Expert: Rob Painter - 10/17/2010

Question
mine sits a lot . I drive it about once a week ,but when I drove it last the transmission started miss shifting and then slipping .when I stopped it would take off ok but seemed to have problems when in higher gears . before that it had never had any problems .I checked the trans fluid and it was fine . I parked it and the next day it would`nt start due to a low battery . could one have anything to do with the other ?  

Answer
Hello,

The transmission problem should not have anything to do with an engine cranking situation and you could be dealing with a coincidence, because both problems can be caused by the same situation, the lack of use of the vehicle.

Many over the years thought low mileage on a vehicle was better than high mileage but this is not always true. It depends on how the miles are put on as well as occasional use compared to constant use.

Now, you may have a variety of different things that could be potentially wrong in the transmission, but if this car is parked for a majority of time and all of a sudden there is a problem with shifting and the level is full, the first thing I would do is get the trans fluid changed, either by flushing or by pulling the pan and changing the filter. It could be that the filter is plugged creating your problem.

If you are driving this once a week, the fluid is circulating through the transmission. Once you park, everything settles. Now you go to drive it, since it was parked last and you have a problem. Nothing else has changed. If that fluid is from 1994 it definitely needs to be changed anyway. That is far too long for fluids. I recommend no longer than 2 years or 75,000 miles between changing the fluid. Over time, not only does it get dirty from clutch and component material, but the fluid does break down as well.


As for the battery-how old is it? I have seen people with 94 cars still have the original battery. That is liven on a prayer!

Lack of use is the worst thing for batteries. They don't get constantly charged and they sulfate from sitting. If the battery is over 3-5 years old (depending on the battery), you are on borrowed time and one day, you will be stranded.

Try a transmission flush or change the filter. That may just fix the problem.

Go to the parts store and have a load test done on your battery (its free) and you will know where you stand.

Good luck!

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