Manually downshifting automatic transmission. Opinions?

[postee]

What's the opinion of people on this? Anyone know if it is bad for the
transmission to manually downshift into lower gears? I like to do this
when coming to a stop, but someone told me he did this with a Camry, and
he wrecked the tranny.

I have a 2003 Tacoma 3.4L.

Postee

[Joseph Wind]

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.

"postee" <pos...@SPAMISBAD.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:107mqvg...@corp.supernews.com...

[David Spence]

postee wrote:

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

Thanks,

Dave

[Dick Ballard]

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
ball...@att.net

[Doug Kanter]

"postee" <pos...@SPAMISBAD.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:107mqvg...@corp.supernews.com...

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.

[Jody]

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.

"postee" <pos...@SPAMISBAD.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:107mqvg...@corp.supernews.com...

[Bruce L. Bergman]

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.

--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

[postee]

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