• Home
  • Services
  • Specials
  • Blog
  • Location
  • Testimonials
  • About Us
Cloquet Automotive - Transmission Specialists

Winter Condition Affects On Your Transmission

9/12/2013

5 Comments

 
I know none of us want to think about winter conditions, yet, but there are a few conditions that are common to most of the US and Canada during the winter months that are approaching quickly. How you deal with those conditions can have a dramatic effect on your transmission.
Cold Temperatures
Cold Temperatures — When living in Minnesota, winter means cold weather. As the temperatures drop over the next few months, your vehicles fluid will begin to thicken, thus reducing their ability to lubricate. In most cases, you can deal with this simply by driving slowly and cautiously for the first few miles, until your engine and transmission reach normal operating temperature.

Remote car starters are a great invention of the last few years, and they definitely make your car less chilly when first getting in, but try to avoid letting your car idle for extended periods of time. Sure, the passenger compartment will be nice and toasty by the time you get ready to go, but meanwhile your engine will be running rich, creating additional pollution, damaging your catalytic converter, and using expensive fuel to go nowhere.

Also, for many transmissions, you may be damaging the internal components as the engine idles. That’s because some transmissions don’t create lube flow with your shifter in the park position. Oil does not start flowing through the cooler and lube circuits until you physically move the shifter into drive. In other words, internal transmission components are spinning — ice cold — with no lube flow. Not good.

As Minnesotans we know it tends to get really cold in our area. It might be a good idea to invest in an engine heater that plugs into a wall outlet and warms the engine before you come out in the morning. A timer will allow you to start the engine warming a few hours before you’re ready to leave, saving you money, and your car wear.

Cloquet Automotive snowed in
Snow and Ice — Driving on snow and ice is part of a normal winter for us here in Minnesota, but there are specific hazards to your transmission onour roadways that you need to know about.

One that you may not be familiar with is what can happen if you get stuck. Too often, drivers spin their wheels, in the hopes of freeing themselves from a snow drift or icy patch. This can cause major damage to the transmission; here’s how:

Today’s cars use a computer to control transmission operation. When you spin the wheels, the computer sees the vehicle speed rising; in many cases it has no way of knowing that you aren’t really moving. When the speedometer registers 40-or-so MPH, the computer sees the speed, and identifies driving conditions as being right to engage the converter clutch. Now the engine is locked directly to the drive wheels. If the wheels regain traction, their speed will drop suddenly. The result can be catastrophic to the transmission.


The best way to get out of a drift or icy patch is to rock the car back and forth… forward and reverse… until you can get moving again. Or, better yet, get someone to push or pull you out of the snow. Avoid spinning the wheels, or you could end up damaging the transmission.

Picture
Water in the Transmission — No major component of your car can survive indefinitely with water in its internal components. But no other component can be damaged as quickly as your transmission can by water. 

Even a small amount of water in an automatic transmission almost always results in serious failure and major repair bills. The reason is the band and clutch linings are hygroscopic; that is, they absorb water, even if they have to push transmission fluid out of the linings to do it.

This water quickly finds its way down to the metal backings, causing them to rust and lift the linings off of the clutches and bands. The result is metal-to-metal contact, which always means serious damage to the transmission.

To avoid this type of trouble, steer clear of deep puddles. Should you find your car submerged, don’t start the engine. Your only chance of avoiding a big repair bill is to have your car towed into a transmission shop and have all the oil drained out immediately.

If you're lucky, draining and servicing the transmission may be all that’s necessary to save it. If not, your auto insurance may cover part or all of the damage.

So whether it’s snow and ice, water, or just plain cold out, winter delivers a whole new set of conditions just waiting to damage your transmission. Whether it succeeds or not depends on how you deal with those conditions.

5 Comments
Olivia smith link
12/15/2017 05:03:47 am

Thank you for sharing such an informative blog post with us. Transmissions should be properly lubricated for better performance. And during winter season different types of fluids used in the car including the transmission fluid thickens and hence needs proper maintenance. During the winter season car is affected the most and hence needs proper maintenance. Short drives should be avoided, as the battery could be damaged.

Reply
Carla Houston
4/18/2018 05:41:05 am

Nicely written & informative blog post. In the winter the road surface becomes snowy & if we drive our car on snow & ice then transmission gets affected. During winter due to excessive cold, the transmission fluid becomes thick, therefore different parts of the transmission fails to lubricate properly. As a result engine & transmission gets overheated & can't function properly. A little bit of water in the transmission causes serious damage to it. So during winter season transmission must be maintained properly & for proper maintenance & repair of transmission please refer to:
http://www.germanmotorandautocare.com/services/.

Reply
Cynthia Coleman link
5/15/2018 06:25:06 am

Thanks for sharing such an informative post with us. To give better performance transmission must be properly lubricated, but in winter due to excessive cold transmission fluid becomes thick and as a result proper lubrication can't occur. Therefore transmission becomes overheated & can't function properly. Due to extreme cold, parts of the transmission contracts. It could cause a leak in the fluid line and cause transmission slipping. When water enters the transmission from melted snow, this can damage the case & the valve body.

Reply
Elena young link
12/26/2018 03:41:06 am

The freezing temperature of the winter has a negative influence on the performance of the vehicle. Different components of the vehicle couldn't work efficiently during the winter and need proper insulation to stand against the extremely cold temperature of the winter. Apart from this, one should use winter tires to get better control over the vehicle on snowy and slippery surfaces. Lack of regular maintenance could bring the vehicle to a halt during such time period. So, regular maintenance of such components is really essential to protect the vehicle from the extremely cold temperature of the winter.

Reply
Missouri link
2/25/2021 03:03:19 pm

This is a great bblog

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Cloquet Automotive Transmission Specialists

    Follow @CloqAuto

    Cloquet Automotive

    Transmission Specialist for over 30 years!  

    Categories

    All
    Acceleration
    Battery
    Brakes
    Car Care Tips
    Deals/Coupons/Specials
    Diagnostics
    Differential/Drivetrain
    Fuel Economy
    Performance
    Powertrain
    Safety
    Shocks & Struts
    Summer
    Suspension/Steering
    Tires
    Transmission
    Winter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    July 2017
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

SITE MAP

HOME   -   SERVICES   -   ABOUT US   -   TESTIMONIALS   -   SPECIALS   -   LOCATION   -   MEDIA GALLERY   -   BLOG  
Cloquet Automotive
1310 18th Street
Cloquet, MN 55720   I   Phone: 218-879-1974

Follow - Tweet - Share - Contact - Watch
Proudly powered by Weebly