Is your Automatic Transmission Cold?
The basic paradigm behind this issue is that during extended cold periods, your cars transmission can take as long as an hour to warm up to operating temperature. The transmission has no radiator so to speak. A radiator is a heat exchange unit, therefore it controls and holds the correct temperature for the engine. But the transmission is not directly related to a heat control unit, so it has to create it’s own heat.
An internal combustion engine makes heat from the combustion process, an automatic transmission does not make heat that way, which is why it takes so long to warm up. Essentially, driving the car long and fast for about 30 to 45 minutes is the only was an automatic transmission generates enough heat to warm up in sub freezing temperatures.
With that in mind, ATF becomes saturated with moisture because the transmission never gets hot enough during short jaunts to work or the grocery store, causing serious damage over a period of time. Engine oil is important to change too, but engines generate a lot of heat by themselves as a function of their operation. An engine will be good and warm in 15 minutes if you have the proper thermostat in it, so essentially speaking in 15 to 30 minutes it starts to burn off moisture.
If you continually ignore transmission maintenance, you can expect to replace it prematurely. It may be a pain to bring it in for a service, but it is a bigger pain when it fails. It also costs a lot more too. Knowing this, there will plenty of transmissions failing this spring. If you are caught in this unpopular spot, call GotTransmissions.com @ 866-320-1182 for some solid advise and a terrific price on a quality replacement transmission.
