I know you are supposed to pull in "3" but on the flat highway can I shift to overdive?? It would give better gas mileage
2006-08-22 10:52:56 · 6 answers · asked by rldbr 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
ABSOUTELY DO NOT TOW WITH YOUR TRANSMISSION IN OVERDRIVE ! ! ! ! It puts a massive strain on the overdrive components and will cause overheating, premature wear, and possibily burn out the overdrive gear over time. Overdrive is not made for towing at all, it is only to be used to reduce engine power in order to increase gas mileage while maintaining the same highway speed.
2006-08-22 11:24:20 · answer #1 · answered by bobby 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can do that if the roads are reasonably flat, but if you are towing through hilly areas with a lot of upgrades and downgrades you will overheat and possibly damage the transmission. I'd stick with "3" regardless of the terrain...it will cost only a few bucks in gas at the most and that's a lot better than a $2500 tranny overhaul.
Hope this helped.
2006-08-22 10:58:35 · answer #2 · answered by answerman63 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it would be a problem. Towing in a low gear is meant to keep your engine where the torque and power you need to accelerate with the heavy load is best. If you're coasting at a pretty constant speed letting the car run in overdrive shouldn't hurt anything. But don't expect much to happen if you try to accelerate.
2006-08-22 10:58:36 · answer #3 · answered by lepninja 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can do it if your not pulling to heavy of a load,,otherwise it may pull in a strain,,and this will cause the transmission to pull hard,,if your towing a trailer with a heavy load,,i would try and keep an eye on my ,,rpm,s,,see if it runs high,,if it does it may be pulling too hard you will get a little better mileage,,as long as it runs smooth,,and does not start down shifting its self all the time ,,if it does this you may have to take it out of over drive,,,,i hope this helps,,good luck with it.
2006-08-22 11:03:30 · answer #4 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's all about not overloading your tranny - overheating may damage it. So if you feel that it's not overloaded, use OD.
If it starts shifting back and forth under load - shift to 3.
But don't expect to save a lot of money on gas with OD - may be just a few bucks...so may be it's worth to do it the way your owner's manual suggest...
2006-08-22 10:59:19 · answer #5 · answered by svthech 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
IT MIGHT GET BETTER GAS MILAGE BUT YOUT TRANSMISSION MILAGE WILL GO OUT T5HE WINDOW. WHAT YOU SAVE IN GAS YOU WILL SPEND IN REPAIRS...THERE IS A REASON THEY SAY NOT TO PULL IN OVERDRIVE, OR DO YOU THINK THEY WERE KIDDING???
2006-08-22 10:56:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