ASE Prep Lab

ASE A2 Automatic Transmission/Transaxle — Free Course & Practice Test

The complete ASE A2 course, free on YouTube: 52 video lessons built from ASE's published A2 task list, with a printable workbook for every module. The ASE A2 exam itself is 55 questions (45 scored + 10 unscored) in 75 minutes.

Transmission diagnosis, in-vehicle service, and unit removal and installation — the complete A2.

Course modules — watch free on YouTube

Printable workbooks (Etsy)

Prefer to study on paper? Each module has a printable follow-along workbook with worksheets and practice questions drawn from the same 300-question bank as the video course.

ASE A2 practice test — sample questions

Seven questions from the ASE A2 question bank, spread across the modules. Pick your answer, then open the reveal to check it and read the explanation.

Sample question 1 (QA-29, Module 1)

When a scan tool cannot communicate with the transmission control module but communicates with other modules on the same network, diagnosis should proceed to:

  1. Replace the transmission
  2. Condemn the scan tool
  3. The TCM's power, ground, and network circuits — communication with other modules proves the tool and network backbone, so the fault is local to the TCM
  4. Clear all codes and retry
Show answer

Answer: C. Eliminated branches are evidence: if the tool talks to the network but not the TCM, test what the TCM alone needs — feeds, grounds, and its network connection. Distractors: A and D act without a single circuit measurement. B is disproven by the successful communication with other modules. Source: Task A5.

Sample question 2 (QA-87, Module 1)

A shift valve is suspected of sticking. The hydraulic diagram helps the technician by showing:

  1. The valve's part number
  2. The bolt torque for the valve body
  3. Which pressures act on each end of the valve (apply vs. spring/governor/solenoid side), so the technician can determine whether the valve has the signals to move or is mechanically stuck
  4. The valve's service price
Show answer

Answer: C. A valve that never receives its apply pressure has a supply fault; a valve with correct pressures that does not move is stuck. The diagram identifies which pressures to measure before the valve is blamed. Distractors: A, B, and D are catalog/service data, not circuit logic the diagram provides. Source: Task A14.

Sample question 3 (QA-145, Module 1)

An input speed sensor (ISS) fails completely while driving. The module's typical response is:

  1. Ratio monitoring loses its input witness, so the module sets a code and substitutes a calculated/default strategy — often a failsafe gear and maximum pressure — because it can no longer verify what the transmission is doing
  2. Nothing changes
  3. The engine stalls
  4. The transmission shifts normally forever
Show answer

Answer: A. Losing the input witness blinds ratio control; modules protect the unit with defaults rather than trust it blind. Distractors: B and D ignore the sensor's role in every ratio decision. C is not a sensor-failure response. Source: Task A24.

Sample question 4 (QB-21, Module 2)

A transmission overheats after an internal failure was repaired, and the cooler was only flushed "until it ran clear." The correct cooler verification after any internal failure is:

  1. Visual clarity of the flush fluid
  2. The fluid temperature at idle
  3. The cooler line color
  4. A measured flow test against service information — debris-packed coolers can pass some fluid while restricting flow; only a flow rate proves the cooler can cool
Show answer

Answer: D. "Runs clear" is an appearance; flow is a measurement. Restricted coolers are the leading cause of repeat failure after overhaul because they also starve converter/lube circuits on many designs. Distractors: A, B, and C are impressions, not flow evidence. Source: Task B5.

Sample question 5 (QB-61, Module 2)

An accumulator piston is stuck in its bore with varnish deposits, and its shift has become harsh. Correct in-vehicle service is:

  1. Free and clean the piston and bore, inspect for scoring, and renew the seals — a stuck accumulator is a lost cushion; bore damage beyond cleaning limits moves the repair to the valve body/case level per service information
  2. Delete the accumulator
  3. Install a much stronger spring
  4. Ignore it
Show answer

Answer: A. Varnish-stuck pistons are serviceable; the judgment is bore condition, made by inspection. Distractors: B removes the cushion entirely. C recalibrates by guess. D leaves a diagnosed fault. Source: Task B8.

Sample question 6 (QC-12, Module 3)

Technician A says the torque converter must be verified fully seated, by depth measurement, before the transmission is raised into place. Technician B says after the unit is mated, the converter should spin freely by hand through the access opening before its bolts are installed — proof it is not preloaded against the pump. Who is right?

  1. A only
  2. B only
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B
Show answer

Answer: C. The two checks bookend the mating: depth before, free rotation after. A converter that cannot spin freely is already damaging the pump. Distractors: A-only and B-only each discard a real verification. Neither rejects both. Source: Task C6.

Sample question 7 (QC-36, Module 3)

An overhauled unit's completion verification is:

  1. A visual once-over
  2. None — new parts verify themselves
  3. Fill and level at temperature, pressure tests against specification, a full road test through all ranges and TCC operation, adaptation relearn, and a post-test leak inspection — the overhaul is proven as a system, not assumed
  4. A 5-minute idle
Show answer

Answer: C. The road test is the overhaul's acceptance test, run against the original complaint and the specifications. Distractors: A, B, and D are all sub-verification states. Source: Task C17.

All 300 questions for ASE A2 — with full answer keys — are in the printable workbooks above, and every one is worked through in the free video lessons.