will this hurt my transmission?

[kaltenacht]

I have an 87 Accord LXI with a automatic transmission. Someone told me that it was bad for the transmission to switch into netural when you are driving it. So in othe words taking it out of drive into netural. I was wondering if this was true? If so why? And what is the differences between the D4 D3 and 2 in my car? :Owned2:

[SteveDX89]

D4 means that the tranny will shift through all 4 gears.
D3 means it will only shift to 3rd gear.
2 means it will only shift to 2nd gear.

[89accord_lxi_coupe]

the lower gears are ment to be used in more hazardous weather. if you're in snow and need to get up a hill of sorts. put it in D2 or D3 to create a little better traction. keeps you from getting real fast and sliding as you might do in D4. my mom constantly puts her CRV in D3, then wonders why it doesn't go very fast. you should really not have any reason to switch into neutral while driving. it could mess up the linkage between the gears.

[MIK3]

As far as I am concerned, it shouldn't hurt the transmission when going from drive into neutral, accounting that your foot is off the accelerator. I shift into neutral everytime I'm at a red light for gas saving reasons and a smoother idle while waiting.

[kaltenacht]

Ok wells thanks for all the replies, you told exactly what I wanted to know. But as far as driving around town the, would it be best to stay in D3? I would assume only because you really dont need the fourth gear for town driving. Thanks! :) :idea:

[SteveDX89]

Ok wells thanks for all the replies, you told exactly what I wanted to know. But as far as driving around town the, would it be best to stay in D3? I would assume only because you really dont need the fourth gear for town driving. Thanks! :) :idea:

Put it in D4 in almost all driving situations.

[A20A1]

2 will stay in 2 there is no shift for that partivular selection.

No it won't hurt the trans to go into neutral... just don't rev the motor and drop it back into drive.

[89accord_lxi_coupe]

soooo, no actin like you've got a manual at a light.

[MIK3]

Yeah. I have an automatic, keep it in D4. The revs will start climbing around 35mph in D3, resulting in less miles per gallon and more strain on the transmission. D4 is the driving gear you'll stay in 80% of the time, if not more.

[phrenology]

Sorry just a quick pointer...kaltenacht...your vehicle sidebar lists your car as an 87 Accord Lxi 5spd Automatic. I'm pretty sure no 3G Accord had an automatic tranny with a 5th gear. Sorry to be such an ass. :kekeke:

[kaltenacht]

Sorry just a quick pointer...kaltenacht...your vehicle sidebar lists your car as an 87 Accord Lxi 5spd Automatic. I'm pretty sure no 3G Accord had an automatic tranny with a 5th gear. Sorry to be such an ass. :kekeke:

:Owned2: LMAO, true you know I was looking at that eariler and I was like "wait, its a 4 speed automatic" then I confused myself and I couldnt remember which, but now that you have reminded me I will change it! And no you arent being an ass just pointing out a mistake :bowrofl:

[sporkHSP]

there are a bunch of threads about D4 and D3, I started a few myself.
D3 helps a little with acceleration, because you don't shift so early, you can shift up from D3 into D4 and vise versa while in motion, but be careful. I used to do it all the damn time, I never drove in one setting for more than a few minutes. BUT(!) I f**ked my tranny within 25,000 miles doing this. It was running beautifully with 74000miles on it and at 90000 it was completely trashed. I swapped 5speed, because the gears would grind when engaging, and when draining the tranny fluid, I could see little bits of metal in the fluid. I guess I drove the piss out of that tranny.
the owners manual says D2 skips first and goes strait to 2. Like 'A1 said.

