Having That Run Down Feeling

My minivan leaks transmission fluid. Not a lot, there are no puddles, it’s more of an intermittent drip. It’s enough to let me see where I’ve parked but not enough for someone to follow a trail. I think it’s some sort of design flaw. Other minivans I’ve had have done the same thing. I’ve just gotten used to bringing along a couple of quarts of transmission fluid to periodically top off the tranny.

There are times, though, when I forget to check for a while and the van follows this pattern: It backs out of the drive just fine but when I put it in to Drive, it just sits there. Sometimes it takes a little while to hit the gear and start moving forward. Other times it doesn’t. It stays at an angle blocking the alley and waits for me to feed it. It did that last week and I jumped out, dug around in the back for the tranny fluid, popped the hood, pulled the dip stick and started to pour.

I think when the van first nudged me is when I realized the gear shift wasn’t in Park. A further nudge confirmed I’d put in enough ATF to get the vehicle moving, though standing in front of it while I had this realization was more than a little problematic.. I don’t recall ever having a vehicle chase me down an alley (or anywhere else for that matter), having it be a vehicle I owned made it a little more unnerving. I had never been mean to it, I oiled and fueled it regularly, cleaned it out and washed it once in a while, and yet here it was trying to run me over.

I don’t run as well as I used to but having a ton and a half vehicle bearing down on me gave a little extra motivation to move. I managed to get far enough ahead to side step it, jump into the driver’s seat smash on the brake. I put the gear shift to Park and put on the emergency brake before I got back out.

The hood was still open and the dip stick was where I left it by the radiator. The engine was making a noise like I should pour some more ATF down the spout but I figured it had enough for now. I rammed the dip stick hard down its tube several times muttering, “You thought you could run me over, huh, take that!” Jab. Jab. Jab

The minivan ran more smoothly than normal for the rest of the day. I think it was trying to apologize. I haven’t decided whether to accept or not. The experience is still a little nervy. I think I’m just going to watch for a while to make sure this was a lapse and not part of a new pattern. If it continues to be good I’ll give it some high octane for a treat but I think I’ll be pouring the ATF from the side.