How can you tell a transmission is going out on a automatic

mine slipped as i started outta the intersection. it would feel like it lost power for a few seconds then pull normally. how often do you change your fluid? 40k miles? look at the dipstick if you have one... see red color or grey/dark?

Best way is to pull the transmission dip stick and with a clean white cloth wipe down the dipstick. If you get significant amount of black or dark brown debris there is excessive wear in the transmission. Or you can pull the transmission oil pan and look for debris.

This car doesn't have a dipstick. http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/ Discussion-t2254_ds476437

That is right. Sorry i didn't look at the question very carefully. Your car does not have a dip stick but you do have an oil level plug. You can check the fluid condition and level here....

The link I put is an old post of mine explaining how to check it with a picture of the plugs location.