Am I shortening the life of my A/T?

[Hepar]

Well, I've owned my 4Runner for about 2 months. It's my 5th Toyota 4wd and 10th automobile overall, but my first A/T, so I'm trying to get used to not shifting. I shift down into 2nd quite a bit to slow down instead of braking. Also in and out of O/D a lot too for the same reason. Is this hard on the transmission?

 

[turbodudey2]

Short answer: No it's not hard on the tranny. Not anymore than most normal driving anyway.

I guess there would be just one stipulation. If you downshift at an appropriate speed before the start of the hill then the trans can shift easily into 2nd. It would not be good if you waited till you were already flying down the hill then pulled it into 2nd and forced it to downshift hard.

Just coasting down hills in 2nd so that you don't have to use the brakes is great. I do it quite a lot because I live way up in the mountains. While the engine is braking the torque converter is locked up, so there is very little heat being put into the tranny fluid, and also little stress on the trans itself.

Same story with OD.

 

[AKAndy]

I agree with what Turbodudey said...you didn't mention if you're downshifting going down a hill or not, but downshifting instead of braking is a good thing if you're going downhill for an extended period of time. I've seen people debate online about whether it's a good idea to downshift an auto in place of braking on flat ground, and it just seems like a bad idea to me. Not sure how much wear and tear it will put on the tranny, but I'm sure it's some. I'd rather put the wear and tear on my brakes, since they're way cheaper to replace.

 

[Spencer]

I just want to add most vehicles and transmissions WONT allow you to shift to low.. Say if your going 70 you can shift into 1st to pass someone but your transmission will only go into 2 or 3.

However if you leave it in first you will get a big surprise if you slow down to a stop and leave it in first, because when it gets to an acceptable speed it will downshift and wow, you beter wear your seatbelt.

 

[johnny c]

The shifts in and out of overdrive are the hardest on the tranny itself, hence the overdrive cancel button. If you drive normally and dont tow heavy loads, there is no reason to shift your gears manually (maybe long hill descent in a lower gear, yes) and leave it in overdrive. Brakes are cheaper and easier to replace than your tranny. Its an "automatic" -self explanitory

 

[toy-runner]

If you are driving on flat roads and normal driving, then i suggest that you don't downshift at all. Any of those manual shifting on a automatic can cause wear and tear on the tranny. Also, if not towing, leave the overdrive ON and let the automatic tranny do it's job. You'll be wasting gas anyways.s Like others said, your brakes are made for stopping and slowing down, not necessarily your tranny, but this is under normal driving conditions. Uphill/downhill are a totally different subject.

 

[Hepar]

Thanks for the responses guys. Essentially it's out of boredom. My right hand gets bored (save the jokes on what I could occupy my had with) when driving, so it's more so something to do.

 

[toy-runner]

Thanks for the responses guys. Essentially it's out of boredom. My right hand gets bored (save the jokes on what I could occupy my had with) when driving, so it's more so something to do.

LOL!!! I usually drive manuals also. A couple of weeks ago I came to a stop light, tried to put it on neutral, and noticed that my head almost came crashing towards the steering wheel (oh-no, it doesn't have a clutch pedal, it must've been the brake pedal). I felt like an idiot because the 2 pedestrians that were walking the cross-walk looked at me like I was some kind of lunatic. I had totally stopped 15 ft before the cross-walk....my 5'10" posture in the 4runner's driver seat started descending down to a 3 feet midget...LOL...

 

[Spencer]

I downshift mine only when passing, granted its not a 4runner and the kickdown cable probably needs to be tightened.

If I have to pass someone and there is a small gap there is nothing worse than hitting the gas and pulling to the left only for the truck to not downshift or not downshift enough and you have people behind you slamming on their brakes.

I get the timing perfect shift down to about 2nd or 1st [remember what I said mine wont shift TOO low] and pedal to the floor. If I didn't......

Well it wouldn't be pretty.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I'm another recovering manual trans addict (4runner is only my 2nd automatic in 30+ years of car ownership.)

My only MT-ingrained habit is that I shift the tranny into neutral at stoplights, railroad crossings or other places where I'll be stopped for a long time. I just don't like the way the vehicle "pulls" when stopped in gear. Occasionally I'll forget to shift back and then when I push the gas I just sit there revving my engine, but I'm careful to let the revs drop down to normal level before I drop it into D and continue on my way.

The tranny is set up so you can slip from D to N without pushing the button, so I figure it must be something that the manufacturer thought was OK. I did the same thing on my other auto, a 1999 Subaru Outback, and I also do it on my wife's Grand Vitara, and I have never had any tranny problems, so I think it's OK.

The only other thing I do is I switch off the OD when descending a steep hill so I don't have to use the brakes as much. If I'm on a very steep hill and going slowly, I'll drop it down to 2nd.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Like stated a few posts earlier I'd rather wear out my brakes than worry about my transmission. The only time I drop out of D or OD is when I need a kick of power and the occasional slow down but I wouldn't do it alot.

 

[brian2sun]

I live in the mtns so I manually drive my auto in 2nd almost as much as I do in D. It really saves my brakes. I know, brakes are cheaper than a new tranny, but I fully believe there is nothing wrong with letting the engine do the braking for you. In fact, I remember seeing a statement in my manual (or it may have been my old 4runner's manual) that actually encouraged using engine braking on downhills.

The torque converter is locked when you put it in 2nd so there is very little heat or wear on the tranny at that point. The damage/wear comes from traveling too fast and then putting it in 2nd, making the truck violently slow down like mentioned earlier. I don't use 2nd to slow me down, I brake until I'm going the speed that 2nd would slow me down to, then I put it in 2nd and use it to help hold me at that speed.

I have friends that don't downshift their autos in the mtns and some of them go through brakes like every 6-12 months. I usually get 3-4 years out of my pads and rotors. When I'm "down the hill" though it's in D and O/D is on. My tranny has 200K+ and shifts great still.