Transmission Oil Overheating | 4 Causes & Solutions for You

Transmission oil is always important for the vehicle engine, especially for the transmission system. But, when it becomes overheated, your vehicle engine will face several problems. It is essential to keep focusing on the transmission oil so that it doesn’t become overheated.

Transmission oil overheated means that there is some internal damage to your vehicle engine. Moreover, the oil may leak, low fluid level, and others. Dirty fluid or the contamination of transmission oil also overheated the engines without any doubt.

However, when you find your transmission oil becomes overheated, you should take proper steps to solve the problem. This article helps you to find out the exact problem and also get an effective solution. So, keep reading.

Transmission Oil Overheating

What Is Transmission Oil Overheating?

When the oil flows, it produces heat temperature, and most of the premium oil keeps cool down when it flows. However, transmission overheated occurs when the engine cooler can’t maintain the transmission temperature.

Even the oil cooler is not controlled by the minimum temperature of transmission oil. It created this problem because of leaking of oil, contamination of oil, dirty oil, and so on.

On the other hand, the oil filter also causes this problem. When the filter is unable to filter the transmission oil, the oil becomes contaminated and dirty, which overheats the oil.

Transmission Oil Overheating (Some Core Reasons)

Transmission oil becomes overheated due to several reasons. However, the cooler of the engine is also an important factor that keeps the oil cool and flows properly.

This section helps you to get some core reasons so that you can easily find out the exact reasons and take the proper steps to solve them. So, let’s get started.

  • Engine Cooler

This is the major reason why your transmission oil becomes overheated. When the engine cooler fails to cool down the engine, the oil becomes hotter. You should check out the engine cooler properly, and if you find any issues, you need to repair the engine cooler as soon as possible.

  • Oil Contaminated

This is another core reason which makes the high temperature. When the oil is contaminated, the engine cooler is unable to cool down the oil, and finally, the oil becomes hotter. It is a common issue that comes with most of the vehicles.

  • Low or Bad Transmission Fluid

It is advisable for vehicle owners to use premium transmission fluid. However, low transmission fluid cause overheated problem. On the other hand, bad transmission fluid comes with dirty elements and also rusted things which are also responsible for making the transmission fluid overheated.

  • Hot Weather

When the weather becomes too much hot, and the climate becomes harsh, so many premium coolers are unable to keep the transmission oil cool down. If you park your car without any shade and the day is much hotter, this problem comes out without any reason.

How to Fix Overheating Transmission?

To fix an overheating transmission problem, you should find out the problem first. I strongly believe that the above 4 reasons help you to find out the exact problem.

However, check out the following solutions one by one and fix your transmission oil overheating problem.

  • Fix the Engine Cooler Problem

Engine cooling problem means your transmission becomes overheated. However, it is a little bit tricky to fix the cooling system of the engine when you are a beginner person about this matter. I would love to suggest you contact a reputed shop to fix the problem.

  • Fix Contaminated Oil

When your oil comes with a contamination problem, you should fix it as soon as possible. First of all, you should check out the oil filter and, if possible, change the oil filter. It helps you to get pure oil and normal-temperature transmission oil.

  • Used Premium Transmission Oil

Try to use premium transmission oil so that it can flow properly and avoid high temperatures. Moreover, you should also avoid low-flow oil because it also makes the oil much hotter on the engine.

  • Avoid Hot Weather

Sometimes hot weather makes the oil overheated and keeps the cooler unable to work. In this situation, you should park your car under a shade. Similarly, you can also cover the oil area so that the oil can’t overheat and flow properly.

CVT Transmission Overheating Symptoms

When CVT transmission overheating, you will get some common symptoms. So, which symptoms will you get when the transmission overheats? Check out the following 5 reasons and solve them to avoid CVT transmission overheating.

  1. You will get a burning smell under the hood, and it is practically proven
  2. The engine temperature gauge is higher than normal
  3. The shifting gear may not work properly, and of course, it works slowly
  4. Your car shift slips when the transmission overheats
  5. The engine revs, but the car does not move which is another symptom

These 5 symptoms are common symptoms that you get when the transmission overheating. When you find these symptoms in your vehicle, you need to fix the transmission overheated problem.

How to Cool Down Transmission Fast?

When the transmission fluid overheats, it takes some time to cool down. But, if you want to get a fast cooldown of your transmission, you can follow the below 6 tips and tricks.

  1. Park the car and brake the car instantly
  2. After that, you need to open the hood and find out the oil dipstick
  3. Place the long funnel of your car and open the transmission fluid
  4. Now, you will get a hole that you need to fill up with oil
  5. Once you have refilled the oil, return the dipstick and close the car hood
  6. Don’t forget to park your car in a shaded place

After completing these 6 points, the hot transmission becomes cool down as fast as possible. After cooling the transmission, you can again drive the car without facing any troubles.

What Happens When Transmission Oil Overheated?

The first problem you will face is that your vehicle transmission failed. It is the main reason why you need to stop running your vehicle when the transmission overheats.

Secondly, the shift gear causes problems. Your vehicle engine will start, but it doesn’t move properly. It moves slowly when you use fast gear. Moreover, the overheated transmission also produces a burning smell, which truly sucks.

Third, the temperature gauge is higher than normal. In this situation, you can’t drive your car continuously when this problem comes out.

These are the major issues that you will discover when the transmission is overheated. So, you have to fix the problem as soon as possible to safely and comfortably drive the car.

FAQs (Frequently Ask Questions)

Q: How do you stop transmission fluid from overheating?

Answer: If you want to stop transmission fluid from overheating, you need to fix the engine cooler. After that, you need to avoid using contaminating oil for your vehicle. Overall, it would help if you avoided hot weather and some other things to stop transmission fluid from overheating.

Q: Can transmission fluid cause the engine to overheat?

Answer: The answer is yes. Transmission fluid causes the engine to overheat. The oil contamination and other harmful elements don’t flow properly, and the engine cooler is also unable to cool down the engine. So, it is important to use the right transmission fluid to avoid overheating the engines.

Q: What burns transmission fluid?

Answer: Overheating is the main cause that burns transmission fluid. Moreover, insufficient cooling is another reason which burns the transmission fluid. Even the hot weather is also responsible for burning the transmission without any doubt.

Conclusions

Transmission oil overheating comes with several reasons. Engine cooler is the main reason which overheated transmission. However, hot weather, bad oil, or low oil are other reasons that also make the transmission overheated. The above 4-reasons and solutions may help you a lot to fix the overheated problem of your transmission oil.

Emon

Emon is Lubricants specialist who studied on Petroleum Engineering in UAE. He have more than 10 years experience on different kinds of lubrication including automobile troubleshooting.

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