Accidentally downshifted to first gear.

informmaha · 13th October 2011, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilisanil

Yesterday night while driving back home, I thought I was in fifth gear (i am not too sure now) and thought I should downshift to third gear. So when I downshifted, I accidentally engaged first gear

Please help me is there anyway I could check if I damaged any mechanicals?

hey anil,

The only way to find out the damage is by removing the gearbox, If at all there is going to be a damage, it would be on the gear teeth. But no damage would have happened and infact this is the method to be adopted in case of brake failure. I have personally done it few times because of brake failures (I had used that vehicle for nearly 2 years before rectifying the issue), so nothing to worry here. You will not even feel anything different in the vehicle with this manuver. But to be kind to your vehicle, would recommend you not to do this. Put this thought behind you and Enjoy your drive ...

anky · 13th October 2011, 14:14

In the gear box oil pan there is a magnet to collect metal shavings so even if some damage to teeth if not causing problem should be okay after gear oil and filter change .

the-rare-one · 13th October 2011, 14:25

Anil:

I have done this on my Indica a few times when I started driving it 6.5 years back and it really has not been a problem so far (touch wood).

I recall this from my training sessions, the intructor told that one should not change or jump beyond 1 gear even if its a synchomesh box. e.g. If we are driving in 5th gear, its ok to downshift directly to 3rd gear, albeit you reduce the speed at the same time to match the revs and use the engine breaking to your advantage.

Its better avoided to jump from the 5th to 2nd or 1st gear (mostly wont engage, same applies to reverse) in all possible situation. This theory applies to upshifting too and have tried it on the e-way couple of times.

Best, Sameer.

ACM · 13th October 2011, 14:36

I guess I do it once every year since about 20 odd year, no casualties as yet.

Even if the revs go to red but are for a short period only there shouldn't be any measurable damage.

vnabhi · 13th October 2011, 14:48

As others have said, don't worry too much, as there apparently are no signs of damage to your gear cogs.

My son did it once too when my Fiesta (petrol) was brand new. He shifted from 4th to 1st at a speed of 40 instead of 3rd. All of us were jerked forward with screeching tyres and a revving sound. He immediately pressed the clutch, and this trauma was only for 3 seconds or so.

The reason for his mistake was that he was used to the rubbery gear-shift of the WagonR, and not used to smoother shifts in the Fiesta : he had applied too much lateral pressure.

I did not bother about it for years till I read GTO's thread on over-revving the engine. But all seems ok even today. I guess the rev-limiter did its job, but I was always under the impression that the limiter works only when you accelerate to high revs on a low gear (which is gradual) and not when you downshift and cause the engine to over-rev.

lucifer1881 · 13th October 2011, 15:30

Venu, the rev-limiter does not work when you engine-brake. I did it on a Fabia when I took it for a test drive. Downshifted to first at 100+ kph just for the sake of it. The rpm needle went beyond the red line even. Don't think it damaged the car in any way since I still drove it after that for quite a while.

That said, don't make it a habit to constantly over-rev the engine if it is a car you own or love.

swarnava.m · 13th October 2011, 18:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilisanil

Yesterday night while driving back home, I thought I was in fifth gear (i am not too sure now) and thought I should downshift to third gear. So when I downshifted, I accidentally engaged first gear

There was a huge jerk and a high pitch screetch, I immediately realized my error disengaged the clutch slotted back to second and drove off. Now please don't ask me how did I manage to be so foolish :(

Please help me is there anyway I could check if I damaged any mechanicals?

Just listen to your car properly now.. Does she emit any kind of strange noises??
In all possibility nothing has gone wrong, after all today's cars are advanced machines and this is a minor occurrence, but just to be on the safer side turn the music off and listen to the car for a few minutes while you drive.
If there is no noticeable difference in any kind of sound, then she's just fine. Chill and enjoy your ride.

noopster · 14th October 2011, 22:11

Anil, remember the golden rule, First gear ONLY to start the car!

Relax, nothing will have happened. Just to be safe you can call up your Ford a.s.s and have them check it.

mkpiyengar · 14th October 2011, 23:19

The City does not allow you to down shift to 2nd at 20kmpl without stiff resistance. So do not know how you managed to slot to 1st at 40.

Maybe it is safety feature built in the Honda's, but not sure.

However, in the Ford's and Fiat's allow you to slot in lower gears at higher speeds, but it feels scary and rattles you for some time

Since your car is running fine chill and enjoy the drive!

Renjith Rajan · 15th October 2011, 01:33

Once I down shifted from 4th to 1st in punto petrol at around 40. The gear slotted without any resistance. I noticed the sudden jerk and engine roar before releasing the clutch completely. Immediately I applied the clutch again and shifted to 3rd. This was an year back and there is no issues till date.

kaushik_s · 15th October 2011, 02:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by anky

Like I said before look syncromesh gearbox then u will know what I mean . All modern cars have one to prevent incorrect shifting.

Would you please care to elaborate? AFAIK you don't need to shift gears in sequence (i.e. you can directly shift from 1 to 3 or any other gear to any other gear). Except obviously for Reverse gear which is always turning in reverse direction and hence you can't slot-in to reverse while moving forward.
Also Synchro means that you don't need to double clutch for shifting gears. Am I missing something here?

mashmash · 15th October 2011, 07:21

Interesting conversation. I have an Esteem, and I feel its gears have a miond of their own. It does not allow me downshift to 1, when I am anything more than an almost stand still. Even to downshift to 2, I need to be slow enough, else I feel restriction.

VW2010 · 15th October 2011, 08:59

Anil, now you know how to slow down or stop your car when there is a brakeless emergency.

