The transmission system is one of the most easily ignored parts of a vehicle until it causes problems. If you're wondering whether your ride requires transmission service, these five indications will tell you whether it's time to visit a shop.

Loss of a Gear 

Many vehicles experience the loss of a gear when the transmission fails. If you're driving up a hill, for example, you might expect the car to drop into climbing gear once it needs extra power. However, rather than getting into that lower gear, the car loses much of its power. Once you get to a flat spot or slow down, though, the car will move into a different gear and seem fine. If your vehicle has lost a gear, it's wise to take it to an auto transmission service provider.

Red Fluid Leaks 

Generally, transmission fluid is a relatively bright red. This may be hard to distinguish from some lighter brown motor oils. However, you can place a white piece of paper under the spot where the leak is and quickly check the color.

Modern transmissions tend to be closed systems. Any leak in this setup is bad. Even if you have an older vehicle that has seals around the transmission, a leak still isn't a great sign. Get the vehicle to a shop immediately.

Slow Engagement

The transmission system may still have all of its gears. However, if it has significant mileage on it, it might take a bit to engage. If you're noticing that the shift takes more than a second to kick in when you change the gear in a manual system or hit the gas in an automatic, there may be a problem with the transmission.

Engine Code

The electronics systems in the transmissions of most modern vehicles send codes to the onboard computer. If any systems are malfunctioning, this will kick the check engine light on and throw up a code. Lots of newer cars allow you to access the code information through the infotainment setup. If yours doesn't, you can still use plug a scanner into the diagnostic port to see the codes. Nearly all car parts places and auto repair shops offer to scan for free, too, so you can call easily around and find out who provides scanning near you if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.

Grinding Sounds

You should never hear a grinding sound when the car shifts gears. Anything other than a smooth shift is bad so ask an auto transmission service technician to run a diagnostic.

For more information, contact a company like Denville Transmission.