[skellington]

Hi everyone,

I've had my 3S Touring for a month now (about 1000 miles) and I noticed that something was leaking and leaving spots on my garage floor. I took to the dealer and as it turns out ATF was leaking from the transmission (apparently an oil tube of some sort that was running into the tranny was improperly installed at the factory - must have been a friday).

Anyway, I must have lost quite a bit of ATF before getting it back to the dealer because for a while I assumed that it wasn't my car leaking since it is brand new. I was guess that I lost a quart or two. Of course the dealer says that it's no problem and won't effect the life of the transmission but I'm curious if anyone else has experience and an opinion on this.

Also, I notice now when shifting from park to drive that the transmission makes some buzzing and clicking sounds (especially easy to hear with the door open). I found another topic here where people have noticed the same sounds but no one could say whether is was normal or not. I don't know if the sound was there from day one or if I am just noticing them now because of the work done on my car. Can anyone here try listening in a quiet area with the driver door open while shifting into D from park and listen for buzzing with clicks that last for a couple of seconds.

Thanks!

Steven

 

[ViperKillerWannabe]

There's really no way to know if the leak caused any excess wear on the transmission until MUCH later in it's life. For right now, and the near future, it'll be fine. In the distant future, it may not still be ok, but it'd be hard to say if this one thing caused it's failure, or if it's age caused it.

As for the buzzing and clicking sounds, nearly all automatic transmissions I've had the displeasure of driving make some sort of noise when changing gears.

 

[skellington]

Thanks,

Yeah I agree that it may or may not shorten its life and there is no way to know. For one thing I'm not sure how low it got but I do know that it was leaking for a month or so and it must have dropped at least a quart. In theory though how would low ATF level hurt an auto tranny? Does the AT idiot light show low fluid or only electrical AT problems?

I do notice now that it's filled again that the car upshifts much smoother, downshifts more easily, and doesn't seem to get in a confused state when slowing down and then giving it gas. (which means I lost enough ATF to effect the tranny operation which can't get good).

Maybe I should have just let it go until the tranny exploded to get a new one...heh

Steve

 

[D Bone]

I don't think any damage was done due to low fluid. I bet you only lost a pint or two at most, and not two quarts. The clicking that you are hearing when switching from P to D might be the ATX lock unlocking when you step on the brake. If you're like most people, you step on the brake almost the same time you pull the shifter down to put it into D.




Darryl

 

[ViperKillerWannabe]

The fluid is also used as lubrication in automatic transmissions, so yes, running it low on fluid can damage it.

 

[skellington]

The buzzing/clicks are definitely coming from the area of the transmission (not the brake/shifter release). I seem to only hear the sound when the car is warm (easily heard with the door open). Just try listening in a quite place after the car is warm, open the door and shift from park to D and if your car is like mine you'll hear what sounds like electrical buzzing with a couple of clicks. It's probably not a big deal but it would be nice to know that it's a normal sound. (I'm still just kind of pissed that my new car was built wrong. The whole reason why I bought a new car to replace my old car was to not have to deal with this kind of crap.)

Steve

 

[isjoining]

uhh the buzzing is normal...almost every automatic transmission makes some sort of noise when going from park to D.

 

[D Bone]

[quote author=ViperKillerWannabe link=topic=70992.msg1247898#msg1247898 date=1173033150]
The fluid is also used as lubrication in automatic transmissions, so yes, running it low on fluid can damage it.
[/quote]


It is? I didn't know that :shock:



Darryl

 

[azazel1024]

[quote author=ViperKillerWannabe link=topic=70992.msg1247898#msg1247898 date=1173033150]
The fluid is also used as lubrication in automatic transmissions, so yes, running it low on fluid can damage it.
[/quote]

That is if you run it to low. No clue what to low is until later sadly. If it was even a couple of quarts its not likely to have caused undue damage.
-Matt

 

[HouRman]

I would have checked the dipstick to see if you were at the minimum mark.

If you were it would save you the paranoia you're experiencing... hehe

 

[skellington]

I didn't expect my new car to be leaking ATF (so why would I check the level?). I just happened to notice on several occasions that there was an oily puddle under my car. At first I just assumed it was from my last car or possibly other cars (when parking in parking lots) but eventually realized it was coming from my car. The leaking always happened on black surfaces so I couldn't see the color but finally when I took it to the dealer it dripped on their white floor and was clearly pink in color (obviously ATF fluid).

I did notice that the auto shifted less smoothly when upshifting and harsher when downshifting (like going down to 1) and that it would get kind of 'lost' when slowing down then accelerating again - like it would take a long time to get off the torque converter and downshift. Now that it is full again, the shifting is much better.

Oh well, the powertrain warranty is 5 years and the odds of me having the car past that period are pretty low under normal circumstances and even lower now that I'm paranoid about the tranny...heh

Steve

 

[skellington]

Oh yeah, I guess the moral of this story is check your ATF level especially if the transmission seems to be acting strange.