hopper

A month ago I was traveling back from out of state, I had the cruse control on at 70ish and started going up a hill. Part the way up something weird happened... almost like the cruse control stopped working. I pulled over and checked but couldn't find anything wrong.

4-5 days ago I keep getting some weird slip, almost like tires broke free, every time I took off from a dead stop. It happened 4-5 times but didnt happen next time I drove.

Today I was driving on the freeway and every time it would downshift out of overdrive the tranny would slip a little (could see the rpm's jump a bar or two and could feel the power loss) before hooking up. And now the issue with the start from dead start has shown its head again.

I am over due for a tranny fluid change but was recommended by a friend to hold off an drive it till it fails. What do you guys think?

Any advise would be good for me as I am broke too. :/

mastacox

Auto transmissions can have some black magic associated with fluid changes. If you change it religiously you're good to go, but it may start slipping depending on how it's driven; a fluid change might help. If on the other hand it's way overdue and starts slipping, a flush might finish it off...

Sounds to me like you'd better start saving up for a used transmission, this one might be on its way out. You can inspect your fluid, but I'm with your friend in not changing it until you have a better picture of what you're dealing with.