What Happens When My Transmission Fluid Is Low?

It is extremely important to keep your automobile's transmission fluid from being too low, since failure to do so could result in any number of problems with the vehicle's performance.

Significance

  • Transmission fluid is a fluid that serves to lubricate all of the moving parts inside of your automobile's transmission system. In addition to lubricating the transmission, the fluid also helps to cool the system's components and assists in transmitting power from the engine to the transmission system.

Considerations

  • If your automobile's transmission fluid gets too low, it usually means that it has a leak in its transmission system. This is because transmission fluid does not gradually burn away, like engine oil. It can only be lost through leakage. So if you find that your transmission fluid is getting low unusually quickly, you should check your automobile for leaks.

Warning

  • If your automobile's transmission fluid gets too low, it can cause severe damage to your entire transmission system, and possibly force you to eventually get your transmission replaced. Since the transmission fluid acts as a lubricant, the transmission components will start grinding against each other without it. This causes pieces of metal to mix in with the remaining fluid and gradually degrades the system.