One of the most important systems that keep your car moving is your transmission. In fact, your transmission is responsible for sending power to your wheels to maintain speed and direction. Switching from Drive to Reverse is one of the toughest gear changes on your transmission because it involves the most effort, completely reversing the motion of your transmission. That means if you have a problem with your transmission, you’re likely to have trouble maintaining speed or changing gears.
Your car will only go backward, meaning you’re stuck. What exactly does this mean for your car? There are a few possibilities, some more serious than others. It’s important to be sure about what’s impacting your car’s motion so you don’t run into more problems down the road.
A simple and easy possibility is that your transmission fluid is low, old, or both. Fortunately, you may even be able to top off your transmission fluid at home if you’re comfortable with doing simple car maintenance yourself and know what type of transmission fluid your car needs. That is likely a temporary fix since your transmission is a closed system. If your transmission fluid is low, that means you have a leak somewhere that needs to be addressed. If your transmission fluid is dirty, you shouldn’t top it off and should instead get it to a mechanic for a transmission fluid flush.
Your car’s speed sensor reads how fast you’re going and sends that information to your car so that it can change gears accordingly. Typically, if your speed sensor is wearing out, it can make changing gears difficult or erratic. In some cases, that can keep your car from changing gears at all, meaning you could get stuck in Reverse.
It’s also possible you have a more serious transmission repair on your hands. Because of your transmission’s job, there could be a number of inner parts that are wearing out or faulty. This makes it difficult to diagnose on your own and should be trusted to a mechanic trained in transmission repairs. There are a lot of moving parts inside your transmission, all of which are equally important to keeping your car running, so don’t take any transmission problem lightly.
Truth be told, the best and only thing to do if your car seems to be stuck in reverse, is to get it to a trusted mechanic. Even if you’re able to do a temporary fix like adding more transmission fluid , there is still most likely an underlying problem that should be addressed and repaired as soon as possible.
Due to the complexity and importance of your car’s transmission, it’s not a good idea to try to find the problem yourself. Instead, you should entrust your car repairs to a transmission expert so that you know the problem has been fully repaired. Putting off fully fixing your transmission will only lead to worse repairs down the road if you keep driving your car.
For all your auto maintenance and transmission repair needs, our expert mechanics at AAMCO Utah are here to help. No one likes to hear the words, “You need a transmission repair,” but rest assured that our mechanics will accurately diagnose and repair any problem so you can drive away safely and confidently.
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The post Help! My Car Will Only Go in Reverse first appeared on AAMCO Utah Transmission Repair and General Car Repair.
