[sreerknair]

Creating a new thread, because I couldn't find an appropriate existing thread to clarify this.

I drive a Honda City 5th Gen CVT transmission and 95% of the time I drive it in the D mode. But in the remaining 5%, I need to shift to P, R, N, or S. While I shift to P, R and N only when the car is completely stopped, I shift between S and D even when the car is in motion.

My query is - What damage may I cause to the CVT transmission if I press the Shift Release Button ALWAYS while shifting between drive modes?

Honda manual mentions few scenarios where NOT to press the Shift Release Button. But this pattern is not intuitive for me and I can't recall it while driving.

So I always press the Shift Release Button regardless to which mode I am shifting. For ex. even while shifting to D from S I press the Shift Release Button. But manual says, do so WITHOUT pressing Shift release button. Below is what Honda manual says on the Shift Release Button usage -

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

So I always press the Shift Release Button regardless to which mode I am shifting. For ex. even while shifting to D from S I press the Shift Release Button. But manual says, do so WITHOUT pressing Shift release button.

Short answer: Nothing.

Long Answer: The Shift release button is like a mechanical brake (a cog) to prevent the car from slipping into an incorrect gear, Like D to R/P. This provides some amount of operational safety and also protects the engine/transmission from having to deal with incorrect commands.

My 2004 Honda City CVT had similar directions. I also used the shift release all the time between D, S, never faced any issues in 12 years and 100k kms. Back then there was an L mode as well to lock the car into 1st gear for steep inclines, that worked only with shift release.

[attinder]

Thanks for creating this thread. I am also a bit confused about the button's functionality.
I don't press the button when shifting to 'N' but for everything else I do.


My Question: Does the button only works for the gear lever or does it disengage the clutch or transmission?

[MotoBlip]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

My query is - What damage may I cause to the CVT transmission if I press the Shift Release Button ALWAYS while shifting between drive modes?

Attachment 2317495

None.

Shifting between S and D without using the release button is also perfectly fine. As long as you don't do that while the accelerator is floored, and even then it should be safe as the computers are smart enough to accept changes without damaging the transmission itself. If your car allows you to do it, it's safe.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

So I always press the Shift Release Button regardless to which mode I am shifting. For ex. even while shifting to D from S I press the Shift Release Button. But manual says, do so WITHOUT pressing Shift release button. Below is what Honda manual says on the Shift Release Button usage -

Why do you even do that? I mean always pressing the Shift Lock Release button, even when you're shifting from say D to S?

There is absolutely no need to use that while driving when you shift between D, N, S, or R.

The only time I ever used the Shift Lock Release button of my car was when I when could not get the gear stick out of P once, even with a moderate amount of force applied. This was because I had parked the car at an incline. Since the handbrake was not tightly engaged, the car slightly rolled back to totally engage the Parking Lock and that made it really difficult to disengage it. Pressing the Shift Lock Release button disengaged the transmission from P easily.

I think you're not helping the transmission of your car in any way by always pressing the shift lock button. In my car, I can't even press that button while shifting during a drive. See the location of that button in my car:



Obviously, Hyundai doesn't expect you to press that while driving!

Or, Are we talking about a totally different Shift Release button that is intended for a completely different use case in Honda here?

For me, the ONLY usage of this button is when I can't get the stick out of P after parking on inclines. I press this button and then I can easily shift the stick out of P.
The other usage scenario is, if my car's battery died, and if I want to put the car into N from P, I need to use this button.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Or, Are we talking about a totally different Shift Release button that is intended for a completely different use case in Honda here?

Hi Clevermax, the button you mentioned is the Shift Lock Release button, which I agree we don't use while driving and is required only when the gear lever can't be engaged. The Shift Release Button I mentioned is the one present in the Gear lever itself. The picture below should clarify which button I am talking about.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

The picture below should clarify which button I am talking about.
Attachment 2317527

I got you. I would suggest that you stop pressing this button always, and only press this button when you really intend to put the car into Reverse or Parking mode.

