appsdba

Hey Guys,

Got a question for you. I normally use overdrive everywhere I go.....even battling traffic on the 101 Freeway. When will I NOT use over drive? I see the "O/D off" button on my gear shifter but rarely use it. The only time I recall using it was driving through a strip mall parking lot passing by Ralphs supermarket . And I used it just out of curiosity and not out of necessity. Anyway, just want to know if any of you turned off the overdrive and what situation were you in when you did turn it off.

Thanks.

carguy07

Have turned it off a few times going down big hills to get a little engine braking, but really almost never.

appsdba

Okay, carguy07. Thanks for your response. That sounds like it could come in handy

maxSteel

You turn it off when you are towing something

appsdba

Another good situation to "not use it." Thanks MaxSteel.

DrDan

I had the same question years ago. My answer came when I switched the O/D on and off at about 60 mph. Watch the tachometer and you will see the results. The number of RPM’s for the same distance determines your gas mileage.

Dr Dan

salimshah

Do you have Owner's manual? It is the really thick book, you can use to chock the wheels in desperate moment, . If not, check the sticky faq to figure out how to get one.

It is a good read and will introduce you to lot of features.

To paraphrase ... Keep the overdrive engaged to give you good fuel economy. Turn it off to put the transmission out of its misery as it hunts for the right gear when you are carrying/towing load at speeds where the auto-trans hunts for the right gear [visually .. you will find your rpms jumping around, aurally ... you will hear engine going faster or slower, feel of the seat .... jerking]

Hope this helps.

Salim

appsdba

Awesome stuff. Thank you, Salim

kalali

I use it frequently when merging on hiway on-ramps or when I need to pass other vehicles. It's a lot more efficient method when downshifting is needed.

appsdba

Thanks for your input Kalali. So allow me to understand: If I am driving, say, 40 MPH and I need the "boost," I can just press the O/D Off button to jump up to 65 MPH and then press it again to turn it back on. Please let me know if I understood your explanation correctly.

salimshah

To help you understand the OD, the best analogy I can give you is that on a 5spd manual, you are choosing not to use the 5th gear. So it will get you more torque but will limit your max speed.

TPS (throttle position senor ... connected to the gas pedal) tells the transmission control software what the driver wants. If you stomp on the pedal the computer will take the OD out and shift into lower gear. Now if your pedal floats around in a position where the RX can give you best economy, then it will keep the OD engaged [unless you turn it off with the button]. I drive exclusively with the gas pedal and brakes. RX was my transition from manual to auto-trans.

Salim

appsdba

Got it. Thanks again Salim.