The Neighbourhood Mechanic: Unfixed problems can lead to expensive repairs

I think most of us have seen the movie Christine. It's a story of a 1957 Plymouth Coupe that wreaks havoc on a small mid-western town and yet miraculously restores itself to pristine condition by morning. Cars that can restore themselves? Only in the movies. In real life these things don't happen. Most of the time “that noise” won't go away by itself. When your ride is acting up, get someone to check it, sooner than later. Small failures and easy fixes if left unattended could lead to serious component failure and costly repairs. When visiting your repairer insist they take the vehicle for a drive and, take you along. Not acting up during the test drive? Get the shop to agree to let you drop in without an appointment.

Hi Dave,
I drive an automatic 97 VW Golf CL and have owned it for almost six years. It has about 150,000kms on it. My problem is that while I am driving it feels as if something gets stuck and my drive is not smooth. It seems the gears are not shifting properly. I know there is definitely something not right as the shifting is rough. The engine revs up; finally, the RPM drops and it drives normally again. I was told it's the transmission. Then I find out it's not the transmission. I was also told it is maybe the Hall Sensor. Could that be the problem?


The issue described definitely describes a failing transmission. Best advice is to switch shops, one that is better prepared to diagnose this condition and spend quality time with you and the car. Rough shifting and engine flaring don't always mean a complete transmission rebuild. Many times the fault lies in a bad ground or faulty sensor. Make sure you take the tech for a drive to best describe the problem.