Five Bad Habits to Avoid While Driving Automatic Vehicles
An automatic transmission is easier to operate than a manual transmission, but there are still ways to ruin parts of your car. Here are five things you shouldn’t do if you drive an automatic car.
In this video, EngineeringExplained ‘s Jason Fenske explains some of the worst driving habits you can have if you have an automatic car. Fenske will not only see what not to do, but also show you why you should not use real engine parts and schematics:
- Never coast in neutral: modern automatic transmissions automatically cut fuel to the engine, so shifting your vehicle to neutral will not save you gas. Plus, it robs you of control and is illegal in 15 states (see the full list below).
- Never change direction without stopping: make sure you come to a complete stop before changing from one to the other or vice versa. Otherwise, you use the transmission to stop the car instead of letting the brakes do their job.
- Never “start” your car: do not increase the engine speed of the car in neutral and do not turn on the engine to jerk forward. This is a quick way to wear out the belts in your drivetrain (they are expensive to replace).
- Never use neutral at the stoplight: it will save you fuel (fractions of a gallon, if any) and this can lead to transmission wear.
- Never get into a park until you come to a complete stop: some cars won’t even allow you to do this, but you should never do it anyway. You can damage or break the locking pin that is used to stop your transmission.
Some of them may seem obvious to a gearbox, but not everyone who drives a car knows how it works and the damage that seemingly harmless habits can cause. These tips and best practices can help anyone stay safe on the road and extend the life of their automatic vehicle.
5 Things Not To Do In An Automatic Car | Youtube