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Stumbled across this little tidbit when I was poking around My GMLink. I never realized they were different terms for different setups. I always thought they were two terms used interchangeably for the same thing. Go figure!Quote »Transmission VS transaxleBoth are terms for transmissions that transfer the power from the engine to the axles. Transmissions are found in rear-wheel-drive vehicles. A driveshaft transfers power from the transmission to a differential, which changes the direction of the power 90 degrees. The drive axles then transfer power to the rear wheels. Transaxles, which combine the transmission and differential, are found in front-wheel-drive vehicles. The differential is inside the transaxle, and the drive axles are connected through constant velocity joints (CV joints) to the wheels. Transmissions and transaxles both have fluids, which may require checking or changing during the life of the vehicle. Consult your Owner's Manual.Source: https://www.mygmlink.com/main/...e=5_2

Many rear-wheel drive cars (Corvette jump to mind) and all AWD cars also use CV type axles on the rear as well.....makes it a lot of fun trying to decide WHICH U-joint or CV-joint is bad....

Tamato.......Tamoto.....

Good find. This is a common gear head term that is misused. I honestly didn't know that.Kind of like computer terms that people slaughter or use incorrectly. We may understand you - but it doesn't mean we can't giggle at you for using it wrong.

It's still a transmision and a differential. They're just physically in the same case. Nothing wrong with calling your transmision just that. I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to a rear wheel drive cars tranny or rear end as a transaxle, though it could be a correct term for a car with the tranny in back.

no, a transaxle is the tranny and differencial in the same housing. if you have a RWD. you would still call it a "transmission and a differencial as long as the tranny is not combined with the diferencial.for instence. the new corvette. it has a transaxle. the tranny is on the rear with the differencial. therefore ist's a transaxle.our cars, we have a transaxle. differencial and tranny in the same housing.

New Corvettes have a rear transaxle. It helps with the weght distribution.

that's what i said.

transmission, transaxle Great that there is a technical difference, just nobody better start playing terminology police around here, or a lot of people with custom "rims" are gonna get slammed.We can call it a tranny and let that cover all the various configurations

That's also what I said. " transaxle, though it could be a correct term for a car with the tranny in back."