Reason - when you're driving, if you accidentally try to shift the gear lever to R or P, NOT pressing this button will prevent that from happening.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Reason - when you're driving, if you accidentally try to shift the gear lever to R or P, NOT pressing this button will prevent that from happening.

Exactly the point of the button. I have a Jazz CVT in Chennai that I use sparingly and my thumb rule is to use the button only to shift to reverse, either from Parking or from Neutral.

This is similar to the manual transmission in my Verna where the motion for Reverse gear is similar to the 1st gear, but gets into reverse only when you press the button.

[Ritz2010]

I drive 2020 1.3 Duster CVT. I was using the button for every change until I figured out it worked without button too unless it goes to Reverse / Parking.

So do whatever it allows you to do. Simple rule.

PS: Driving auto for 8 months now after 10 years of stick.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by Ritz2010

I figured out it worked without button too unless it goes to Reverse / Parking.

So do whatever it allows you to do. Simple rule.

Thanks, I will have to train my head to use that button only when shifting TO P, R, or S. Honda manual could have just mentioned it this way, along with that diagram.

[B-Taurus]

Though some of you have tried to explain the usage of “Release Button” here are my 2 cents.

I drive an AT (TC) but not a CVT, but it also has a release button and the purpose is clearly mentioned in the manual.

Of course the reason for pressing this while moving the stick out of “P” and moving into “R” is obvious, however there is another small reason why we need to press this “only” in some other situations.

My car has the following sequence in the stick: P, R, N, D, 2, L.
I need to press the release button while moving out of “P”, moving to “R” from “N” and while moving it to “2” and “L”.

Of course I can move the stick to any position with the button pressed all the time and it won’t damage anything.

However it’s still a good “habit” to press this button only when needed.

Reason: When I start my drive I press the button and move it out of “P” after that I release the button and move it all the way down until it stops, this ensures that the stick is slotted in “D” for sure and it’s not in “2” or “L” by “mistake”.

In your case Honda probably don’t want you to start the drive in “S”, so as long as the button is not pressed it surely is in “D” when you start the drive without you having to look at the dashboard display or the stick position.

My manual says it’s better not to get used to moving the stick with the button pressed and use it only where needed so that we’re always sure where the stick is even without looking at the stick position or dashboard display.

[spgv]

AFAIK The procedure is designed for safety. Pressing the Knob button(Manual calls it Knob button) is a positive confirmation of intent to select a certain drive mode.
Say shifting from N to "L" bypassing D while attempting to shift to "D".
Or
"D" to "R" by passing N. I have managed to
do this in initial days (didn't care to read the manual) i was pressing the button for every shift. This incident scared me enough to read the manual.

Snapshot of Baleno's manual.




Habit of shifting with button pressed can be dangerous, as the driver may select a mode inadvertently/unintentionally.

[sankdadevil]

The shift release button is an intent confirmation system and a simple failure prevention mechanism. Driver needs to confirm his/her intent w.r.t. the behavior change requested from the gearbox. Ensuring an intent confirmation allows incorrect usage of gearbox thereby preventing early failures of complex mechanics in an automatic vehicle.

Ex:
If you're driving towards a signal that has just turned red and you shift to 'N' (without shift release.) An accidental shift to 'R' (either at the time of stopping or when the signal turns green) is not possible without a shift release. This simple trick to confirm driver's intent can prevent accidents.

Shifting from forward motion to reverse is highly dangerous and can ruin many mechanical components in a car. The simple shift release button ensures such shifting does not happen accidentally.

As mentioned by a few others on this thread, I will re-iterate, please form a habit of using the shift release only as intended as it's more of an intent confirmation system. It will help you & protect your car in the long run. Cheers!

[pram_ind]

I too have a habit of pressing the "Release button" everytime when changing gears in my Creta petrol AT, which I am doing from past 6 years.


I still remember when I accidently shifted from " D" to "R" in Baleno CVT, but it did nothing. I realized my mistake and did the corrections.

My question to esteemed members, is this safety feature in all AT's available?