if my transmission went out,will my car be able to switch gears?with or with out transmission fluid? (automatic)
If your transmission goes out, no, your transmission will not shift. It doesn't matter whether it has fluid in it or not. However, depending on what is wrong with it, your car might still move enough to limp it into a good position to hook a wrecker up to it. That's how my transmission is. It'll drive in reverse and first, but it won't shift out of first.
There are lots of fun and interesting ways for an automatic transmission to fail. It won't go without fluid, though. Some ways that a transmission fails will still allow the car to be driven, but, for example, only in one gear. So your answer is a resounding Sort of.
generally speaking, if the transmission goes out the vehicle may move a little bit under power, like maybe enough to get it on a trailer or down a driveway, but driving on the highway is out of the question if the transmission is truly shot to crap. sometimes blown trans. will shift from first to second, but thats about it. if your trans. fluid is simply low it will make the trans slip and feel like its under too much labor to move the car, you really need to have the trans fluid full to check this aspect. if the trans is just slipping then the fix for it will probably be a torque converter or belts. these fixes are generally cheaper than rebuilding an automatic. (600 dollars versus 2200 dollars). in the case of a shot transmission or a trans thats slipping, its been my experience to just take it to a mechanic for a check, because the automatics of today are stupidly complicated and warrant a certified technichian.
