MOst of my time I am driving in the city and I thought is it safe to drive in D4 instead of D5
I think I am getting more pover and control in D4 in the city...
I just dont want to f...my tranny because of D4 driving :banghead:
Need advice.
Thanks.

 

I'd doubt it would cause permanant damage... but then again I may be wrong...

 

 

Shit can we be any more paranoid??? IT wont do shit, if you roll around and redline it all the time then it will give you shitty gas milleage, other than that it wont do anything....I wish everyone on here would quit being so paranoid about their damn rides....its all good!!!! we only hear about the people that have problems...I agree it sucks but the % is WAY low.

 

4th gear is still an overdrive gear, just means you'll get about 26 or 27 mpg instead of 31 or 32 in 5th.

Its not bad for the engine at all.

 

I think you will find a good number of owners drive in D4 unless crusing at highway speeds. Don't sweat it.

 

I routinely drive in D4 in city traffic. Prevents 4-5 auto "gear hunting". May ultimately be better for tranny. Less shifting.

 

i've been using D4 myself alot lately. it is perfectly fine to use and does in fact eliminate the gear hunting issues to a degree, which is why i like it. your tranny fluid probably runs a little hotter, but thats what the cooler is for. i wouldn't bother worrying.

SSTS

 

when i test drove my 03 TL-S the dealer told me to keep it in D4 while in the city.

however, knowing how much the dealers dont know, i usually drive in D5.

 

PhillyTL-S, nothing is going to happen if you drive in D4 in the city. As a matter of fact, I prefer D4 especially if you're going to be driving down Broad or Market streets because of all of the traffic lights and mad traffic all of the time. Plus I always seem to get better performance in D4. You'll be fine.

 

if you never reach speeds of 45 or greater it doesnt matter if you use d4 or d5 cause the tranny never goes into 5th. if you constantly find the tranny switching between 4th and 5th due to speed going slightly above 45(so that it goes into 5th) and than slowing(where it goes back to 4th) it wouldnt hurt to just keep it in d4. will it hurt the tranny to drive in 4th nope.

 

Well it says in our manuals ".. drive in the highest allowed gear." But it ain't gonna hurt to drive in D4. Wow..some of you are in such a rush to get places huh? I just keep mine in D5 and cruise at 40mph..and get the occasional stare down of "..why the hell are you going so slow?!?" look while everyone passes me. :p And you wonder why so many people get speeding tickets..

 

40 MPH??? I'd go crazy. In my opinion, the speed limit is set at 35 because they know nobody can patiently go that slow, and they expect people to be over by 10 MPH which is still safe.

 

Your best bet is to leave the car in D4 for city driving. That way, you won't be putting excessive stress on the tranny by preventing it from changing between 4 and 5. In city driving, 4th gear already brings the RPMs pretty low so that you can get better gas mileage. D5 is more useful when your going 65mph+ or on the highway where you won't need to downshift or brake as much. Although there aren't any facts to back it up, there is a general concensus or belief that using SS (sport shift) properly and without abuse results in less transmission failure because the ECU isn't making all the excessive gear changes. They are limited by the driver. Do a search, there is a good-sized thread about this.