Manually downshifting automatic transmission. Opinions?

Only in emergencies! Also Revving up the engine in Neutral and slamming the shifter into drive will kill the tranny a lot sooner. If you wanted a manual transmission, you should have bought one.

What about downshifting when going down a hill to avoid having to ride the brakes? Is this also bad?

Thanks,

Dave

I don't do it for ordinary level ground stops, but it's common practice for descending hills, especially when towing a load. I've never experienced tranny failures from doing that and I've used engine braking routinely on down slopes for many years when towing a travel trailer. In the mountains with a trailer it is essential in order to keep the brakes cool so they work when you really need them.

Dick Ballard snipped-for-privacy@att.net

Bad idea. If you're going through brakes too soon, it's because you're not planning your stops ahead of time like you should. Not always possible when driving in a place you're not familiar with, but in your home surroundings, you should be able to figure this out after 3 trips.

Does your Tacoma have the overdrive-off button on the shifter? If you're in heavy traffic and the truck wants to go faster than you'd like, push that button in until traffic starts moving again.

I do it all the time, and have never had a problem. Just be real careful as to when you do the down shift, you don't want to be doing it while under power. I wouldn't downshift at higher RPM's either.

Not if you don't force the engine quickly up to (or over) redline doing it. Read the Owners Manual, they tell you the maximum speeds for making a manual downshift. I usually tap the gas as I downshift, it lowers the strain on the transmission. When you let up on the gas, you get a little engine braking.

But downshifting an automatic transmission as you come to a stop should be reserved for emergencies. Situations like "I know my brake pads are gone because I can hear them grinding, and I need to limp the car gently to the mechanic without wrecking the rotor." Even then, downshift to 10 MPH or so, then put it in neutral before you come to a complete stop, so you don't fight against the torque converter.

-->--

I generally only do it when coming to a stop after highway speeds. I drove my 89 4 runner this way for 365 000 km and never had any problems with the transmission. I do have the overdrive button on my shifter, and click it off and then shift down to 2nd only if I'm under 3000 RPM. I found that I saved my self from warping my rotors on my 'runner as they heated up after my highway speeds.

Postee