Back to all

The Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Oswego Guide to Caring for Your Transmission

February 13, 2022

Most vehicles have automatic transmissions, yet a lot of Oswego drivers only have a fuzzy understanding about what a transmission does. Think back to the last time you rode a bike in Oswego. 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 Oswego 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 Tire & Auto Service Oswego, 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 Tire & Auto Service Oswego see far too many transmissions that needlessly failed due to neglect.

And, as you can imagine, repairing one of these new transmissions at any Oswego 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 Oswego area drivers to carefully follow the manufacturer's transmission service schedule.

At Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Oswego in Oswego, we hope you never become shiftless in Oswego because you didn't take care of your transmission.

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Oswego
1555 US Highway 34
Oswego, Illinois 60543
630-898-6220

 

More articles from Tuffy Oswego

Tire or Re-Tire? (Getting Tires Ready for Hot Weather)

April 13, 2025

Heat isn't easy on vehicle tires, and as the seasons change, make sure yours are ready to take the heat. Let's talk first about inflation. Heat causes air to expand, so heat alone can raise the pressure in your tires. If you are driving on overinflated tires, they won't have as much contact wi... More

A Clean Sweep (Fuel Injector Cleaning)

April 6, 2025

Your vehicle gets its power from burning fuel, usually gasoline, and it counts on something called fuel injectors to send gas to the engine in a spray that is easy to ignite. Its a precise operation, and when its working well, you have plenty of power and an efficient engine. But after time, con... More

Sounds Exhausting! (Exhaust Service)

March 30, 2025

Most of us know a bad muffler when we hear it. That loud, rumbling sound is unmistakable. Did you also know you can get a ticket for driving around with a loud exhaust system? If your exhaust system has a leak in it, it may be allowing poisonous gases inside your vehicle and could make you serio... More