Driving a car with an automatic transmission seems easier than driving a manual car. The interface of automatic car is simpler than that of a manual car. New drivers don’t have to struggle with the cumbersome stick shift and clutch. This allows drivers to concentrate on the road ahead better with minimal distractions. Driving an automatic car is therefore much comfortable. The modern upgrades like sensors and cameras make things even better.
Shifting From Drive to Reverse Before the Car Comes to a Complete Stop
Did you know that there are things you do unknowingly that mess up your transmission? Here are some of the most hazardous mistakes that you can do while driving an automatic car.
Most of us have made this mistake especially when in a hurry and haven’t allowed our car to come to a complete stop before shifting from drive to reverse or vice versa. You will be forgiven because you didn’t know. If your car is still fine, then you are lucky because doing so can do real damage to the transmission and its components.
Did you know that when you shift before your car stops moving, you are using your transmission to stop the car? By constantly using your transmission as brakes, then get ready to replace the transmission sooner than later. We all know the cost of replacing the transmission is higher than that of replacing the brakes. The choice is entirely yours.
Putting your Car into Park before it stops Completely
This is another common blander that most people engage in; especially when in a hurry or simply because they are naive. If you own a newer car, then it won’t let you make this mistake because it has speed sensors that block this action.
However, if your vehicle doesn’t have this kind of advancement, and you go ahead engaging into park before the automobile stops completely, then you will do irreversible damage to your transmission.
The park position is supposed to stop your car from rolling away even when parked on a slope but not to stop your vehicle when it’s still mobile.
When your car is in park, a pin locks the transmission output shaft that connects it to the wheels of your car and the transmission locks up the wheels so that they don’t move. If your car is still in motion when you do this, the locking pin or the output shaft may break or become eroded.
Switching to Neutral at Stop lights or in the Traffic Jam
Some people think that engaging into neutral at stop lights saves fuel. Others rely on advice from blogs that if you keep your car on drive at red lights, you wear out the transmission. However, it’s better to keep your vehicle in drive and use the brakes rather than to switch it into neutral.
This is because, when your car is in neutral, you won’t have much control over it in case of need for an emergency maneuver. Furthermore, if your car is in neutral, chances are that you might forget and when it’s time to move, you will simply rev the engine burning up more fuel.
The fact is that the amount of fuel you think you are saving is negligible and it’s absolutely unnecessary to engage in all these maneuvers. Just keep your engine on and on drive and your foot on the brakes next time you stop for a moment. This will ensure you have total control of your vehicle.
Coasting in Neutral
Coasting is when the car is moving but it’s not being propelled by the engine either when the clutch pedal is held down or the gear lever is in neutral.
Drivers occasionally coast along the road when they are not in gear, in neutral, when they are decelerating, or when going downhill. The car moves by gravity.
Some drivers believe that coasting saves gas. However, this is not true. Cars with automatic engine are designed in a way that they save fuel even when the gear is on drive. What happens is that they simply cut the fuel supply when the car is moving downhill.
Secondly, letting the car coast in neutral gear endangers your life because you have less control over it. You won’t speed up if the need to do so arises. Furthermore, the oil pump works slowest in this condition. That means the engine fails to cool down as required and may fail to due to friction and heat.
Launching the Car from a Standstill
Launching is raving up the car while it’s still in neutral and then switching the gear to drive forcing it to accelerate very fast from a standstill position (launch).
Some drivers launch their vehicles most of the time oblivious of the harm this causes to the bands and clutches of the automatic transmission.
If you rev in neutral then immediately switch to drive, these bands and clutches wear out prematurely. With time, these parts won’t be able to hold with friction any more. As a result, the transmission will begin to slip when it’s in gear. Bringing down the transmission in order to Replace these parts will coast you a lot money.
Driving on an almost empty gas tank
Majority of the drivers know that driving with the gas tank empty is a big mistake. You need to keep on checking the gas lever and the gas light.
Sometimes we just find ourselves in this situation, but sometimes people simply ignore to top up the fuel (sometimes because they don’t have the cash to fill up).
Ignoring the fuel light in automatic transmission may cost you a lot of money. Your car needs proper fuel pressure to run smoothly. The fuel also keeps the fuel pump plus other elements lubricated.
If your tank is mostly low on fuel, these parts will wear out quickly. This means you will soon have to replace the fuel pump. This is a cumbersome process especially because this pump is actually inside the gas tank of most cars!
Allowing water into the transmission
Do you enjoy cleaning your engine with water? Are your roads flooded? Did you know that if water gets into the transmission, then you might as well brace yourself to replace it? Even the smallest amount of water can spell doom to your transmission.
When water infiltrates into your transmission, it gets absorbed by the friction lining of the clutches. This causes the glue that connects the material and the clutch plates to dissolve. The aftermath is that some amount of water comes out of the suspension forming white gummy masses in different parts of the unit. You won’t be able to flush the unit to get rid of the water.
In addition to this, the water will cause rust to form on the metal parts of the transmission. If you notice the problem fast enough, you might be able to save the situation otherwise, you will have to replace the transmission.
Are you guilty of any of these mistakes? Comment below and tell us your experience!
