‘They’re just subconscious habits’: Mechanic warns one thing drivers do every day is costing them thousands in repairs

A mechanic is warning drivers that small everyday habits are slowly ruining their automatic transmissions. These mistakes could end up costing you $3,000 to $7,000 to fix. A creator named Budget Mechanic (@budgetmechanic1) shared this advice on TikTok, and his videos got over 12 million views.

According to Motor1, he’s not talking about crazy driving. He means small careless actions that build up over time. These actions damage important fluids and wear out parts inside the transmission long before any warning light shows up. Most people don’t even realize they’re doing these things.

“Often, they’re just subconscious habits that we don’t even realize we’re doing,” he says in one of his TikTok videos. The worst mistake is switching from reverse to drive while your car is still rolling backward, even just a little bit. Many drivers do this when backing out of parking spots. We think moving at 1 or 2 MPH doesn’t matter, but it actually does major harm.

Shifting from reverse to drive too quickly causes serious damage

The clutch packs inside your transmission aren’t built to handle the force of a moving car. When you shift while rolling, these parts have to suddenly stop all that movement. Car makers clearly say you should come to a complete stop before changing direction. That small bit of convenience you get by not stopping fully puts huge stress on your transmission. Over thousands of times doing this, the damage adds up.

Another common mistake is putting your car in park on a hill without using the parking brake first. You know that loud clunk sound when you try to shift out of park on a steep hill? That’s the parking pawl struggling under too much pressure. The parking pawl is a small metal hook that’s only meant to keep a stopped car from rolling. It’s not designed to hold thousands of pounds of weight.

When you let your car settle against the pawl, you’re putting way too much force on this tiny part. The mechanic says the right way is simple: stop using your brake pedal, put on the parking brake, and then shift into park. This puts the weight on your brakes, which are made to handle it. This protects the expensive parts inside your transmission.

The mechanic also clears up some old myths. Many people think coasting downhill in neutral saves gas. This might have been true long ago, but not with modern cars. Today’s cars have a feature called deceleration fuel shutoff. This means when your car is in gear and you’re not pressing the gas, the engine already cuts off most fuel use.

Shifting to neutral doesn’t save fuel, but it does create another problem. When you shift back into drive while the wheels are spinning fast, the transmission has to quickly match speeds. This creates a harsh shock that wears out parts faster. Also, coasting in neutral is actually illegal in some states like California and Colorado, because it gives you less control of your car. Just like that last squeeze at the gas pump, small habits can lead to expensive problems.

The easiest way to protect your transmission is to change the fluid. Some manufacturers say their fluid is “lifetime fill,” but “lifetime” usually just means the warranty period, not the car’s actual lifetime. Dirty or old fluid causes rough shifts and slipping, especially in cars with high mileage. Mechanics often find surprising problems under the hood when cars aren’t properly maintained. Changing the fluid regularly is much cheaper than paying thousands for a rebuild.