Are you afraid to drive in "D" mode?

[jwight]

Originally Posted by Bill Marshall

Why manual?

You might as well ask "why vanilla instead of chocolate?" Some people like the way the car performs in manual mode; others are just as happy with the way it performs in "D."

[Bill Marshall]

Originally Posted by cubefx

Hey,
Does anyone beside me bumping the shifter in the "Neutral" @ 60MPH while driving in "D" to upshift?

Most of my cars are stick shifts, and after a year of owning my "surfmobile" I'm still 90% of the time use floor shifter to change gears and not paddle shifters. But EVERY time I try to use the car in Auto mode, I forget about it and bump my car in the "N". Most of the time is when I trying to pass someone or merge on the Highway.
So now I am paranoid about driving the car in "D".
Anyone else with the same problem?




CUBE

I use the stick exclusively & have never had this problem. I don't like the paddles. I have accidentally shifted them!

[Smart Enuf]

I admit I've switched to N a couple times, thinking I was in manual and upshifting. And yes, I've done it at freeway speeds. The sudden roar of high rpms wakes you up pretty fast! No lasting damage as far as I can tell.

[Woody14619]

I had this issue when I first bought the car, as I'd driven a manual since I was in my early teens. (Most farm equipment have manual transmissions...) This is the first car I've owned that wasn't strictly manual. I also had a month or two of pressing the raised floor area on the left where the clutch should be...

After a month or two the old habits go away for the most part. I had a slight relapse after visiting home via plane when I had to use my folk's manual car(s) to get around town for the few days I was there. When I got back, I was pressing and shifted to neutral a couple times before I adjusted back. Just human nature...

[NeWave]

I only go manual if I feel like being in a race car.... Auto if I'm lazy.

[cubefx]

Originally Posted by Smart Enuf

I admit I've switched to N a couple times, thinking I was in manual and upshifting. And yes, I've done it at freeway speeds. The sudden roar of high rpms wakes you up pretty fast! No lasting damage as far as I can tell.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!
It is not just me!!!!!!!
First time I did it at around 5K RPM and I sought that my transmission fell out. Scared the s*&t out of me!

[jose3030]

I've done this about 2 times.
My solution now?
Never drive in D. LOL

I can shift better than any transmission anyways.
I even downshift and "match rpms" myself w/o incident. Even though the arrow says "shift up!"

[windscythe]

Originally Posted by Bill Marshall

Why manual?

I like having greater control over my car. The smart in "D" just made me nervous too many times- I do quite a lot of short bursts on busy highways and interstates. That means a lot of up and downshifting in high pressure situations. DC traffic is unforgiving to say the least. With manual I always know where I stand in regard to power and acceleration.

Though because I use the paddle shifters whenever I can I've never accidently gone into Neutral on those rare occasions I'm in D.

[smartHHO]

Originally Posted by jose3030

I've done this about 2 times.
My solution now?
Never drive in D. LOL

I can shift better than any transmission anyways.
I even downshift and "match rpms" myself w/o incident. Even though the arrow says "shift up!"

I ignore the arrow, that is there for those that never have drivin a manual. If you have driving a manual, then you know when to shift from sound and feel. Which for me, depending on mood, is anywhere from 3.5k to 5k tops,

[rfernatt]

Originally Posted by cubefx

Hey,
Does anyone beside me bumping the shifter in the "Neutral" @ 60MPH while driving in "D" to upshift?

Most of my cars are stick shifts, and after a year of owning my "surfmobile" I'm still 90% of the time use floor shifter to change gears and not paddle shifters. But EVERY time I try to use the car in Auto mode, I forget about it and bump my car in the "N". Most of the time is when I trying to pass someone or merge on the Highway.
So now I am paranoid about driving the car in "D".
Anyone else with the same problem?

Just posted about this in another thread, but it happened to me for a different reason. I'm used to using the paddles and stick (when turning at low speeds especially) since I drive in manual most of the time. But, yesterday after the trans upgrade, I was trying to leave it in D to get a feel for the changes. As soon as I pulled onto a street I tried to use the stick to upshift as I turned, and bam, into N! This is 'no so good' when done as traffic is approaching. I did it a couple other times and/or used the paddles which kicked it out of D. It'll take a little retraining, but I like so far.