Working in the automotive industry, I can’t tell you how many people I met who had to do major transmission repairs on their cars.  Many times it had to do with ignorance of how to properly take care of their transmission.

Here are a few ways to keep your transmission running smoothly for a long time to come.

1. Regularly change the fluid and filter in an automatic transmission.  Automatic transmissions may be easier to drive, but they also need more maintenance than a manual transmission.  Many foreign and domestic automotive repair experts recommend replacing the tranny fluid and filter at least once a year.  Because the automatic tranny uses a hydraulic shifter to determine when to change gears, this ensures that your transmission will continue to function properly and shift at the correct time.
2. Regularly change the tranny oil in a standard transmission.  Manual transmissions have oil in them, like your engine except much thicker.  This oil generally has to be replaced only every two years, although you might want to do it more frequently if you are hard on your car, i.e. if you do a lot of towing, street racing, etc.  Clean tranny oil helps the gears and other moving parts stay lubricated as the transmission turns.
3. Don’t do burnouts.  These are very stressful on the entire drivetrain, particularly the clutch, the transmission, the driveshaft assembly, and the differential.
4. Use your clutch properly.  Make sure you know how to properly work a clutch.  Not using it properly can not only burn up your clutch and require you to replace it sooner, but it can also put stress on the transmission if you grind gears or jolt it into gear too quickly.

If the worst happens and you do need to get transmission work done on your car, make sure you find a Houston transmission repair shop you can trust to do the work right.  You may also be able to find auto repair coupons to cut down on the cost a little.

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