I recently took my car into a service mechanic because it was idling rough. I had another problem and find it hard to describe, but here goes.
Sometimes when I press on the gas the car starts to go forward and then it seems like the back wheels are slipping and causing the car to jerk and go back and then go forward. It only feels like it’s going back or hesitating a few seconds before it goes forward. The problem seemed to get worse when I was going uphill. It felt like something was slipping out of place in the back wheels. When I took it to the mechanic, he said it needed a tune up and replaced the wires and spark plugs and it seemed to be ok for about a week but it’s starting again.
Any suggestions?
This sounds to me like transmission slip, although you say it feels like your back wheels are slipping. Your car is actually front wheel drive, by the way. The first thing to do is check your transmission fluid level and top it off if it is low. Consult your owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to check your fluid level and follow them exactly. If your fluid level is fine, take your car to an independent transmission shop to have the problem diagnosed and repaired. Do not take your car to a chain transmission shop (AAMCO, Mr Transmission, etc) unless you want to buy a rebuilt transmission whether you need it or not. Hopefully transman will come along and give us a good idea about what specifically could be wrong.
I took my car to have the transmission fluid checked and it was almost dry. There is a leak some where. I’m going to take it in again tomorrow night and see how much has leaked since it was filled tonight. The person who topped it off said it probably just needs a gasket and gave me some suggestions as to where to take it to get it checked out.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive a repair.
The missing transmission fluid is a problem and if your description is actually transmission slip then what you do is have it fixed now and cross your fingers that the damage wasn’t too bad.
Basically, a decent mechanic is going to have to check the car over and drive it. The problem with getting any good input right now is that you apparently have both some problems with how the engine is running and problems with the transmission. There are just too many different things that can be involved and need to be checked and looked at. Find your best local, independent mechanic, try to tell them what is going on, and have them drive it.
Someone looked at it tonight and said I have a leak in the cooler line. He topped it off because it had leaked some since I had it filled last night. When I drive it now since it is topped off I have no problems at all. The car runs smoothly.