I got my new car almost exactly a year ago. I noticed that D (drive) and 3 (3rd gear) were different gears, um, yesterday. So for the past year I’ve been driving everywhere in 3rd gear. How screwed am I as far as damage to my (automatic) transmission?
I don’t know about your car, but some cars will over ride that if your going fast enough. For example if your going more then 35 MPH the car won’t let you let you shift into 1st or 2nd. You can put the shifter 1 or 2 but the car will be in third. Anyways, when driving at high speeds (say, at least fifty) did the RPM’s seem rather high (above 3000 RPM) most of the time?
Were most of your miles at reduced speed in the city or were you at highway speeds for extended distances?
It’s not a terribly big deal. I’m guessing your “D” has a circle around it, signifying “overdrive.” Anyway, here’s the effect:
You’ve wasted fuel. The engine drank more than it would have in “D.”
At highway speeds, the engine ran faster than it would have in “D,” so you have given it some more wear than you should have. Unless you’re in the habit of driving really fast, though, you probably haven’t done any big harm to the engine.
I shudder to ask, but have you been keeping up with oil changes, tire pressure, and coolant level checks?
No matter how you slice it, after a year of this, you are more screwed up than your car.
OK, my mind’s at ease. I mostly drove it at less-than-highway speeds, with the highway speeds being in two or three long stretches of 5 hours or so, tending to run at 75-80. I’m looking forward to improved gas mileage.
Didn’t it make a funny noise? I accidentally put my car in 2 instead of drive on Monday, and I realized it almost immediately because the noise the poor engine was making. (guess 45mph isn’t good for second gear…)
Fyi, the “R” comes in handy when you’re trying to park.
Yes, I come to the Dope for the information, but I stay with the Dope for the abuse.
In other news, I figured out how to release the parking brake this morning.*
*That was a joke. I’m an automotive idiot, but not that much of an automotive idiot.
Yeah, but the “P” comes in even handier.
I’ve had two GMs with the same engine but one had a 3 speed auto and the other a 4 speed auto with overdrive. Cruising at about 70mph, the 3 speed would read about 2800 rpm, the 4 speed about 2000. So, in my estimation, you’ve wasted gas and shortened the life of your engine and tranny. But, hopefully you’ve enjoyed the added performance that you can only get while being in a lower gear.
Since we’re sharing, I’d also like to add that it is wise to use 3rd gear around town, it keeps the tranny from jumping in and out of overdrive. However, I would like to know what you thought the D stood for all these years.
I knew it stood for Drive, I just thought D and 3 were the same gear. On the gear shift they’re arrayed like this without the dots, I’m too lazy to try to figure out how to space it otherwise):
…P
…R
…N
…3.D
…2
…1
and the gear shift never “naturally” stopped in D; it always just sort of slid into 3.
My car (Hyundai SantaFe) has:
P
R +
N–
D -
When in neutral you can push the stick to the right and then shift up by pushing forward or shift down by pulling.
FWIW, you might consider reading the most expensive book you have ever purchased, but have never read. It’s called the owner’s manual.
And yet Otto is a name that makes me think of great engineering minds.
Hey, aren’t all gas car engines essentially an evolved version (The Wenkel aside) of the Otto four stroke engine!!!
Poor Otto is rolling over in his grave…then he is rolling over again on the exhaust stroke…then he is rolling over again on the compression stroke…then…
Otto make me think of Otto (or as Bart refers to him, Ottoman) the bus driver in the Simpsons, who was also of questionable skill behind the wheel.