[2drSE-i]

yea, i started a thread myself on D4 D3 D2, Shifting order for good acceleration (bad gas mileage) is 1st gear d3, then shift down to d2, then back up to d3, then d4

[HaShfIeNd]

hehe me and my brother were just looking at this the other day... we also figured that D3 was worse on fas milage obviously, but also noticed where the difference was in not shifting again (if you put it in d4 it'd shift down back in d3 would shift up again)..

so what are the absolute nots to do with your auto tran? neutral rev and pop into d4? throwing into park while car is still moving?

is going in reverse and sticking it into drive horrible? figure its a little harder on the tranny...



yea, i started a thread myself on D4 D3 D2, Shifting order for good acceleration (bad gas mileage) is 1st gear d3, then shift down to d2, then back up to d3, then d4

hmMmM will that wear the hell out of my tranny?



there are a bunch of threads about D4 and D3, I started a few myself.
D3 helps a little with acceleration, because you don't shift so early, you can shift up from D3 into D4 and vise versa while in motion, but be careful. I used to do it all the damn time, I never drove in one setting for more than a few minutes. BUT(!) I f**ked my tranny within 25,000 miles doing this. It was running beautifully with 74000miles on it and at 90000 it was completely trashed. I swapped 5speed, because the gears would grind when engaging, and when draining the tranny fluid, I could see little bits of metal in the fluid. I guess I drove the piss out of that tranny.
the owners manual says D2 skips first and goes strait to 2. Like 'A1 said. were you shifting like how he mentioned above for acceleration purposes? and it fuqed it up? that sucks...

[sporkHSP]

yes. I didnt shift to d2 ever, only d3 and d4, and my tranny was grinding gears and shiftinf speratically when I swapped it.
I wouldnt use any of these "techneques" unless you plan on swapping in another auto or a 5speed.

[mouchyn]

call me crazy, but isn't the point of an automatic transmission to be...automatic? stick it in "drive" and step on the gas pedal. I mean, unless you're racing your automatic 3G down the drag strip, there's really no reason to use any gear other than D4 (normal drive).

those of you living in the mountains with lots of snow and slippery weather, you should already know how to drive your car properly, so ignore what i said above.

for 90% of the country, you shouldn't have to use any other selection than D4 (normal drive). if you want to change gears, buy a manual transmission.

[SteveDX89]

call me crazy, but isn't the point of an automatic transmission to be...automatic? stick it in "drive" and step on the gas pedal. I mean, unless you're racing your automatic 3G down the drag strip, there's really no reason to use any gear other than D4 (normal drive).

those of you living in the mountains with lots of snow and slippery weather, you should already know how to drive your car properly, so ignore what i said above.

for 90% of the country, you shouldn't have to use any other selection than D4 (normal drive). if you want to change gears, buy a manual transmission.

Well said. I completely agree.

['A20A3']

I had an automatic for almost two years and I beat the shit out of it and it never complained. I used A20A1's 50/50 mixture of Mobil 1 ATF and B&M Trickshift ATF.....

but now I've moved on to something better...with an extra gear and a third pedal. :cool:

[HaShfIeNd]

i was with my gf once and she accidently threw the car into park as she was slowing down (still moving some) and it made this awful noises lol i'm sure thats not to healthy eh :mad:


call me crazy, but isn't the point of an automatic transmission to be...automatic? stick it in "drive" and step on the gas pedal. I mean, unless you're racing your automatic 3G down the drag strip, there's really no reason to use any gear other than D4 (normal drive).

those of you living in the mountains with lots of snow and slippery weather, you should already know how to drive your car properly, so ignore what i said above.

for 90% of the country, you shouldn't have to use any other selection than D4 (normal drive). if you want to change gears, buy a manual transmission.



yah for sure i really never use anythying different then d4... i was just curious... i would rather have my auto last forever then be aggressive on it, of course i am young haha =>


I was curious.... i live in portland oregon and those of you who also live around here know what its like driving over some of the mt. passes.. specifically mt.hood anyway.. you ever notice how when going up a high incline like that it can't really pick on a gear? either its in 4th (or if you really step on it 3rd i suppose) and shifts back into overdrive and then slows down and shifts back down, it seems kind of silly and annoying anyone else notice this? anyone try and change it? or is it just me?

