"Shifting" refers to the act of cycling through different sized gears in a transmission with the goal of maintaining the engine's optimum power output even though the vehicle is accelerating. Shifting gears is a manual process, when the vehicle is equipped with a manual transmission, or an automatic ...

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9answers
13k views

Does Downshifting (Engine Braking) Cause Extra Wear and Tear?

Does the act of downshifting to slow your vehicle down have any negative side affects? I don't downshift more than one or two gears at a time and I let out on the clutch slow enough that I don't rev ...
3
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2answers
2k views

Automatic transmission: Is shifting to neutral while approaching stops bad?

This is not with the intention of saving fuel (as I have seen many answers assuming savings in fuel while doing this), which is very cheap here in the middle east. But I have this habit of putting the ...
3
votes
4answers
177 views

Does switching to neutral on an automatic transmission improve braking for immediate stopping?

I've been told that when needing to brake quickly, throwing the gear into neutral on an automatic transmission actually allows for better/quicker braking. I understand how things work pretty well but ...
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1answer
259 views

2006 Cobalt SS - Traction Control Light & Hard Shifting

I drive a 2006 Cobalt SS (not supercharged) with the 2.4L engine. In the last month or so the traction control light has been coming on periodically. Turning the engine off and back on causes the ...
1
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1answer
300 views

Manually shifting an automatic transmission?

My car has been rather sluggish lately - both ABS and TCS lights are on, which means there is a sensor error somewhere. I haven't had the time to look for and fix said error, but I have had to drive ...