does it damage the transmision to go from roling backward to drive without stopping first?

Answer 1

Yes it is. An expensive mistake to make!

Answer 2

If you ask an expert he will tell you that heat is the killer of transmissions. Excessive heat to be specific. Most people never have a transmission serviced and this is another reason for premature failure.

Towing a trailer causes a transmission to run hot and will eventually cause a premature failure if done consistently.

Changing directions like you suggest in this question will also cause excessive heat in the transmission. It is also a way to cause premature transmission failure.

Some transmissions are more rugged than others. I once heard that the same transmission was used in a cavalier as was used in a Cadillac. This may or may not be true but would not surprise me. That is normal in the auto industry. That would make the cavalier transmission more rugged than the Cadillac one.

If you have a little car you might not do noticeable damage this way because you are not increasing the heat load very much. This would be a worse problem for a large vehicle.

If you add a transmission cooler coil it may counteract the effect of this abuse.

Answer 3

Yes, of course it will damage the transmission. Maybe not the first time, but eventually.

Think about it like a VHS tape abruptly changing direction. Which is basically yanking on the video tape, and possibly causing a rip or tear rendering the video useless.

Answer 4

Yes, it puts extra stress on the gears in the transmission and put unneccessary load on the torque converter. Do it often enough and the transmission will likely fail.

Answer 5

Yes, it can damage the gears in the transmission.

Answer 6

I don't know that it hurts the transmission as much as it tends to damage the universal joints.

Answer 7

engine spins backward it cant be good