No harm done.

ashis89 · 15th October 2011, 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilisanil

Many times I did 5-2 or 4-2 directly!

So I doubt!

Anyway, thanks everyone for the comforting words!

Even I have done 4-1 and 3-1 many times but after slowing down to the desired speed. Is it ok?

While learning driving 8 yrs ago I used to face difficulty in engaging the 5th gear(our car was a 4 speed M800 and i had no practice of 5th gear) and used to go from 4-3 rather than 4-5.

BoneCollector · 15th October 2011, 13:42

Dude,dont worry.These things do happen and can happen to best of the drivers when preoccupied.I remember day dreaming while driving once(albeit at less than 10kmph) and then i hear a typical grinding sound and came out of my dreams only to realise that i had tried to shift from 1st to reverse!

Thankfully nothing happened to the car(Santro). And i'm not trying to convey that i'm the best driver!

13th October 2011, 14:14	#32
anky BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 402 Thanked: 115 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. In the gear box oil pan there is a magnet to collect metal shavings so even if some damage to teeth if not causing problem should be okay after gear oil and filter change .
	(1) Thanks

13th October 2011, 14:25	#33
the-rare-one BHPian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Pune Posts: 85 Thanked: 58 Times View My Garage	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Anil: I have done this on my Indica a few times when I started driving it 6.5 years back and it really has not been a problem so far (touch wood). I recall this from my training sessions, the intructor told that one should not change or jump beyond 1 gear even if its a synchomesh box. e.g. If we are driving in 5th gear, its ok to downshift directly to 3rd gear, albeit you reduce the speed at the same time to match the revs and use the engine breaking to your advantage. Its better avoided to jump from the 5th to 2nd or 1st gear (mostly wont engage, same applies to reverse) in all possible situation. This theory applies to upshifting too and have tried it on the e-way couple of times. Best, Sameer.
	() Thanks

13th October 2011, 14:36	#34
ACM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,745 Thanked: 4,361 Times View My Garage	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. I guess I do it once every year since about 20 odd year, no casualties as yet. Even if the revs go to red but are for a short period only there shouldn't be any measurable damage.
	() Thanks

13th October 2011, 14:48	#35
vnabhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: DC -> DC Posts: 5,958 Thanked: 2,393 Times View My Garage	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. As others have said, don't worry too much, as there apparently are no signs of damage to your gear cogs. My son did it once too when my Fiesta (petrol) was brand new. He shifted from 4th to 1st at a speed of 40 instead of 3rd. All of us were jerked forward with screeching tyres and a revving sound. He immediately pressed the clutch, and this trauma was only for 3 seconds or so. The reason for his mistake was that he was used to the rubbery gear-shift of the WagonR, and not used to smoother shifts in the Fiesta : he had applied too much lateral pressure. I did not bother about it for years till I read GTO's thread on over-revving the engine. But all seems ok even today. I guess the rev-limiter did its job, but I was always under the impression that the limiter works only when you accelerate to high revs on a low gear (which is gradual) and not when you downshift and cause the engine to over-rev.
	(1) Thanks

13th October 2011, 15:30	#36
lucifer1881 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 368 Thanked: 2,030 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Venu, the rev-limiter does not work when you engine-brake. I did it on a Fabia when I took it for a test drive. Downshifted to first at 100+ kph just for the sake of it. The rpm needle went beyond the red line even. Don't think it damaged the car in any way since I still drove it after that for quite a while. That said, don't make it a habit to constantly over-rev the engine if it is a car you own or love.
	() Thanks

14th October 2011, 22:11	#38
noopster Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 9,238 Thanked: 12,904 Times View My Garage	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Anil, remember the golden rule, First gear ONLY to start the car! Relax, nothing will have happened. Just to be safe you can call up your Ford a.s.s and have them check it.
	(1) Thanks

14th October 2011, 23:19	#39
mkpiyengar BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 331 Thanked: 143 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. The City does not allow you to down shift to 2nd at 20kmpl without stiff resistance. So do not know how you managed to slot to 1st at 40. Maybe it is safety feature built in the Honda's, but not sure. However, in the Ford's and Fiat's allow you to slot in lower gears at higher speeds, but it feels scary and rattles you for some time Since your car is running fine chill and enjoy the drive!
	() Thanks

15th October 2011, 01:33	#40
Renjith Rajan BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cochin Posts: 46 Thanked: 56 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Once I down shifted from 4th to 1st in punto petrol at around 40. The gear slotted without any resistance. I noticed the sudden jerk and engine roar before releasing the clutch completely. Immediately I applied the clutch again and shifted to 3rd. This was an year back and there is no issues till date.
	(1) Thanks

15th October 2011, 07:21	#42
mashmash BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 390 Thanked: 156 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Interesting conversation. I have an Esteem, and I feel its gears have a miond of their own. It does not allow me downshift to 1, when I am anything more than an almost stand still. Even to downshift to 2, I need to be slow enough, else I feel restriction.
	() Thanks

15th October 2011, 08:59	#43
VW2010 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: electricity Posts: 2,763 Thanked: 3,413 Times	re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Anil, now you know how to slow down or stop your car when there is a brakeless emergency. No harm done.
	() Thanks

15th October 2011, 13:42	#45
BoneCollector Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: BIHAR Posts: 3,202 Thanked: 10,814 Times View My Garage	Re: Accidentally downshifted to first gear. Dude,dont worry.These things do happen and can happen to best of the drivers when preoccupied.I remember day dreaming while driving once(albeit at less than 10kmph) and then i hear a typical grinding sound and came out of my dreams only to realise that i had tried to shift from 1st to reverse! Thankfully nothing happened to the car(Santro). And i'm not trying to convey that i'm the best driver!
	() Thanks