My Transmission is Shot

When Your Transmission Goes Out: What Car Trouble Taught Me About Living with a Brain Injury

We had a vehicle with a transmission starting to fail. The vehicle would act strange. The engine was revving, but the power wasn’t reaching the wheels the way it should. Shifting felt delayed and clunky. We made it home, but the warning lights came on, and we knew something was seriously wrong with the transmission.

After a painful diagnostic visit, the mechanic confirmed it: transmission is failing. Not a cheap or simple fix. The part that transfers power from the engine to the drivetrain was damaged, and without it, the vehicle couldn’t do what it was built for—even though the engine itself was still running strong. Sound familiar?

That moment hit me hard because it mirrored exactly what happened to my brain three years ago after my traumatic brain injury (TBI).