What do the gears (like D4, D3, 2 and 1) mean, for what situations are they used for?

Question

I have a Honda CR-V n i've always wanted to know what the gears mean, like i know P is for Park R for Reverse and N for Neutral, but for what situations do i use the other gears for, because for driving i've always used D4 and i dont think the other functions are there to be pretty, so plz help!

Answer 1

They're used to control your speed down a long downhill, like you have in mountain country. Select one lower gear, and you'll feel the engine slow the car down. If you still have to ride the brakes hard, slow down and downshift again.

The only alternative is to burn your brakes all the way down the hill, and that is so stupid it's illegal.

If you live in a flat area, and never drive hilly roads, you might never need those gears.

Going down this road, you would use D1:
http://www.inl.org/bicycle/deathride.html

Somebody mentioned towing: correct. If your car (under any condition) is "hunting" between 3rd and 4th gear, downshifting and upshifting over and over because it can't find the right gear... that's very bad for the transmission, so downshift to 3rd so it stops doing that.

Somebody mentioned downshifting to slow down in snow & ice: I disagree. That means you're using 2 wheel braking, you're better off using 4 wheel braking. So leave it in top gear and use your brakes... gently.

Answer 2

On the transmission shifter P Park, standing still engine on or off. R Reverse, the vehicle will go backwards when the accelerator is pressed. N Neutral- The engine may be turning over, but the transmission is not engaged. D4 Top gear, usually an over drive or high speed gearing. D3 Third gear, the gearing used for accelerating or sometimes going up a grade. D2 Second gear, the gear ratio that allows the vehicle to accelerate fast enough to engage third gear without lugging the engine. Used as a engine brake to slow the vehicle when descending a steep grade. D1 First gear, usually used to start the vehicle from a standing stop to a speed fast enough to move into second gear. Also used to keep the vehicle under control in icy or severe road hazard conditions.

Answer 3

This indicates what gear your transmission will be in or limited to. Your vehicle has a 4 speed automatic transmission ( I'm 90% sure on this) so if you put in D4 your trans will use all 4 gears. Starts in 1st then goes to 2nd about 10 to 20mph (depending on how far down you press the accelerator) then 2nd, 3rd and finally 4th when you are over 45 or 50 mph. If you put it the selector in D3, you won't go to 4th gear no matter how fast you drive. Same for 2 and 1. If you start from a stop in 1, you will hold your trans if 1st gear, which means that your engine is going to be screaming at 30mph. Don't do this unless you like finding out how healthy your engine is, because if it is weak it will break while doing this. The intent for this is if you are climbing hills or mountains you would put the trans in D2 or D1 so that you have maximum pulling force. If you ever rode a 10 speed bicycle, did you ever try climbing a hill in high gear? Pretty tuff huh? Same thing for your car. So by putting it in D2 or D1 you can climb a hill easier as long as you don't go over 20 mph. When I mean hills I am referring to hills you would find off roading. Driving on the interstate would never require this.
You could also use D2 or D3 when driving in the mountains going down the mountain. The lower gears works in reverse when going downhill. The lower gears act like the brakes and hold the car back from rolling down the mountain as if it were in neutral. This is helpful so that you don't heat up your brakes on a long descent. But since your car has disk brakes, you are very unlikely to overheat the brakes like the old cars used to in the 40's and 50's. So to answer you question, if you probably won't use D3, 2 or 1 unless you drive in hilly or mountainous areas. If you live in the midwest, you are best off keeping it D4 since this will save gas.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

The other gears are so that you can force the transmission to stay in a lower gear. This is used for holding a car back while going down hill and also for climbing sometimes, especially when hauling trailers. D4 = 4th Gear, 2 = 2nd Gear, ect.

Answer 5

If D4 is the highest gear you have then that is your overdrive gear, D3 is best used if towing where you do not want the vehicle in overdrive, 2 can be used when going up or down hills for better acceleration going up and better engine braking going down. And 1st is used for extremely slow speeds as in descending very steep hills or climbing very steep hills, and great engine braking power.

Answer 6

They're there to look pretty. It's an automatic, it decides what gear the car needs to be in. You're fine with d4.

Answer 7

1,2, D3, AND D4 ARE JUST GEARS 1-4

THEY PUT THE GEAR DOWN OPTIONS ON CARS WITH AUTOMATICS BECAUSE IN SOME SITUATIONS IT IS BETTER TO GEAR DOWN TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN (SNOW/ICE)
ALSO IT IS THERE INCASE YOU WANT TO TOW SOMETHING. FIRST, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO TOW IN OVERDRIVE (IT IS TOO HARD ON THE ENGINE)
SECOND, IF YOU ARE HAULING A SIGNIFIGANT LOAD THEN YOU MIGHT NEED THE OPTION TO DOWN SHIFT SO YOU CAN MAINTAIN SPEED UP A HILL.

Answer 8

i own a repair shop,and if you,ll look in the owners manual ,it tells all of this real good ,it can explain it better than i can actually,it also answers a lot of other questions you might want to know also in it,good luck i hope this help,s.