Do's and Don'ts for automatic gearboxes ?

D is for Driving and P is for Parking.

Never shift between Drive and Reverse unless stationary.

Never put the transmission into Park unless stationary with foot brake applied.

Park isn’t a brake, so always apply the handbrake when parked.

Read the towing limits section of the vehicle’s handbook carefully before towing ANYTHING.

If the vehicle breaks down and requires towing, ensure the driving wheels are the ones being lifted clear of the road.
 
tom_e said:
Stop start and auto hold are 2 different things.
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Nick1881 said:
The stop start doesn’t bother me, as it’s hybrid I can move instantly anyway. The auto hold is the function where I can come to a stop and take my foot off the brake pedal, the car will stay still until I tap the throttle again, like and auto hand brake.
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You're right - I meant auto hold. You can still code it out though if you want to set its default state when the car starts up.
 
Which is the mode that means you need to sit there with your foot on the brake / auto hold at traffic lights? I like that one. Bright red ligths are great
 
Most that comes to mind has already been stated.
Let ones that stand out is to not tow it, apparently that’s very bad.
Don’t try push starting if your battery is flat. Doesn’t work.

Beyond that, just give it some mechanical sympathy. Not every green light requires a drag race start.
 
GeX said:
Which is the mode that means you need to sit there with your foot on the brake / auto hold at traffic lights? I like that one. Bright red ligths are great
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Except some expensive cars (which have specific functionality for it) most EVs and auto ICEs you aren't supposed to do the equivalent of putting the car in neutral with handbrake on which is interesting given part 114 of the highway code:

In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.
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The RAC guidance for automatics actually says:

Neutral is the same as knocking a manual gearbox out of gear. It shouldn’t be selected when moving - this is known as coasting - but can be used (along with the handbrake) if you’re stopped for a short period of time.
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But as above the manual for automatics usually says not to regularly switch between drive and neutral or parked while driving - there are a lot of references around the internet that this is due to increasing the number of times the transmission is encountering less than ideal lubrication from engine oil while engaging/disengaging but I have no idea if there is truth to it - I think partly it may be the guidance is overly cautious to avoid people prematurely shifting into neutral when coming to a stop and/or using it at other times like coasting - if you aren't fully stopped when changing the automatic transmission mode it does significantly more wear than normal.

On my automatic (CVT) Qashqai it does say:

Shift into the N (Neutral) position and apply the parking brake when at a stand still for longer than a short waiting period.
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My Navara on the other hand says not to use neutral and to use park rather than neutral if you are going to be waiting for a longer period - there is also something that might be relevant as to why the advice with automatics is to avoid regularly changing in and out of D when driving:

WARM UP THE ENGINE - Due to the higher idle speeds when the engine is cold, extra caution must be exercised when shifting the shift lever into the driving position immediately after starting the engine.
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I think a lot of the advice in the manual regarding how to use automatic transmission (and not using) is probably because sloppy habits will do a lot of damage to it, rather than necessarily being a technical reason/limitation.
 
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Thought the issues about learning automatic driving modes compatible with your style were equally important ie. able to hold gears coming into a roundabout/loosing speed so you don't find yourself embarrassed,
plus appropriate kick-down if you want two gears.
 
jpaul said:
Thought the issues about learning automatic driving modes compatible with your style were equally important ie. able to hold gears coming into a roundabout/loosing speed so you don't find yourself embarrassed,
plus appropriate kick-down if you want two gears.
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Most modern automatic gearboxes deal with stuff like that pretty well - most reasonably new ones can change up or down extremely quickly in response to conditions far better than a human could.

The only exception for me personally has been VW DSG which feels a bit too much like it is doing its own thing, and CVT it can take a bit of getting used to the rubber band power delivery but you stop noticing it after a fairly short time.
 
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ShiWarrior said:
is this guy right or wrong ?

i think it depends on the car?
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I stopped listening about half way though, clickbait nonsense. Millions of automatics on the road, millions of people holding in D at stops several minutes long, this will do pretty much nothing to the oil temperature in the gearbox. The park position is designed to hold the weight of the car, it's exactly what it is designed to do.

Auto boxes on the whole are pretty tough, most modern boxes from the past 15 years have plenty of things in place to stop you from doing things to damage them. Just drive as normal and don't over-think it. Get the gearbox serviced as per the schedule for the car and there's nothing more you can do.
 
jpaul said:
Thought the issues about learning automatic driving modes compatible with your style were equally important ie. able to hold gears coming into a roundabout/loosing speed so you don't find yourself embarrassed,
plus appropriate kick-down if you want two gears.
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Rolls-Royce plus other BMW brands including Mini, and Kia / Hyundai utilise GPS linked auto transmissions so the cars pre-emptively change gear based on upcoming corners, gradients, junctions etc.

Even without GPS the ZF8HP can block change 3 gears at a time, so you should never be embarrassed.
 
Some cars, I guess most modern ones, will disengage the handbrake once you push the accelerator pedal but obviously this will only work if you're in drive. Therefore I always leave in drive if I'm at a set of traffic lights with my handbrake on.
 
ShiWarrior said:
is this guy right or wrong ?
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There is one thing in there which may be worth noting - on some automatics it can put extra strain on the parking pawl if you don't engage the handbrake/parking brake before shifting into park when parking on a slope - I usually go into neutral, engage handbrake then shift to park just out of habit. For the rest read the manual - some older automatics it would increase wear if you didn't use neutral when stopped but most automatics advise against it as they are more advanced these days and the greater wear comes from regular driving mode changes rather than the transmission being held.

While I tend to just hold the operation button in (if appropriate - some newer shifters don't have one) when using the shifter, you only need the button to pass through reverse.
 
Leave mine in D unless actually parking up, got told at time of purchase to only use Neutral if broken down and need to push the car.

The only other time it needs to go into N is if I use the auto park feature as it does everything (might be a Ford thing my old auto Kia didn't need going into N for parking)
 
tom_e said:
The most important thing to remember is the clutch pedal no longer exists, people leave far too little gap for full on emergency stops every now and again :D
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I've been a passenger when that happened - my god it's a hard stop when you're not expecting it!
 
tom_e said:
The most important thing to remember is the clutch pedal no longer exists, people leave far too little gap for full on emergency stops every now and again :D
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Hopefully won't be in that situation.

So I am currently from car off, with hand brake on, applying the brake pedal, turning on car, release hand brake while still pressing brake pedal. Then going to R or D depending on which way i am driving off. At traffic lights, I just hold brake pedal in D. Presuming that is ok, not had any issues so far.
 
Liquid_Entity said:
Hopefully won't be in that situation.

So I am currently from car off, with hand brake on, applying the brake pedal, turning on car, release hand brake while still pressing brake pedal. Then going to R or D depending on which way i am driving off. At traffic lights, I just hold brake pedal in D. Presuming that is ok, not had any issues so far.
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have a read through your manual. it will tell you exactly what you can and cant do for that specific car and gearbox

it wont break instantly, it will just wear quicker, for example, don't change from D to N whilst moving, it will "crunch" but it may not destroy it, but if you keep doing it, then it will be very costly
 
Think I am doing it right.



and when I am home I put it in N then put hand brake ON and then press P and switch engine off

"Switching the vehicle off
Before switching off the engine, it is possible to engage position P or N to place the gearbox in neutral. In both cases, apply the parking brake to immobilise the vehicle, unless it is programmed to automatic mode."
 
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