Failing Transmission

gnateimaj

I bought a used 2008 Mazda 3 with 44k miles, less than three months ago. My transmission already needs to be replaced. My AT light came on for the automatic transaxle... My mechanic checked it and said the transmission is bad. The bowl (?) in the transmission was bad? I don't know. I don't understand cars at all but I feel like the dealership should have checked the transmission before selling it. It's not like it's a problem that comes out of nowhere.

The kicker is, the dealership I bought my car from is now under new ownership. It was a Subaru dealer and it is now another Subaru dealer. They went under new ownership last week. Just my luck, right? I didn't have the extended warranty or anything, so I'm going to be out $3,500 for a new transmission when I just bought the car for about $10k.

Any advice? I know I could get a used transmission, but do I want to risk it even further? I had to take a loan out for this car to begin with. I don't have $3,500 just lying around. I'm checking with friends as well. Spending that much money for a repair, which I don't know if it's worth it, is giving me anxiety.

Oh, and the new manager at the dealership I bought my car from suggested that I just try to trade the car in. When I asked if I would even get anything for a car with a bad transmission, he said "Well, if they don't know it's bad then you might." Super shady, if you ask me. Besides, the AT light is on... it wouldn't go unnoticed. *sigh*

Mr_Shiftright

You should get a second opinion on that transmission, definitely. Does it behave normally?

gnateimaj

Mr_Shiftright said:

You should get a second opinion on that transmission, definitely. Does it behave normally?

Oh, I forgot to mention that when accelerating, my car shifts through all 5 gears. But when decelerating, my car skips gear 2. Sometimes there's a hard jolt when accelerating, but it doesn't happen often.

And once in awhile, when the car shifts from 2nd to 3rd or maybe 3rd to 4th gear, the car makes a really noticeable, loud enough to feel that shifting, buts it's not normal. When this happens, it feels like someone threw a wrench at my undercarriage.

I think I should be feeling my car shifting more than a regular automatic since I have a techtonic (?) option but have yet to actually use the "manual" shifting. But I don't think it should sound like something is hitting my car.

Mr_Shiftright

It's going to need a professional diagnosis. A good trans shop could drop the pan and also do external pressure tests. You need some kind of proof before you just condemn a transmission. Maybe just a sticking valve body or malfunctioning solenoid could cause this.