What does Perth ask of a gearbox?
Most of the metro area is flat coastal plain, which is easy on a transmission. The hard work comes from load and heat: towing a van or a boat south on Forrest Highway, climbing onto the Darling Scarp, and crawling through the morning peak with the air conditioning running on a hot day.
Heat and load are what work transmission fluid hardest. RACV says towing, heavy loads and heavy stop-start traffic can call for servicing around every six months, so if that's how your car is used, ask whether the book's tougher schedule covers the transmission fluid too.
Where Perth gearboxes earn their keep
Greenmount Hill
Great Eastern Highway climbs onto the Darling Scarp at Greenmount Hill, a steep 3 km slope with a 7% gradient. It's steep enough that heavy vehicles are held to 40 km/h on the way down. A loaded car or towing rig works the gearbox on the climb, and a lower gear on the descent saves the brakes.
Holiday towing
Forrest Highway carries on from the Kwinana Freeway east of Mandurah for 95 km to Bunbury. If you take a caravan or a boat down that way, or tow anywhere regularly, tell the mechanic, because it changes what they look for.
The morning crawl
When weekday traffic slows to almost half the speed limit, an automatic spends a lot of time creeping and shifting at low speed. If an auto starts shifting late or harshly after summer, mention it, along with how much of its life is spent in traffic.
Autos, CVTs and manuals
A CVT uses pulleys and a metal belt instead of fixed gears. CarsGuide's advice on a CVT that's slow to engage or slips under load is to check the fluid first: these are sealed systems, so a low level suggests a leak. A noise from a worn CVT tends to get louder, and driving on risks more damage.
Whatever the gearbox, RAC WA says to stop fully before switching between drive and reverse. On a manual, slipping, juddering or a high biting point is usually the clutch: clutch repairs in Perth.
Signs to have it looked at soon
- Revs flare between gears, or the car is slow to move off in drive or reverse.
- Harsh, late or jerky shifts, especially once it's warm.
- A whine or hum that changes with road speed.
- Reddish fluid under the car, or a burnt smell after a long climb or a tow.
- A transmission warning light, or the car dropping into limp mode.
Where we'd start
We'd write down exactly when it happens before the mechanic calls: cold or hot, uphill, towing, or after a long freeway stretch. Then we'd ask for the fluid level and condition to be checked and the fault codes read, before anyone talks about a rebuild or a replacement gearbox.