Transmission not working properly after running over an object on the road

SIOUX94

MEMBER
2010 TOYOTA COROLLA
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

While driving home on a back road I hit an object in the middle of the road which ended up doing some damage to the underside of the car.

After pulling over and doing a quick check everything seemed in order so I continued about another five minutes down the road before my car was basically in neutral despite having the gear selector in drive. Eventually the check engine light, VSC off, and traction control lights lit up and I was essentially stranded. I did another quick check and found some transmission fluid leaking from under the pan.

Now as stupid as it sounds, it was minus forty windchill that night and I was in the middle of nowhere with two hours before AAA was able to come. I left my vehicle running in neutral during this time. Would there be any damage done to the transmission itself in this case? The pan replacement and some other minor repairs alone are going to run me about $1,100.00 and I do not want to take the chance if it is more than likely my transmission is shot.

1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,452 POSTS

Well it probably would have been better to set there in park but any damage that was done would have happened as the transmission ran out of fluid and the car was in motion. The only way to tell would be to patch the hole enough to hold fluid, fill it up and see if the transmission is okay. Or put a catch pan under the leak, fill it up with enough fluid that you can shift through the gears and see if each one works while you hold the brakes. Even then you will not know 100% if the transmission is going to fail in 100 miles or 100,000 miles.