[MIK3]

D4 is the driving gear you'll stay in 80% of the time, if not more.


for 90% of the country, you shouldn't have to use any other selection than D4 (normal drive).


Well look at that...

Great minds think alike, what can I say? :uh:

[mouchyn]

I was curious.... i live in portland oregon and those of you who also live around here know what its like driving over some of the mt. passes.. specifically mt.hood anyway.. you ever notice how when going up a high incline like that it can't really pick on a gear? either its in 4th (or if you really step on it 3rd i suppose) and shifts back into overdrive and then slows down and shifts back down, it seems kind of silly and annoying anyone else notice this? anyone try and change it? or is it just me?

in situations like these, it would be smarter to put the car in D3 until you are past the incline. leaving the tranny in "D4" and letting it shift between 3rd and 4th gear on its own is almost as bad as doing it by hand on flat ground like some of these guys.

the less the transmission has to do, the better. if you find the tranny is jumping back and forth between gears because of a non-typical road condition, use other shifter selections like D3. That's why those other selections are there -- not to race or be sporty.

[HaShfIeNd]

in situations like these, it would be smarter to put the car in D3 until you are past the incline. leaving the tranny in "D4" and letting it shift between 3rd and 4th gear on its own is almost as bad as doing it by hand on flat ground like some of these guys.

the less the transmission has to do, the better. if you find the tranny is jumping back and forth between gears because of a non-typical road condition, use other shifter selections like D3. That's why those other selections are there -- not to race or be sporty.

yeah i know it was hard on my tranny thats why i didn't like it -- i guess could put it in d3 and just leave it in 3rd but these are in conditions of trying to go 55-65+ so thats usually out of 3rd and into 4th/overdrive... will it do okay going that fast in 3rd or will i just have to suck it up and move over into the right lane lol --?

and i dont ever use anything other then d4 except of course on non-typical condtions :P my engine is just stock and old, (luckily taken care of) and performance is always a trade off with longevity of the engine i'm not out to see how quickly i can blow it.... so maybe my 3g will run forever wooo lol hoping to at least hit 500k miles... but only half way there..

[mouchyn]

you can run the engine at 5500 rpm for hours on end without doing serious damage. there's a reason engines have a "Redline." anything below that "redline" is safe operating speed.

when my preludes were daily drivers, I would drive 100 miles at a time with the engine turning at 6500 rpm. as long as you continue to take care of the engine, she'll treat you right.

I say, drop it in D3 until you get past the ups and downs.

[ICEMAN707]

Weird thing about the auto is when you are driving at the 50 mph speed limit, the tranny keeps shifting between 3rd and 4th gears. So I can't help but speed a bit to 55 mph just to keep the tranny in 4th. I dunno if anyone else has this problem. I never tried to mess with adjusting the TV cable. It's not that big of a deal anyways.

Also, I tend to like to downshift to D3 when I want to do a quick pass. I love how quick the car passes when you put it in D3 from D4. I'm doing a manual swap soon anyways. Should be fun. But for now, I just cruise in the auto and try not to be hard on it till I do the 5spd swap. I try not to do 3rd gear downshifts, but can't help it sometimes.

[88Accord-DX]

I don't drive auto trannys to much. (exept my wife's car)
I don't think it is too beneficial to the transmission to drop it out of drive into nuetral and pop it back in gear too much. Unless your keeping the same RPM's when shifting it back in gear.... It shouldn't hurt it to much if any at all. I wouldn't do all the time though.

[snow_man_20]

I was curious.... i live in portland oregon and those of you who also live around here know what its like driving over some of the mt. passes.. specifically mt.hood anyway.. you ever notice how when going up a high incline like that it can't really pick on a gear? either its in 4th (or if you really step on it 3rd i suppose) and shifts back into overdrive and then slows down and shifts back down, it seems kind of silly and annoying anyone else notice this? anyone try and change it? or is it just me?

got to love hwy 84 and 20 good drives fun curves and smooth strait-a-ways.