Driving an automatic is definitely more straightforward than driving a manual, but there are still ways to mess up parts of your vehicle. Here are five things you shouldn’t do if you drive a car with an automatic transmission.
1. Never coast downhill in neutral
Modern automatic transmissions cut fuel to the engine on their own, so putting your car in neutral won’t save you any gas.
2. Never switch directions without stopping
Make sure you come to a complete stop before going from drive to reverse or other way around. You’re using your transmission to stop the vehicle instead of letting your brakes do their job.
3. Never “launch” your vehicle
Don’t rev your car’s engine in neutral and drop into drive to launch yourself forward. It’s the fastest way to wear out the bands in your transmission and they’re expensive to replace.
4. Never put your car in neutral at a stop light
Just leave it in drive. Putting it in neutral won’t save you any fuel and it can wear on the transmission.
5. Never shift into park until you’ve come to a complete stop
Some cars won’t even let you do this, but you should never do it anyway. You can damage or break the locking pin that’s used to keep your transmission from running.
Some of these might seem like a no-brainer for a petrolhead, but not everyone that drives a car knows how it works or what kind of damage you can do with seemingly harmless habits. These tips and best practices can help anyone keep safe on the road and extend the life of their automatic vehicle.
Watch how Jason Fenske from the Engineering Explained explains some of the worst driving habits you can have when you own an automatic vehicle. Fenske will also show you why you should avoid those habits, with actual engine parts and diagrams.
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