Okay the car is a 2007 TL Type-S Automatic Transmission with 119,000.

The other day while driving to Westminster MD (150 Miles) my car's CEL came on. Didnt think much of it just let it go nothing felt wrong.

Today I was driving to Salisbury to pick up my pistol (30 miles and S&W M&P 40 full size ) and when I was at a light the RPM's went up as i was trying to accelerate and it would accelerate very slowly. This is when i started to freak out. Then I was curious what gear i was actually in so i moved the sports shifter over and it would not tell me anyhting (normally it shows up in the cluster) this was odd to me as well. The shifts between gear got harder and I mean they were slamming into gear.

Got home about 3 miles after this started and just let it sit since i just was not in the mood to mess with it yet.

Got back home later (didnt take the TL) and decided to look under the car to see if anything was dripping and sure enough there was a few drips on the drive way, its cement so i know it was fresh.



I found this on the drivers sides suspension arm under the car and there was a decent amount of it.

I literally just walked in from checking my fluids. My oil and transmission are extremely low. I have never had a problem with my oil ever.

Any idea what is leaking, why it is leaking, the possible damage, and preventative actions to reduce more damage?

Lay on my hard

 

Check all fluids. What is the code?

 

red is usually trans fluid

supposed to check the fluid with the trans hot and within a minute of turning the car off

probably going to have to jack up the car and remove the driver's side wheel to find where it's coming from or put it on a lift and look around under the car

 

Hopefully it's only your axle seal leaking and the shifting problems are a result of low fluid.

 

Well to day I decided to take a closer look at the problem. Checked the oil first and it was realy really low, couldnt ever get a reading and there was a little bit pooling on my driveway. Before we started it we went and got some since im not driving to do anymore harm. Put it in and let it idle to see if we could see anything becuase I was about to take it back to the shop where it got fixed after the accident. A big oil spot in the driveway so obviously it wasnt going anywhere.

Looked under the hood, removed the wheel, pulled the shrouds out of the way, couldnt find the source. Then out of nowhere I was looking down and saw this



Center of the photo about an inch down there is a clip. That clip somehow moved a few inchs and was no longer holding pressure on the pipe it was supposed to be connected to. No idae how that happened since it was so f'n hard to get it back on but eventually we did and didnt leak anymore. Maybe when they repaired it they didnt put it in the right spot. Doesnt matter the problem is fixed. Hope this can help someone else some how.

Transmission fluid is still low but I am getting a reading so i guess over time it has just gotten low. Took it for a test drive and it was shifting right, not bucking, slamming, or slamming, and I could just the sport selector again.

Could the leak drop the oil pressure and cause these problems? With the transmission acting goofy.

 

I would definitely read the code.

If the auto got so low that the pump cavitated and it did not want to move, you can get a slippage code. The good thing is an auto that's low on fluid will usually just not move and damage is rarely done. When the ECU senses slip, many times it will go to full line presssure to try and stop it which will result in hard shifts. I've never looked at the way the TL does things but that's pretty common. Usually it's going to be worse when cold before the fluid warms up and the leve comes up slightly.

I would top off the engine and transmission and degrease the underside of the engine and transmission so you'll know where it's coming from.

It's kind of odd for the transmission to act up after you were part of the way through your trip if it's due to low fluid unless you were cornering or accelerating hard.

 

Sorry I posted my last reply this morning and forgot to send.

I've never been under the hood of a TL-S but engine oil cooler lines are usually not secured with cheap quick release clamps. Transmission coolers are.

 

Im getting ready to buy some more transmission fluid to top it off with. What should I buy?

 

oem DW-1, redline D4, or redline type F racing(mixture, not full)

 

^x2

 

If you're just topping it off, a quart or two, I would do Type F. With 2 quarts of Type F added the FM level is not going to be any lower than straight Dex III. Otherwise I would do a Dex III fluid like Redline D4, Amsoil ATF or the 20 or so other brands that carry this spec.