taking down of the transmission mechanism, the vehicle should be brought to the right repair shop. Observing all of these can help car owners to avoid unnecessary transmission repair.

Why TalkToMyMechanic Pro is Risk-Free for you to try

Have the luxury of your own person mechanic
Sit back and relax as our mechanic does all the talking for you. (You just give us the name of the autoshop you've walked into and then we go to work.)
Save hundreds of dollars on your repair

BUT if at the end of your repair you aren't absolutely thrilled... if you don't enjoy the low prices, safety of an expert's opinion, and experience the most hands off, laid-back car repair of your life, then you're protected by our

100% NO-Risk Double Guarantee

You are fully protected by our 100% No-Risk Double Guarantee. If you are unhappy in any way over the next 30 days, just let us know and we'll send you a prompt refund. No questions asked.

Is this just a scare tactic? Is mechanic dishonesty really as bad as you say it is?

Short answer - Yes, it really is that bad.

Sources* say that if we have 10 mechanics

That 6 of them will try to overcharge us

And the remaining 2/3rds won’t be certified

Meaning that you have an 87% chance of dealing with
an overcharging or under-qualified mechanic

Fact - Sources say that 60% of all auto repairs are overcharged.

Fact - Government records show that only 1 in 3 mechanics are actually certified.

Fact - The average repair amount that is overcharged is well over $100.

Fact - All this put together means that the average person has only a 13% chance of getting a fair price from a REAL mechanic. But that's just the average person.

Discover How Some Other People Have Used TalkToMyMechanic

Men and Women who "don't speak Mechanic" to understand what their auto shop is talking about.
Women, College Students, and Older Drivers to protect themselves from getting scammed (these groups are the groups that are most frequently targeted by dubious mechanics)
Business Professionals who just don't have the time to sit around with a mechanic at the shop.
Parents who want to make sure that their children's cars are fixed correctly the first time.

When We Asked Our Customers What They Like About TalkToMyMechanic Pro Here is What They Said.

"TalkToMyMechanic Pro helps me feel like every time the mechanics smile when they hand me the bill it isn't because they are about to screw me over."

"They targeted my mom because she is older but luckily I was able to get her to sign up [for TalkToMyMechanic] right before she almost handed over the credit card"

See How Our Customers Get the Best Out of The Diagnostic Audit.

"I had no idea how often mechanics just try to guess what is wrong with the car. The shop almost fixed the wrong thing!"

See How Our Customers Get the Most Out of Our Pricing Audit.

"He said the new wheels for my mother's car were going to be $3,200. When the guy at TalkToMyMechanic told him that she could get the wheels for $1,700 online, he immediately dropped the price.

Why Our Customers Love The Service Audit.

"I researched online for the price of my repair and it seemed right, but I had no idea how to check whether I really needed the extra 4 repairs he suggested or whether he was trying to fix something that wasn't broken."

So How Does This All Actually Work?

Step 1

When you buy, you receive your own personal phone number to your master mechanic. Call that line and tell us briefly about what is happening with your car.

Step 2

We find every shop within 20 miles of you that has the 24,000mile/24 month warranty. Then you decide if you want to select one of those shops or pick your own.

Step 3

Once we know what shop you're going to, we take care of the rest. You just bring in your car and the relax.

(PS - while you're relaxing - we call the shop ahead of time, tell them you'll be arriving shortly, introduce ourselves as your automotive repair team, clarify things with the mechanics, check diagnostics, check pricing, check extra suggested service repairs, and negotiate lower prices. All while you don't have to lift a finger.)

Step 4

Once we're finished, we'll give you a call or text summary of everything we uncovered, stopped, and negotiated before you pay. Then you leave happy knowing you got the right repair for the right price.

TalkToMyMechanic vs. JustAnswer vs. AutoMD

Auto Shop Locator
Auto Shops with 24/24 warranty Locator
Get Answers To Auto Questions
Get Answers To Auto Questions By Professional Mechanics
Get Answers To Auto Questions on the Phone
Diagnostic Audit
Price Audit
Service Audit

TalkToMyMechanic

JustAnswer

AutoMD

Why is TalkToMyMechanic Pro Different From Just Answer

Just Answer doesn't have the ability to talk to a mechanic on the phone, or the ability to call in to an auto shop to do the hard work for you.

Just Answer just has a box where you can type your question, and a box where you get an answer.

But here is the biggest problem with Just Answer - you only one answer per purchase! And it is geared more towards Do It Yourselfers who are stuck on a repair question, not on a regular joe who needs help knowing whether he needs to take his car in at all, or needs to know if he is being lied to.

This is one of the main reasons people use TalkToMyMechanic, because the other answer websites are only for people who are trying to really fix things for themselves!

Why is TalkToMyMechanic Pro Different From AutoMD

AutoMD misses the big picture entirely. They have a diagnostic tool…but think for a few moments: Do you really think it is possible to know what is wrong with your car with a 5 question quiz? Now, the tool can definitely guide you in the right direction, but there are over 10,000 parts in a car. And every mechanic we've interviewed says that it is foolish to try and figure out what is wrong with a car without first running diagnostics.

Interesting Fact: AutoMD is free…Because YOU are the product they are selling.

AutoMD makes money by sending YOUR customer information to high paying shops. Think about it, if AutoMD has to pick between taking care of you or the shop, who are they going to pick? The anonymous website visitor? Or the auto shops paying them thousands of dollars for customer information?

There is a 87% chance you get the wrong repair or get overcharged. And of the times you don't get overcharged, there is a 60% chance to still negotiate the price lower. So basically, 19 times out of 20, we save people hundreds of dollars.

Colleen (Tanner's Grandma)

I think this product is so great, I signed my grandma up for it! (True Story!) - Tanner, from TalkToMyMechanic Customer Research.

"So I basically forced my grandma into buying TalkToMyMechanic (come on, don't judge, I really think its a good product). Anyways, her car broke down literally a week later on her way up to the airport. She left her car, caught her flight, called TalkToMyMechanic and they got her car towed to a shop for free, saved her $400 off her original bill and had the car all arranged for when she flew back."

Start Using TalkToMyMechanic Pro Now!