Transmission repairs
Harsh shifts and slipping are worth catching early. Fluid tells the story.
Service One Automotive works on automatic and manual transmissions at Factory 9, 266 Osborne Avenue, Clayton South VIC 3169. Harsh or delayed shifting, slipping, leaks, and the fluid service that prevents a good deal of it. Ring 0434 949 091. Please call to confirm current weekday hours.
Fluid is the diagnosis
Automatic transmission fluid does more than lubricate. It carries the pressure that applies the clutches inside the box, so its condition directly changes how the thing shifts.
Burnt smelling fluid, or fluid with fine dark material in it, is the transmission telling you what has been happening inside. Reading that early is the difference between a service and a rebuild.
The sealed for life claim
Plenty of modern automatics are sold as sealed for life with no dipstick and no listed fluid interval. In Melbourne stop start traffic, that fluid still cooks.
We are not going to tell you the manufacturer is wrong about your car. We will tell you what the fluid looks like when we check it, and you can decide from there.
What we do and what we send out
Fluid and filter services, external leaks, mounts, linkages, sensors and the electrical faults that make a healthy box shift badly.
A full internal rebuild is specialist work. If that is what yours needs we will say so plainly and tell you what it involves rather than opening it up to find out.
Bring it in if
- Shifts have turned harsh, or there is a thump going into drive or reverse
- There is a pause before the car takes up drive
- Revs rise between gears without the speed following
- The transmission warning light is on, or the car has dropped into limp mode
- There is red or brown fluid on the driveway
- A manual gearbox whines, or a gear is hard to select
Questions about transmission repairs
Is changing the fluid in a high kilometre automatic risky?
It is a fair question and you will find people online insisting it is. Our view is that the decision depends on the condition of the fluid and the history of the car, so we look first and talk to you before doing anything.
Can a transmission problem actually be an engine problem?
Often. A misfire or a failing sensor can make a perfectly good transmission shift badly, because the two computers talk to each other constantly. This is why we scan before we assume.
Do you rebuild transmissions in house?
Some of it happens here and some goes to a specialist, because a full internal rebuild is its own trade. Tell us the symptoms and we will tell you which one yours is before anything comes apart.
Book transmission repairs
Six short steps, or ring the workshop.
Open weekends by booking only, at the same rates. The booking has to be confirmed before the day, so ring or text ahead.