5 Things You Should Never Do in an Automatic Transmission Car

[Music] today we're looking at the automatic transmission why do americans love them more than the manual what are the different types of automatic transmissions what are some common mistakes people make while driving an automatic transmission car stick around because i'll share some do's and don'ts to help minimize the wear and tear on your transmission so hop in and let's get going have you ever tried renting a car in europe if so you have a higher chance of getting a manual transmission car than an automatic but it's the opposite in america manuals are less popular here in fact knowing how to drive a stick shift is becoming a lost art in the american car world today some 97 of new combustion engine cars sold in the us are equipped with an automatic transmission that's because americans love ease and convenience and automatics in general have come a long way since their beginning plus gas prices are relatively cheaper in the us and other countries so you can see why america loves the automatic but it wasn't always that way did you know that decades ago they used whale oil as automatic transmission oil i'm not making this up it was a good option because evidently it prevented rust but the industry stopped using whale oil around the 1960s by that time three-speed units with torque converters had gained popularity by the 1980s automatic transmissions with four gear ratios became more popular many were equipped with lock-up torque converters to improve fuel economy it was around that time that automatics started to become ever more popular and eventually started outselling manuals in the us by 2007 automatics outsold manuals for the first time worldwide so what are the pros and cons of the automatic transmission the main thing is they're easy and convenient it's much easier to drive especially in heavy traffic you just press the pedal and go it's a no-brainer whereas manual cars require more effort to start stop and accelerate especially in heavy traffic with an automatic car you usually don't have to worry about stalling whereas manuals can stall accidentally at a stop light automatic transmissions are especially appreciated if you live in a hilly area if you're not a skilled driver it's easier to conquer hills in san francisco with an automatic transmission car rather than installing or rolling back in a manual modern automatic transmissions ship quicker and smoother so you and your passengers normally don't feel the transmission shift also when into driving an automatic is much quicker and easier i have to admit i learned how to drive in an automatic chevrolet but then i bought a standard open once i learned how to drive and automatic you literally just need to learn the principles of driving on the road but back in the old days when manuals were more popular not only do you have to learn how to drive on the road but you had to learn how to operate the ship stick and clutch which required more coordination skills another big advantage is that most of the new cars in america are automatic and many car makers aren't even making manual options in some of their models but now let's talk about the disadvantages cars with automatic transmissions can be more expensive than their manual equivalents because it's more complex than a manual and has many more moving parts of course that depends on the car make and model but on average an automatic car can cost four thousand dollars more for the same reason the cost to repair is generally higher there are few subjective disadvantages to the automatic for example they say it's less fun to drive since you have less control also some argue that a manual transmission car requires the driver maintain focus and coordination more worse it's less though with an automatic so what's wrong with that well downside is that it makes drivers more prone to multi-task and engage in other activities in an automatic which can lead to accidents but again these are probably subjective but nevertheless still food for thought but now let's shift gears and talk about some common types of modern automatic transmission the most common type of automatic transmission is the torque converter automatic this works by using a hydraulic fluid coupling or torque converter connected to the ecu or electronic control unit to allow the transmission to control the car many people have heard about the continuously variable transmission also known as cvt a cvt doesn't use gears instead it uses belts and pulleys which create a range of gear ratios that constantly adapt to different driving conditions cvt can be more fuel efficient especially for stop and go city driving cbt is also fairly simple and cheap to produce another type of transmission is the dual clutch transmission or dct essentially it's two manual transmissions in one gearbox controlled by a computer it's called dual clutch because you have a clutch for the even numbered gears and another clutch for the odd-numbered gears during automatic operation the computer engages the clutch for one gear set and disengages it from the other to perform the shifts since the inactive gear set is always ready to go gear changes could be incredibly fast and that's why you often find dual clutch transmissions and high performance vehicles such as porsches there's also the semi-automatic transmission or sat this system is sometimes called an automated manual or clutchless manual transmission basically you can usually choose between fully automatic and manual mode but unlike a manual car you don't have a clutch instead the driver uses a switch or paddle to change gears and the car takes care of the clutch electronically formula one race cars use highly automated semi-automated sequential gearboxes which have paddle shifters f1 regulations mandate eight board