Sometimes, just for fun, I take my car up to around 85 mph, then drop in into 2nd, and try to keep up the speed.
wheee...
jeremiah, have you ever driven a manual transmission? Probably not. If you have, you know that you go by feel and the sound of the engine as far as knowing when to shift.
There is no such thing as just saying put in into a lower gear when going up hill, because we have no idea how steep the hill you are talking about it.
I can remember only one time when driving an automatic when I had to use a lower gear. That was when I was driving through the Rocky Mountains.
You really should know how the transmission on the car works, then you'd understand when you might need to shift, which is really never in normal conditions. A hill is a normal condition.
BTW jeremiah, DO NOT put your vehicle into 2nd while driving at 85 mph.
Jeremiah wrote:When driving uphill during hot summer days, do you turn off the air-conditioner to prevent the engine from overheating?
I'm planning to take my family from L.A. to Las Vegas the end of this month and just want to be prepared. I seen too many cars overheating and had to park their cars on the side of the road during summer...and I don't want that to happen to me.
Dude, RELAX. You have a brand new car...you're not rolling in a 1974 wagon like in Lampoon's Vacation.
Don't worry about turning off the a/c uphill. Your car can handle it.
When I was in high school, one of my cars was a POS 1982 Pontiac 6000LE. With a lot of miles. Slowest car I've ever driven, and it was a V6.
I used to do neutral drops all the time. Rev the piss out of it in neutral, then drop it into drive. Not good for an automatic transmission.
One day in traffic the engine blew(pushrod). Suprisingly I was not abusing it at that time.
Try this: go outdoors and find your car. Look in the glove compartment. If your car is new, the manufacturers probably thoughtfully put a manual in the glove compartment. Read the manual. It will tell you what 1, 2, 3, 4, D are good for, when you might want to use them, if ever, and when not. It will suggest when, if ever, you might want to turn off the AC. It will tell you how much weight you can put in the car. It will also tell you where in the instrument cluster to find your temperature gauge. Bor the next few days, whenever you go anywhere, once the car is warmed up, take a look at the gauge and see where it is under normal conditions. Fix that point in your mind. if you drive in the mountains and the gauge reads significantly higher, sstop and cool off. Otherwise don't worry. As everybody has told you, you're not likely to have problems in most modern cars, unless maybe you're transporting the family collection of anvils. And just leave it in D. On long downhills wher you have to rely on brakes which might get too hot, you might want to lock out one or more of the higher gears for more engine braking, so you might select 3 or 4. But that means you go slower so as not to over-rev the engine.
@Setanta,
So...
Quote:Gears 1 & 2 are used to gain traction on unpaved roads, through dirt or mud. 3 & 4 are to override the automatic transmission to enable you to accelerate faster, used for racing..
Was that so difficult? And without the condescending overtone
@fodarexiii,
You might want to take a look at the OP timestamp. This theread is over 5 yrs old.
@Jeremiah,
Apparently I don't know anything about automatic transmission either because whenever I go up a steep incline i switch into third "gear" or 3 on the lever pad, and it always seems to help me get up the incline faster.
Okay. After 5 years of driving my mini-van a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned/totaled my vehicle. I am now getting treated for back and neck problems.
Fortunately the accident wasn't my fault and I'm able to buy a new 2013 Kia Sorento. For now I'll stay on the "D" drive when I drive. LOL!
@Jeremiah,
Man dont stress about your brand new sienna yet....look let me explain you in a very simple way.
1. in snow conditions..shift the transmission in lower grear..as per your seinna..you might wana put in 3 or 2 it depends on situation on the road.
2. since its still new sienna..for not too steep hills leave the gear lever into drive..but when you going up the 15% grade hill or lower...you might wana shift into 3 or 2....or depends how steep the hill is...Because that way your transmission last you long...we all know that putting in D mode..the transmissions changes the gears by itself..but no as effiecient by opreating it manually..i am just saying it bcz..it will last you long..where it will last you long for 10 years..it will last you long for 12 years..
HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND NOW MAN
