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-   -   Tips on driving an Automatic (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/5883-tips-driving-automatic-24.html)

It's the other way round.

1. For AMT, It's better to wait in 'Neutral' to prevent clutch damage.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4250749
Note: This is applicable for AMTs with creep function (e.g Maruti AMTs).
For the new Kwid AMT, no need to shift to Neutral when you wait because the car won't automatically move forward even if you release the brakes (hence no load on the clutch).

2. For regular AT, there's no reason to change to neutral every time you stop. Watch this video from 7 min 30 sec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zzEtxJkC7Y

I have seen that, when I am going downhill at constant speed, the engine revs to nearly 3K while the speed remains constant. I then either have to speed up or manually downshift to bring the revs down. Anyone else face this? I do not know if this is a common occurence with automatic vehicles.

I drive a Passat 7-speed auto petrol DSG

Hi dear BHPians,

Team-bhp is the best site to help people who have queries about vehicles. Recently, I was looking for a car and the reviews and other threads in BHP have been extremely helpful. Finally, we have decided to go for a "Honda Jazz V CVT" and booked the same in Brigade Honda, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore. Expecting delivery in 15 days.

We currently own a 2006 Santro Xing XO which we love, but it has started showing its age. My wife uses the car daily (I travel by Metro) to go to office and I use it over the weekends or for trips. She becomes very tired after driving in Blore traffic (of course the age of Santro also might be adding to it). Considering the Blore traffic and the fact that my wife would be using the car more, we decided to move to Automatic.

We have been using the manual car for 11 years and the reflexes and actions are strongly built into our brains. During the test-drives (in 3 different automatic vehicles: Baleno, Jazz and Dzire), I hit the brake pedal hard 3 times thinking that I'm hitting the clutch pedal. The vehicle came to a sudden stop; but fortunately, there were no vehicles behind us to crash us. (Surprisingly this didn't happen to my wife so far when she tried). We are scared that this might happen again later in the Jazz when we start using it and that time, we may get into an accident. (We are currently planning to keep the Santro - which may add the confusion switching between manual and auto). My wife is very scared to move to automatic. She is now saying cancel the booking of automatic and choose a manual one.

I'm sure there would be thousands of you who would have moved from manual to auto. Any of you faced this issue ? How did you overcome this ? And you know of any accidents due to this issue ?

Thanks,
Benny

Get it Benny, you are nervous solely because you was driving the TD car with probably 2-3 people inside. Next time ask for a long TD and it won't take anything more than 10 kilometres for your kind to rewire.

Since I frequently shift between manual and automation, dead pedal is the factors for me. In automatic cars, I firmly place my left foot on dead pedal and that automatically rewires my mind within 5inutes if driving that I don't have to use my left foot. I would say, just go for it, it's only your negative thoughts which are playing the devil's advocate here.

If you are still too scared, then simply ask Honda guys to deliver the car to your place and then you can go on a drive next day at early hours, that will be enough of the practice.

First of all do not cancel the booking based on your test drives. Switching from manual to automatic is not that cumbersome. It is a matter of time when your mind and body will adjust to the new machine. AT is definitely a boon in traffic and trust me you will never repent on your decision.

Coming back to the transition time it will hardly take few weeks to get fully adjusted. I moved from MT(Safari) to AT(Endeavour) 6 months back and it was not at all difficult. You should use only right leg to operate the brake and accelerator pedal and avoid using the left leg at all, should be rested all the time. I kept my left foot away from the pedals for few days to avoid such situations. :thumbs up

@bennyv, as others rightly said, it is easy to shift from MT to AT and back. I keep moving between our AStar_AT & our Swift/Balenowithout issues. Don't cancel your JazzAT booking due to this.

- While driving AT, keep your left leg pressed on the dead-pedal.
- Use only the right leg between brake & accelerator. Same as we do on MT cars.

Please note that the braking in AT cars would be tad better than MT cars, given the lack of engine-braking. So braking will be sharper in AT.