gears and one reverse gear must be used with rear wheel drive fully automatic gearboxes have been illegal since 2004. reason why is because they wanted to ensure that teams weren't using gearboxes launch control and traction control systems illegally to gain a competitive advantage in other words they wanted to ensure that individual driver control and skills were still at the forefront of these races basically each driver must initiate gear shifts using paddles mounted behind the steering wheel then electro hydraulic actuators and sensors do the actual shifting and throttle control most teams are using seamless shift transmission which allows almost instantaneous changing of gears minimum loss of drive power in fact shift times for formula one cars are around 0.05 seconds but now back to everyday life believe it or not there's actually a lot of misconceptions about driving an automatic transmission car so here are actual do's and don'ts that really help you minimize wear and tear on your transmission and maximize your automatic transmissions life first don't coast in neutral when you're going downhill there's a belief you can save fuel if you put your gearbox in neutral when you're going downhill but that's not true this actually cuts the oil supply so the transmission doesn't get the proper lubrication for smooth operation and can lead to wear but also driving to neutral minimizes your control over your car's speed movement so it's a safety issue too you don't want a freewheel down a giant mountain so if you have this habit it's best to unlearn it if you're just sitting in the car for a very long time is it okay to leave the car and drive well this causes overheating it can damage your transmission so in this case it's just better to shut the car off or at least leave it in park a common mistake is shifting to park mode before the car is fully stopped in other words or your car's still rolling or crawling if you do this you risk breaking the locking pin it's a similar thing you do when you shift from drive to reverse or vice versa you risk wearing or stripping the gears when the car is moving which leads to serious damage so before you change gears just make sure the car is completely stopped yet another common mistake keeping your fuel tank low did you know that an automatic car depends on fluid pressure to run properly fuel also helps keep your engine and other parts to stay cool and lubricant so if you consistently keep your tank low on fuel your car will wear out a lot faster than normal i recommend you always keep your car tank more than a quarter full at minimum and after it reaches the quarter line just fill it up again pretend quarter is e is there harmon driving on a spare tire for an extended period of time bare tires are usually much smaller than the original standard factory tires and driving on mismatched tires for a long time ruins the wheel alignment and also strains your transmission especially if you have a four-wheel drive vehicle never do that so yes it does harm your car so it's best to get your tire changed the sooner the better or like i do have an old car that has a full-size spare now most people who drive manually already know to always use the emergency brake whenever they're parked whether it's uphill or flat but did you know that the emergency brake can also help save your automatic transmission if you're parked uphill downhill or in a place where your car might be vulnerable to movement should always use the emergency brake even if you have an automatic transmission otherwise you risk damaging the parking problem now what if you get water into your automatic transmission this can cause irreversible damage to the because it can prevent your gears from shifting if you have reason to believe you have water in a transmission you should not drive your car you should tow it to a mechanic and have it flush out immediately also common mistakes is overloading your car especially in hot temperatures but heavy loads cause overheating and also can cause the transmission fluid to oxidize or burn which in turn means premature wear and tear on your transmission if you need to tow a heavy load make sure your car is built for it by checking the max towing and payload capacity or else just use a tow truck or a vehicle that's specially designed for towing did you know that driving hard without warming up your engine is bad for your car more people do this than you think especially in the winter thing is in the winter cold weather causes oil to thicken and move slower so it's best to start your car and let it run a bit while still parked to give the transmission fluid time to run into the transmission otherwise if you ship them to gear and drive at high speed you can end up causing internal damage and always check your vehicle owner's manual for specifics on your car if you do need to add fluid make sure you add the correct fluid there are many different transmission fluids out these days but now you tell me did you ever do or didn't do any of these things and later regretted it please comment below and share your funny or horror stories about your transmission if you like this episode subscribe to my channel thanks for your support

Channel: Scotty Kilmer

Views: 347,973

Rating: 4.9207973 out of 5

Keywords: auto, auto repair, car, car diy, car repair, cars, diy, how to, mechanic, repair, scotty kilmer, car review, 5 things, how not to drive an automatic, how to drive an automatic, how transmissions work, never do this in an automatic, transmission, automatic transmission car, automatic transmission explained, don't do this, automatic transmission, driving tips, what not to do in automatic car, 5 things you should do in an automatic transmission, 5 things you should never do

Id: hk8mtZ9E4w4

Length: 10min 24sec (624 seconds)

Published: Mon May 17 2021