ASE A2 Automatic Transmission/Transaxle Certification Test

The task list allocates the 45 scored questions to three content areas, and one of them is most of the test:

• Transmission/Transaxle Diagnosis — 26 questions, 58% of the test
• In-Vehicle Transmission/Transaxle Maintenance and Repair — 12 questions
• Transmission/Transaxle Unit Removal, Inspection and Installation — 7 questions

Nearly six questions in ten are diagnosis: pressure tests, stall tests, scan-tool data, shift quality, fluid condition, electronic control faults and the reasoning that separates a hydraulic problem from an electrical one. In-vehicle repair — valve bodies, solenoids, cooler lines, linkage, mounts — is the second block, and full unit work is the smallest. Study time should follow that split.

Taking the A2 test costs $62 per test, plus a separate $34 registration fee that's charged per order rather than per individual test. Fees are set by ASE and can change, so confirm current pricing on the official ASE fee schedule before you register.

The A2 test presents 55 questions in 75 minutes: 45 are scored and 10 are unscored research questions ASE uses to build future tests. Results are reported against ASE's fixed standard rather than as a published passing percentage, with performance shown by content area.

The test fee is $62, plus a $34 registration fee charged once per order. Certification is valid for five years; the A2 recertification test that renews it is 23 questions in 30 minutes, a fraction of the original.

Tests are taken at a test center on ASE's schedule, and a passing result is held on your record while the work-experience form is processed — certification is issued only when experience is accepted. The research questions are mixed in without identification, so treat every question as scored. Recertification uses a shorter version of the same task list, which is why keeping the original content areas fresh matters after the first pass.