Bumper to Bumper Radio, the car guys on KTAR, 92.3 FM in Phoenix, AZ, broadcast every Saturday from 11:00 am to noon. On this show, Dave Riccio of Tri-City Transmission in Tempe, AZ and Matt Allen of Virginia Auto Service in Phoenix, AZ talk about your car’s transmission: warning signs, types of service, and what to expect over time from your vehicle’s transmission. Also on this show:

• How often do transmissions need to be serviced or even replaced?
• How heat affects your transmission.
• What does a “traditional transmission service” entail?
• How often and why do valve bodies and solenoids fail?
• Is your transmission really “sealed?”
• Tip of the week.
• 1992 Toyota Celica: My steering wheel jerks suddenly to the right. Any idea what this could be?
• 2006 Toyota 4Runner: There’s no information in my owner’s manual relating to servicing my transmission. What would you recommend to me as far as changing my transmission fluid?
• 2007 Ford Freestyle: Is it possible to rebuild my CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)?
• 2004 Lexus IS300: How often should I have my front-end aligned on this vehicle?
• 2012 Honda Odyssey: Shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, it feels like my transmission revs hard into a “launch.” What is the issue here?
• 2001 Lexus: I’ve been having issues shifting- up as well as down intermittently. It turned out to just be a bad connection after I was told I may need to replace the entire transmission at the dealership. Does this happen often?
•  2009 Toyota Corolla: The check engine light in my vehicle came on, and I was told it was a pressured solenoid. At only 80k miles- should this be a problem already?
• 2010 Hyundai Elantra: Because of the high mileage of this vehicle (>200k) my mechanic has told me that he wouldn’t recommend flushing the transmission. Is this true?

Cars talked about on this show are the 1992 Toyota Celica, 2006 Toyota 4Runner, 2007 Ford Freestyle, 2004 Lexus IS300, 2012 Honda Odyssey, 2001 Lexus, 2009 Toyota Corolla, and 2010 Hyundai Elantra.