A Beginner’s Guide To Automatic Cars.

An automatic car can be much easier to drive. However, when you transfer from a manual to an automatic, it can be confusing. If you are considering making the chance to an automatic vehicle, then follow these handy tips so that you are prepared and can enjoy the benefits of an automatic transmission.

Five top tips for automatic beginners

1. Stop after reversing

In manual vehicles, we can become lazy allowing the car to keep rolling as we change from reversing into moving forward. In an automatic, in order to extend the life of your transmission, you need to let your vehicle come to a complete stop. This means that when you move from ‘Drive’ to ‘Reverse’ or ‘Reverse’ to ‘Drive’ you need to make sure that your car is at a complete standstill during the transition.

2. Avoid neutral at traffic lights

Another common bad practice in automatic transmissions is but the car in neutral when pausing at traffic lights. By selecting neutral, the torque converter stops. The pressure this creates damage to the parts and can extensively damage the transmission unnecessarily.

3. Only ‘Park’ when you have stopped completely

Similarly to stopping the vehicle after reversing, you should only select the ‘Park’ function for your vehicle when you have come to a complete stop. By selecting ‘Park’ when the vehicle is still moving, even if it is only slight, then it may damage the transmission. First, use the foot brake to come to a complete stop and then select ‘Park’ when you are stopped and fully parked.

4. Understand kick down

If you want to overtake a vehicle, then you need to apply an action called kick down. With a manual transmission, you can find acceleration from dropping into a lower gear. However, with an automatic, you do not have the luxury. Instead, a kick down is performed by pressing the accelerator pedal sharply and fully. Once you have achieved the required power, release the accelerator, and the car will change the gears up again for you.

5. Brake sooner

As an automatic vehicle changes gears for you, you want it to complete the action smoothly to avoid damage to your car. When you are slowing down, apply the brake sooner than you would in an automatic to allow gears to reduce progressively and gently. By adopting this tactic, you can help to extend the life of your transmission.