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A DRIVING FORCE FOR TODAY'S TRANSMISSION REPAIR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  Why is transmission repair so costly?

  Transmission repair is a major undertaking, with many parts having to be removed, cleaned, inspected, and tested.  Today's transmissions are extremely complex pieces of equipment comprised of many sub-assemblies that each have to be assembled to extremely close tolerances, then placed into the transmission case along with many other sub-assemblies that have gone through the same process.  After all the sub-assemblies are repaired and replaced in the case, it now has to be tested as a complete unit, then re-installed in the vehicle and tested again.  Depending upon your vehicle, the process of removing and re-installing the transmission can take many hours on its own, that is not including the hours spent to diagnose and repair the problem.

  Why can't I get a price quote over the phone?

  About 20 years ago there were only about 12 different transmissions in use, depending upon the manufacturer of the vehicle.  This allowed many repair shops to keep a good stock of rebuilt transmissions on hand and ready for installation.  When these units failed, no matter how unusual the failure, the shops generally had a good stock of replacement parts on hand to do a quick and efficient repair.

  Today's vehicles use many different types of transmissions, and it's not that uncommon to see the same make, model, and year of vehicle, utilizing up to 4 different transmissions, depending on the options (towing pkg., engine size, etc...)  or combination of options that particular vehicle has.  It is also not that unusual to see the same transmission having a different variation, or modification depending on the vehicle.  Other factors that can affect pricing in today's transmission industry are that most vehicles transmissions are controlled by the computer and have to work hand in hand with the rest of the vehicle, so the problem may not even be caused by a transmission problem.

  The repair technician has to conduct a series of tests to accurately determine the cause of the problem, so that they can provide you, the customer, with an accurate repair estimate for every individual vehicle and problem.

  What is involved in a transmission service and flush?

  When a transmission is serviced, we start by draining the old fluid by removing the transmission pan. The next step is to remove the transmission filter, we then inspect the fluid, pan, and filter for signs of excessive wear or any broken parts.  If there is no damage found the technician will replace the filter with a new one, as well as replace the gasket on the transmission pan, and reinstall the pan. The technician will the proceed with flushing the remaining old fluid out of the converter and cooling system and replacing it with new fluid. This process can help your transmission continue working properly and last longer by removing the contaminants that can build up in the fluid over time.