5 of the Most Common Transmission Problems

April 25, 2018 | By Mister Transmission

Most Common Transmission Problems

Are you worried that there is something wrong with your transmission? Are you worried that something might happen to your transmission? It’s not always easy to tell when your transmission is acting up. With some parts of your vehicle, a problem can be plain to see, but with the transmission? This is not always so. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here are five of the most common transmission problems.

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We begin our list of the top five most common transmission problems with one of the easiest ones to notice. When you shift gears in your vehicle, you expect your vehicle to, you know, shift gears. But sadly, this does not always happen. From the moment you put the key in the ignition and shift from park into drive, your vehicle should immediately go into the correct gear. For automatic transmissions, there is sometimes a delay before you feel the gear engage when trying to shift gears. This is usually a transmission problem.

What’s that smell?

Unless you’re sitting by a crackling campfire or fireplace, the smell of burning is rarely a good thing. And so too is this true for transmissions. If you smell burning coming from your transmission, you have a problem. This is often caused by low quality or quantity of transmission fluid. When transmission fluid breaks down, this causes increased friction the transmission will overheat.

Noise in neutral

Vehicles make noise. That’s what they do. When your vehicle is in neutral, however, it shouldn’t be making too much noise. If your transmission makes a great deal of noise while in neutral, you could have an issue. Luckily, this common problem can often be resolved by topping up or changing your transmission fluid.

Dragging Clutch

A manual transmission is more likely to experience a dragging clutch. If the clutch disk doesn’t disengage the flywheel when the clutch pedal is pressed, your clutch is dragging. The clutch still spins with the engine, though, and this makes it much more difficult (and sometimes impossible) to change gears. A dragging clutch will also often make a grinding noise when you try to change gears.

Obviously, you don’t want to experience any of these five most common transmission problems. But, luckily, a dragging clutch is often one of the more inexpensive transmission problems to get repaired. Frequently, the cause of a dragging clutch is an overabundance of slack in the clutch pedal. When there is too much slack, the linkage between the clutch disk and pedal it can’t pull  the clutch disk away from the flywheel.

Low fluid

As mentioned before, transmission fluid is vital to the health of your transmission. That is why whenever you see a patch of transmission fluid on the pavement where your car just was, you need to get that leak repaired right away. You should routinely check your transmission fluid levels to make sure you have enough fluid there. Furthermore, you must make sure that your fluid is still of good quality. Discoloured or malodorous transmission fluid is damaged transmission fluid. 

Mister Transmission

If you have been experiencing one (or more) of these dreaded five most common transmission problems, or any other transmission problems for that matter, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

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Tom Mantis
Great service, great communication. I genuinely felt I was being taken care of. I recommend them without any hesitation!
Date: April 3, 2025
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Jim Kyryluk
Trustworthy, Professional and more than fair and helpful. I would give more stars if I could.
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I went to Mister Transmission...
Lauren Williams
I went to Mister Transmission after seeing their reviews and convenient location. I suddenly began to experience acceleration issues over the weekend - went to two different places and was told to go to the dealership for a transmission issue. I opted for this business and am glad that I did; they were honest and quickly able to ensure I had my vehicle the next day because of how important my vehicle is for work. Much appreciated and would use this business again! Thank you.
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Came in from out of...
David Falconer
Came in from out of town took my diesel truck in cause I was feeling first gear slip abit. Was there over an hour, they looked pretty busy. He took me on right away, plugged in scanner took truck for two different rides to see what was going on didn't find anything. Explained everything I should watch for and do and didn't charge me anything. Very professional and kind. Will be taking truck there for sure for transmission upgrades when I need them done👍 thanks again
Date: April 3, 2025
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Bob originally told me that...
Bob Hunt
Bob originally told me that it would be a couple of days before they could get at my truck. When I mentioned that I was not driving it he said bring it in and maybe if someone gets time they could have a look. A few hours later he called with an estimate and the next day it was ready for pick-up. All done before the original time frame given and a reasonable price. Thanks guys
Date: April 3, 2025
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Amazing services 👌 cheaper to...
Liveyoungalways
Amazing services 👌 cheaper to fix the transmission rather than replacing it. Great customer care overall and SanJ deserves a raise with how he works 💪
Date: April 3, 2025
Website: Google
An amazing experience with people...
Chris Whitworth
An amazing experience with people who are highly knowledgeable. They treated us with respect and kindness. I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you to your team of professionals for an amazing experience. The Whitworths.
Date: April 2, 2025
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Fast professional service, knowledgeable staff,...
Ian Moate
Fast professional service, knowledgeable staff, clean shop. Happy to have a good local real transmission shop.
Date: April 2, 2025
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I want to give Ken...
Dawei Guo
I want to give Ken 6 star for his help and kind words in comunicating that helped discover my problem.... I recommend Ken to anybody with automotive needs.... Thank you very much.... April 2 2025 David
Date: April 2, 2025
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Quick and good service. It...
Jan Novada
Quick and good service. It costs an arm and a leg but I hope we saved the transmission which would've been multiple times the repair cost.
Date: April 1, 2025
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