steve and mmarshall are probably both right, depending on SPEED.

i've known MANY drivers who when doing a parking maneuver for example will go between drive and reverse as many times as needed and definitely NOT come to a complete stop between changing direction shifts and the transmission/torque converter, etc. will make a little effort (or thunk if an old car) to get the car going in the direction the transmission is set to. but those transitions are typically done at 5mph or less. but still, can't be good for the transmission/tc to do this regularly.

however, as the video shows, i would expect most if not all modern transmissions simply won't go in the 'wrong' gear if the speed is most than a few mph.

so the buick's manual may apply on low speed but software takes care of idiot shifts at high speed.

 

That sounds like a reasonable interpretation to me. Heck, it might intentionally be programmed to let it happen at low speeds so you can make an emergency change in directions as fast as possible.

I remember my uncle would do the D-R-D shift rapidly at low speeds when trying to maneuver his truck(crew cab, 8' bed F-350). And that may very well have had something to do with the fact that it ate transmissions like candy.

 

Totally agree, its a function of speed. The warning is not to shift from reverse to drive while the vehicle is still moving slowly.

 

"Could". Not "Will". This is GM CYA.

 

Well, like I said above, I'm not going to try and find out.

 

 

Did he ever try to plow snow with it? Even on an F-350 Heavy-Duty, that can also tear up transmissions. Our condo-maintenance company has been known to have even an F-450's transmission fail from heavy-duty plowing.

 

Nah, he never plowed with it, but he frequently hauled heavy trailers, including a large gooseneck with his backhoe. Those 4-speed automatics were not known for their reliability as it is.

He may have also uh....spiced up the engine.

 

Hahaha! 324 posts, and the conversation has not progressed one bit.....

 

I didn't know the gear shifter was such a big issue. Things change and this is one of them.

 

Well, your own posts helped prolonged it.

 

Yes, like it or not, it's an issue that, for some drivers, can be a deal-breaker. It's one of several reasons why I chose the Encore GX over the new Envision.

And it's not like I have never used E-shifters, or don't speak from experience (or, as bit would suggest, beating a dead horse LOL) I had an electronic joystick in my Lacrosse for several years, and, though I got used to it to some extent, I never liked it, and still don't. I said, back then, that I probably wouldn't own another vehicle with one....or a rotary shifter. In fact, depending on recharging-facilities in my area, my next vehicle, several years down the road, may not be a conventional ICE at all, and have only a single-forward-speed transmission.

 

I watched some videos on the Lacrosse shifter...it’s the classiest shifter out there...it’s so elegant how it lights up

 

As one who used it for several years, I agree...it's classy looking. But it can be very unintuitive to use. First of all, you cannot tell what gear you're in from the lever position alone. It always rests in the center "N " position....pop it forward or back to light up the indicator, and it springs back to the middle and rests. Reverse is up and 90-degrees left. Park is a small, separate button on the top of the shifter...I once accidentally hit it going maybe 2 MPH or so....fortunately, no damage. The most confusing (and the one that took the longest to get used to) was the action of going from Drive to Manual. You pull the lever back to get into M...and back AGAIN, in the same direction, to return to Drive. Fortunately, you can override the D position with the shift-paddles (standard in the Lacrosse), as I sometimes do on hills. Even in D, flip the left paddle to downshift or the right paddle to upshift....it will override the D position and give you what you want until you cancel it out. That was the one good idea on the shifter.

 

But WHY would you use the gear shift position to determine what gear you are in, when there is an illuminated indicator on the gearshift and also in the instrument panel? It's like this is just reaching to find something to claim that this set up is bad.

My wife's Hyundai has a traditional straight back and forth gear shift. I NEVER look at the position for the gear--I look at the illuminated dot next to the PRND on the shifter, or more often, right in front of me in the instrument panel.

You don't like the joystick shifter--fine. That doesn't make it "bad".