If you drive an automatic car, quit these habits immediately.

Automatic transmissions are one of the most influential inventions in the automotive industry, opening a new era for car users thanks to the safety and convenience that this type of transmission brings. They quickly became popular with many drivers, especially those with poor basic driving skills.

However, to use automatic transmission safely and effectively, drivers need to avoid bad habits and actions that can cause damage to the vehicle.

Accelerate when shifting to D

Throttle-down is a technique commonly used in manual transmission cars, especially in racing cars. But drivers will mainly use throttle-down when shifting into lower gears to reduce the jerking feeling.

But on an automatic car, if the driver applies this method at the same time as shifting from P to D, this will be a mistake. This will create strong impacts between the gears, causing great friction between other parts of the gearbox, with the risk of damaging other parts of the engine. If the engine and gearbox are damaged, the repair cost for these parts will be very high.

The car has not stopped completely yet but is already in P gear.

When the car is about to stop, the wheels are still moving, pulling the gearbox gears to move as well. Therefore, if the car is rolling and the user shifts from D to P (park mode), the locking pin inside the gearbox will be lowered and hit the gear connected to the output shaft of the gearbox that is still rotating, causing the locking pin to be at risk of cracking, or worse, breaking.

Replacing gearbox gears is not easy, expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, car experts recommend that automatic car users should apply the brakes to slow down the car when preparing to park, shift to N and brake until the car stops completely, pull the handbrake or press the electronic handbrake, and finally shift to P.

Keep the gas tank low

An automatic car relies heavily on fluid pressure to run properly. Fuel also keeps the engine and other parts cool and lubricated, so these will wear out much faster if you keep the fuel tank low.

Do not warm up the engine before driving.

Cars, like humans, need to warm up so that their parts can operate properly. Many car owners have the habit of starting the engine, shifting gears, and moving the car quickly. However, this is an action that can cause damage to the car in the long run, especially when using the car in cold winter conditions.

When the temperature is cold, the fluids in the car such as engine oil, transmission oil, coolant tend to be thicker and move to the locations in the car more slowly. Therefore, if not too urgent, the driver should start the car from 30 seconds to 1 minute to let the fluids become thinner and help lubricate the parts inside the engine and transmission.

If forced to move, the driver should drive at low speed, avoid shifting gears continuously and accelerating at high speed from the start. This will lead to serious damage to the internal parts of the engine as well as the gearbox.

Drive with two feet

This may be a habit of drivers who have been using manual transmission cars for a long time and have just switched to automatic cars. In reality, driving with two feet is only used by professional racers in competition and is rarely used in normal operating conditions.

Using the left foot to brake may cause the driver to not be able to estimate the braking force and cause the car to constantly jerk and stop. In addition, the brake pedal is quite close to the accelerator pedal, so if the left foot is placed on the brake pedal, the driver will have an uncomfortable driving position.

Putting the left foot on the brake pedal can also accidentally cause the vehicle to brake without the driver knowing, which not only causes the brakes to wear out quickly but also forces the engine to work harder to counteract the resistance of the brakes, leading to more fuel consumption.

Shift to N when stopping at a red light

Many automatic drivers have the habit of shifting to neutral when stopping at red lights, believing that this will help the car save fuel and prevent unnecessary wear on the transmission parts.

But in reality, the opposite is true: pressing the brake and keeping the car in D mode causes little damage to the gearbox. Meanwhile, the action of shifting from D to N and vice versa continuously will only wear out the gearbox faster. Shifting from D to N should only be done when having to stop at a red light for too long (over 1 minute).

Drifting Downhill

Letting the car drift by shifting from D to N when going downhill is a trick that some people believe will help the car save fuel because the engine is no longer transmitting power to turn the wheels. Instead, the car moves mainly based on inertia and gravity.

However, this method will cut off the oil supply, causing the gearbox to no longer be lubricated to operate smoothly, leading to significant wear and damage. In addition, braking without the support of engine braking will cause the braking system to work harder and the brake pads to wear faster, easily causing brake failure, causing safety problems.

For that reason, users should give up this habit because the cost of repairing parts such as brakes, engines, and even damage caused by accidents is not commensurate with the fuel savings users gain.