I’m a mechanic with more than 55 years experience – here are the top 5 things you should NEVER do to your automatic

AN experienced mechanic has revealed his top 5 tips that you should never do to your automatic.

Scotty Kilmer, who has more than 55 years experience, urged drivers to be aware of how to get the most out of their vehicles.

The motors whizz boasts nearly 6 million subscribers on YouTube and often hands out valuable tips and advice to fellow motor enthusiasts.

In a video uploaded to his channel, Scotty explained the reasoning behind his latest piece of advice.

He said: "Automatic transmissions like this Honda cost a lot of money to fix if they go bad.

"Rebuilding them can cost three to five thousand dollars. So you want to take care of them."

Firstly, Scotty advises car owners to never drive through water.

He says that this will damage important vents in your automatic car by sucking water into the transmission.

Scotty adds: "Water and automatic transmissions do not go together.

"If you get water in your transmission sometimes you get lucky and flush it out and it'll work.

"But often it will destroy the entire transmission and you'll need a new one."

The motors whizz says that it's also important to never have your car go from drive into reverse while the car is moving.

This is especially true if your gear stick is located down between your front seats.

Scotty says that if you accidentally hit it into reverse while you're driving down the road it "will destroy the transmission" - leaving you with huge costs on your hands.

The experienced mechanic also warned any car owners to not leave your car in drive if you are idling for a "long period of time".

He said: "Leaving it in drive if you're idling for a long time can lead to overheating of the inside of the transmission.

"If you're going to be sitting there for a really long time just shut the car off or at least put it into park."

Scotty explains that in 'park' gear it is not directly connected and the torque converter isn't sending a lot of power.

The knowledgeable mechanic says "it won't get quite as hot in park as it will in drive".

Another top tip from the mechanic was directed towards thrill-seekers.

While doing burnouts might look cool and be a lot of fun, Scotty says that it is "one of the worst things" you can do for an automatic.

The mechanic adds that while burnouts are obviously not great for any cars, you may only have to replace the clutch.

With an automatic however, burnouts could well destroy the whole automatic transmission, according to the expert.

Last but not least, Scotty shared a top tip in regards to transmission fluid.

He said: "If you have a later model car, don't listen to nonsense that says there's no need to replace ATF under normal driving conditions."

Scotty warns that although people may counter that the fluid is good for the life time of the transmission, this is not the case.

He adds that if you don't clean your fluid the "lifetime of the transmission becomes less and less."

Scotty said: "You don't want dirty fluid in you want to change it regularly.

"Yes modern cars use synthetic fluid that can handle heat better and break down less but eventually it does break down."

The motors expert urged drivers to change their transmission fluid every sixty to eighty thousand miles to help make your car "last as long as it possibly can".

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