so the other day i took my sister to the airport, this idiot cut in front of me so i slammed on the brake and push the shifter into neutral but went too far and got in reverse! i know that's bad, but you think i damaged the transmission? it seems fine now but did i do any damage? shouldn't the reverse gear in a lockout mode when the car is moving until it is stopped?

 

How long did it stay in reverse for? Long enough to actually make gears come into contact?... I did this same thing on my 96 Jetta but it was all so fast it didnt have enough time to contact...

 

hmm never heard of it goin from D->N->R in drive, unless u pressed the button on the shifter. im pretty sure R is locked out unless u press the button.

 

it was very fast and i pull the back down to drive the moment i did it. yes, i went from d->n->r without pressing in a the button on the shifter because i was going 60mph when it happened.

 

Sorry, I'm confused. Why would you shift to neutral in a panic stop situation? Also, I don't recall a button on the shifter ****...

 

It's a gated shifter so all he needed to do was press ever so slightly on the brake to bypass the reverse lockout.

 

I am as well. That does nothing for you. If anything, the resistance caused by the moving parts should help slow you down, making it desirable to keep yourself in gear.

 

hmm interesting....o well, the button is for our LS's so im guessing the RX doesnt have it, why not just downshift to 2nd/3rd if u wanted additional stopping?

 

i know that does nothing but i've been a MT driver for years and i always have my hand on the shifter. it is a habit that's why i wanted to shift into neutral, but went too far.

 

actually, i shift to neutral too in panic situations. i cant explain why i do it, but... this is how i think in my head (whether or not its true). it feels like the brake pedal is softer in neutral than it is in drive, so in that situation, i feel like i can press down more. also, when the car is in drive, notice that releasing the brake will move the car forward without pressing the gas pedal. so in my head, im thinking that in drive, without gassing, the car is still kinding going forward on idle, so turning it on neutral would take that propulsion away and result in faster braking.


on a second note, never change to a lower gear while braking, only accelerating. you will lurch forward like crazy as the rpm shoot up.

 

I've been a manual driver all my 18 years of driving, and all my cars are manual. When I drive the wife's RX, I don't have any urge to play with the gear shifter. For one thing, it's not in a comfortable place to be resting my hands on...

In a manual car, panic stops call for "two feet in." Meaning depress on the brake pedal, as well as the clutch pedal. That kind of puts the car in "neutral", but not for the purpose of helping the car to stop better, but to prevent from stalling.

Changing to a lower gear while braking does help with deceleration. You see race car drivers do it at EVERY braking point. It's called engine braking. Your car will not lurch forward, but your head will as the car slows suddenly.

Having said all this, in a real panic situation, I would rather let the ABS do its work, while keeping both hands on the steering wheel to steer away from trouble, then to mess with gear changes...

 

If your car actually went into reverse at 60 mph you would have seen some indication of it having done so. The most likely scenario is that the engine would stall. You didn't mention any symptoms so I assume nothing actually happened when you moved the shifter, and that the car stayed in drive. If you heard any strange noises, or felt the car lurch, or anything else obvious happened, then some damage probably did occur.

 

I'm sure it is fine. It takes time for the fluid in the transmission to actually go the other way at those speeds.

 

i know that its engine braking, but i seriously dont think its worth it cause it really feels like your putting a lot of strain on the tranny.

i dont know about RXs that dont have the sport shift, but in manumatic mode, changing down gears when no accelerating is commiting RX tranny mistake number 1. you seriously will leap forward, not just your head.

 

Nothing happen to your car.....If it damage your engine, you would have notice by now...