Just about every car sold to modern markets is fitted with an automatic transmission system. Stats have it that nine of ten vehicles on our roads could be automated. Automatic transmissions cars have come a long way in the past few decades. If you drive an automatic car, just like with their manual counterparts, incorrect use of the vehicle can take a toll on the life of the car. To save your car from common transmission issues, here are some top tips to help you drive a vehicle fitted with an automatic transmission system.
Only Select Park After Coming to a Complete Stop
Most drivers today are tempted to arrest the momentum of a moving car using the park feature. Doing this takes a toll on a car’s transmission system. Ideally, the park pawl keeps shearing, thus resulting in hidden damage in your transmission system. What is the brake meant for anyway? The best way to go about parking is to use the brakes fist, then choose the park pawl when the vehicle has come to a complete stop.
Stop Before Changing the Opposite Ratio
Whenever you are shifting from drive to reverse or vice versa, always make sure that you come to a complete stop before choose the opposite ratio. Unfortunately, it can be tempting to choose the opposite gear ratio before the automobile stops. Doing this can damage the clutch and other components of the transmission system. These parts take time to replace and are quite expensive.
Do Not Coast in Neutral
Most people driving automatic vehicles today are usually tempted to coast in neutral to save some fuel. In reality, this practice is ill-informed, as it does more harm than good to the car. As far as fuel-savings goes, auto transmission cars’ coast’ you when your foot is off the throttle. Moreover, not coasting in neutral makes it easy for you to accelerate or brake.
Feeding the Throttle on Drive
When moving from a stationary position, it is always advisable to get the car rolling with minimal throttle pressure before you increase your power. Applying high pressure to static engine parts can be damaging. Although this damage might not be apparent at first, continued misuse of the throttle drive will eventually make the transmission system yield. To save yourself from making this mistake, you should consider buying a car with launch control.