Automatic Transmission Driving Tips & Techniques - 5 Things To Take Care Of

by Yatharth Singh Chauhan | 02/04/2019
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Here are as many as 5 automatic transmission driving tips and techniques that you must know about to ensure a smooth drive from an AT model

Automatic gearbox-equipped vehicles are, without doubt, gaining more and more popularity in the present-day marketplace. As things stand, this type of four-wheelers opens a new horizon of safety and practicality for car owners higher than the manual counterparts. However, using an AT-equipped vehicle also requires techniques. Here we come with 5 most important things you should always bear in mind whenever sitting behind an automatic car’s wheel.

Automatic Transmission Driving Tips & Techniques

Never Slide Down a Slope in Neutral Mode

2019 ford endeavour red sliding down

The first point in our list of automatic transmission driving tips & techniques should help you avoid one of the most common mistakes made mostly by the first-time automatic car users. The idea of shifting the gear to the “N” mode for fuel saving will apparently end up causing a great hazard for the gearbox. In fact, it will prevent you from accelerating as well as slowing the car down in addition. Other than that, this bad habit will directly result in cutting the oil supply, chopping the proper lubrication for smooth performance of the engine less than normal.

As a result, drivers will fail to control its vehicle in a normal way which may limit the car’s ability to avert obstacles. All-in-all your beloved automatic transmission car would suffer intensely from some certain damages great or small. So if you desire the long-term cost-effectiveness, we strongly recommend you to discard it from your driving habits as soon as possible.

Do Not Rev the Motor Before Switching To the D Model

This is completely a serious mistake that people could make at least once in their car-driving style. Apparently, if you fall into this action over and over again, it’s you to delve your pocket deep at the service centres or workshops. Just like in manual gearbox equipped models, this kind of activity should lead to a great chance of causing transmission breakdown. In specifically, it “punches” on the transmission with a massive shock that will do serious harm to the internal components and eventually damage to the engine parts.

See more: Eight Tips For Keeping Your Car Cool In The Summer

Never Shift the Gear Lever Into “P” Without Coming to a Complete Halt

gear shift knob

The next point in our list of automatic transmission driving tips & techniques will help you prevent damage to your car's gearbox. In automatic vehicles, the “P” mode turns the gearbox to the parking mode which basically uses a lock mechanism to stop the “cog from rotating”- basically, it disables the car from any movements. However, if it is done while keeping the vehicle rolling, there exists a risk of breaking the parking pawl and at the same time, ruin the transmission fiercely.

Do Not Switch to Neutral at the Red Light

In the nature of things, people often switch the gear to 'Neutral' while stopping at the red lights to save fuel as well as reduce the unnecessary wear and tear of the driveline. Sadly, the fact is that it does not. In reality, it is not as economical as when you push the brake pedal and keep the gear in “D” mode while stopping at the traffic light for a while. Therefore, just make yourself adopt a “healthier practice” for your car from now on. Also, use the automatic start-stop system, if it is available, to have your car automatically turned off when pushing the brakes and have it restarted once you take your foot off the pedal. Keep in mind that it’s for having a “D” mode selected.

Never Keep the Fuel and Transmission Fluid Level Low

fuel gauge

The final point in our list of automatic transmission driving tips & techniques is something that not many owners know of. An automatic transmission-equipped car normally relies on hydraulic fluid pressure to operate smoothly. That said, the model’s engines and other components then can stay lubricated and cool down, thanks to the fluid. As a matter of fact, running on low transmission fluid means compelling your engine to work “overtime” to make up for the fluid deficit then leading to the excessive heat. So, remember to feed your car with enough fuel and also don’t forget to have a walk-around inspection to see how dirty the fluid is, either.

See more: Helpful maintenance tips for manual and automatic transmission

Driving an automatic car is fun-filled. But pouring money into the service costs is really tiresome. So we hope these abovementioned tips could be somehow useful enough to become a part of your lodestar along the roads. Have fun with Indianauto.com!

Automatic Transmission Driving Tips & Techniques 

  1. Never Slide Down a Slope in Neutral Mode
  2. Do Not Rev the Motor Before Switching To the D Model
  3. Never Shift the Gear Lever Into “P” Without Coming to a Complete Halt
  4. Do Not Switch to Neutral at the Red Light
  5. Never Keep the Fuel and Transmission Fluid Level Low

Read more tips and guides from IndianAuto

See more: Myths About Automatic Vs Manual Transmission Decoded

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