Tech & Auto
Stop Doing These 5 Things If Your Car Has An Automatic Transmission
By DANIEL TROCK
Shifting
Most people only shift their automatic cars into Drive, Reverse, or Park. However, most people may not know that you shouldn’t change gears while your vehicle is still in motion.
Automatic transmissions aren’t designed to shift between these states without coming to a complete stop. Doing so could damage your car without you realizing it.
Parked
Whenever your car is at rest outside of an active traffic zone, such as a driveway, it’s advised that you shift into park to prevent engine issues.
Leaving your car in drive with your foot on the brake over a long period may slowly overheat the engine, eventually leading to hardware issues.
Flooring It
Although it may be tempting to floor the gas pedal when your red light suddenly turns green, doing so from a complete stop can damage your transmission.
Your transmission needs time to get going before it can handle higher speeds. Flooring the gas puts an immediate, intense strain on the transmission.
Check Engine
Despite everything appearing to be okay, you may find that your check engine light is on. This warning often goes ignored, but doing so could cause more problems.
For your transmission, the Check Engine light could indicate any number of problems, including low transmission fluid levels, overheating, gear grinding, or gear slipping.
Neutral
While all automatic transmissions have a neutral gear, it’s mostly used for emergency measures. However, some use the gear when waiting at a stop light.
Doing so won’t save you gas, but it does cause unnecessary wear and tear on the gearbox. To make matters worse, accidentally stepping on the gas in neutral can be dangerous.