Repair Order #005

Shop Life #005: Transmission Fluid

Wabbit had the transmission on the workbench when the customer stopped beside the open bay door.

“How’s it looking?”

Wabbit glanced at the drain pan.

“Still taking it apart.”

The customer nodded, then pointed to the small jar of red fluid beside the transmission.

“What’s that?”

“Transmission fluid.”

“Huh. Looks like fruit punch.”

Wabbit stopped reaching for his coffee.

He looked at the jar.

Then at the customer.

“It’s not.”

“I know. I’m just saying.”

Wabbit set his mug farther down the bench.

The customer had brought the car in because it had started shifting differently. According to the repair order, “differently” meant a delay going into gear, an occasional flare between shifts, and a noise that had apparently been present for several months.

The transmission was now on the bench for a closer inspection.

Wabbit held the sample jar up to the light. The fluid was red, but color alone wasn’t going to tell him what had gone wrong. He still had the pan, filter, and the rest of the inspection ahead of him.

The customer leaned closer.

“Pretty clean, though. That’s good, right?”

“It’s one thing to look at.”

“So it might just need fresh fluid?”

“Let me finish looking.”

The customer studied the jar again.

“Really does look like fruit punch.”

From somewhere behind the next bay came a voice.

“Doesn’t taste like it.”

Wabbit lowered the jar.

The customer turned toward the other bay.

For several seconds, nobody said anything.

Wabbit looked at the jar, then at his coffee mug sitting safely at the far end of the bench.

He decided he didn’t need the rest of that story.

Instead, he pulled the repair order off the clipboard and wrote:

COMPLAINT: Transmission fluid.
DIAGNOSIS: Not fruit punch.
RECOMMENDATION: Do not drink.
STATUS: Do not taste-test again.

The customer read the last line.

“Again?”

Wabbit clipped the page back into place.

“That’s as much information as I have.”

He labeled the sample jar and returned it to the tray beside the transmission.

Then he picked up his coffee, checked that it was still coffee, and took a sip.

“Looks like fruit punch,” the customer said once more.

Wabbit pulled on a fresh pair of gloves.

“Still don’t drink it.”

Just another day at Wabbits Garage.

Service Record

Technician: Wabbit

Customer Complaint: “It’s shifting differently.”

Diagnosis: Not fruit punch.

Recommendation: Do not drink.

Status: Do not taste-test again.

Lessons Learned: Transmission-fluid color alone doesn’t confirm its condition or identify a fault. Follow the inspection procedure for the specific transmission, and keep automotive fluids in clearly labeled containers away from food and drinks.

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Repair Order #006

Another day. Another repair order.