If you are using an automatic car, it is of quite a possibility that you’ve never given the transmission filter that serious a thought. To make you feel at ease, let us also assure you, that in most cases this part is not even counted when there is a discussion going on about the basic maintenance schedule, at the service center. Rather it is quite strange a fact, that unlike most other filters that are used on a car or even on heavy-duty vehicles, the automatic transmission filter never gets included in the intervals of specific service schedules.
Questions We Asked
When we first got to know specifically about the automatic transmission filter, we wanted to know about the following:
- What is different with this transmission filter?
- Why it is not included among the other filter maintenance schedule?
- Do we ever need to change it?
We asked the experts at the service center of the Mazda dealer Riverside, and they came up with some answers that were really new to us. Hence, we found them worth sharing.
The Difference from Other Filters
The first thing we were clarified about the automatic transmission filter is that there is a crucial difference between every other filter in a vehicle and the automatic transmission filter. While all other filters are open, the automatic transmission filter is a part of a completely closed system. All filters like air filter, oil filter, and gas filter are to prevent all probable contamination of these components from the dust and debris of the outside world because the engine and fuel tanks are open and are exposed to dirt, the automatic transmission filter is placed within a completely closed system, hence there is no opening to get in touch with external pollutants. Though there’s a vent purposely designed to release the excessive pressure that can eventually get built up inside it as and when the car heats up, it doesn’t suck the air in through that vent. So, the automatic transmission filter stays disconnected completely from the external world, so it doesn’t get dirty in the usual manner.
Role of the Automatic Transmission Filter
That made us even more curious to know, then what is the role of the automatic transmission filter in a car? What is the necessity of installing this filter, that doesn’t act to filter out any dirt? While all the other filters need to be regularly changed, the automatic transmission filter doesn’t seem to be changed the same way, then what does it do? The experts explained it plays two different roles that are described below:
Displaying the Shift
The experts at the Riverside Mazda dealership service center said that the automatic transmission filter is mostly there to catch any of the leftovers that might be there when the car was going through the manufacturing process. At the time of making there can be some flaws remaining inside the closed units and the transmission might end up circulating them in the hydraulic fluid. It is then that the automatic transmission filter catches these items, preventing them from posing any threat to the transmission.