this is going to sound really stupid but please appease me on this one ----
When people say the transmission is slipping what exactly does that mean? What do you feel?

 

I would like to know as well. Some of my Maxima buddies have been complaining about this.

 

It's when you hit the gas and the engine RPM's go up but the car doesn't go any faster. In my case mine slipped in my Talon (auto trans) when I hit the gas a little too hard when the engine/trans. were too cold (under 5min. of driving). I almost wound up red-lining the thing. Manual transmissons are a lot more notable for slipping when they are getting worn out.

BUT!! When the torque converter (auto trans. only) unlocks it has a built in amount of slippage until a steady cruising speed versus engine RPM is reached. You'll know when the converter locks again because the RPM's will go down a bit and the car is at the same speed. Almost as if it went into a higher gear.

 

When the tranny in my TL-S started "slipping", it was obvious!! When the car tried to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, the car revved (like I had the car in neutral while hitting the gas) and when it finally caught the gear, typically I would be had a high RPM and the car would shoot forward and make a banging noise. When it was happening often, I was able to let off the gas so it didn't slam into gear.....

When the tranny starts slipping, life expectancy of that thing is very short!!!