Thanks a lot VKumar, roby_dk and supremeBaleno. That improved my confidence. Now I need to convince my wife :)

But any of you faces these issues ?

Should I try keep my my left leg folded or keep it straight like in manual car ?
Is there any "dead pedal" in Jazz CVT ?

I would suggest folded for few days till you get used to the automatic stuff. After that you can keep on the dead pedal if present in Jazz.
I didn't faced any of these issues but sometimes I also felt to press dead pedal with left leg in initial days hence I folded my leg.

Completely normal.
Took me two days to help my mom adapt to the dsg and after a couple of drives she was set. Nothing beats the convenience of AT. and yes, she also switches between a MT and AT. no problems.

Keep the leg straight and the foot pressed down on the carpet, the position will now be as if you have pressed the clutch pedal all the way down. If you had a habit of driving with the left hand on the gear-stick(MT), now keep that hand(facing down) resting on your left thigh instead. So now, you have your left leg completely stretched and left hand kinda holding your thigh so that your left leg doesn't react.

I have another wierd way also. Remove your right leg's footwear and keep the left one on, basically you are barefoot only in the right leg. How this will help is that your right foot will be constantly getting the "feel" of the pedals while the left one will feel dead due to the shoes. Now your brain will keep on giving you two different sensations in your feet and that will keep on reminding you that you are driving a AT. Keep in mind TO NOT KEEP THE REMOVED FOOTWEAR IN THE DRIVER'S FOOTWELL AS IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD.

Driving with folded legs(like the autowalas) is not safe, I would not recommend that. In case of an emergency braking situation you may panic and loose out precious moments which you could have used to brake instead.

BTW there are some driving schools in Pune that have started teaching on automatics. One such school is in Wanowrie, diagonally opposite McDonalds. Start of driving very slow if you both are not confident initially, take time to get used to the car and then take it to crowded places or high speeds.

As rightly mentioned by OSH by folded I meant away from pedals towards seat not like the autodrivers. That is possibly the worst position. While hard braking you need support from both legs so ideally both should be on floor. The most comfortable position is resting the left leg on dead pedal which you will eventually learn with time.

I took a hiccup twice, once at parking slow speed and once while accelerating for the first time. After that I drove for around 3 kilometers in a very cautious manner and then I got habitual of it. Now I can shift between manual and automatic 10 times a day, in fact i drive most of the automatics too in manual mode itself while on highways with moderate traffic :D

Definitely not, and even if you fold it, where will you keep it? Either on your other leg or somewhere on the seat in a funny position. I won't suggest it at all as it is both unsafe and uncomfortable, drive being seated the way you are supposed to be - you have to drive that way only and you can't compromise your safety either (what if you brake very hard and injure your folded leg?)

Let this image be the answer:

Thanks friends. That was very reassuring. Liked the tips too - very helpful. I showed your messages to my wife too; I think she also got some confidence. Thanks for that photo VKumar - I had not noticed the dead pedal in the TD car.

Thanks guys; I'm feeling much better now :D

Hello Experts
I searched the thread and the site in general. But still donr have a clear answer.
I have moved to an Automatic recently, DSG to be precise. Now I always wonder why they have a "P" and "N" modes.
The only reasonable answer I got that "P" locks the axle and N does not.
But for practical purposes, "P" is equivalent to "N" with handbrake.

Any insights?

Second followup question. Shall I move to "N" while on a signal (like Silkboard :D) or its fine with "D" mode and Foot Break.
My logic is First gear + Break is the perfect recipe for frying the gearbox. But I don't see any difference in rpm meter in these two modes. So more confused now.

The DSG's clutch(s) is electronically disengaged when you have your foot on the brake and car is stationary, so there is no clutch wear.
Once you take your foot off the brake the relevant clutch engages instantly (automatically).

The DSG is different in this very aspect from a Torque Converter.
In a TC gearbox, in D mode with the brake pressed, the gearbox will still be trying (slightly) to move the car forward. This can result in overheating of transmission in some cases.