I recently purchased a new Toyota RAV4 with a V4 engine and automatic transmission. I’m embarrassed to say, I drove 200 miles without realizing I was in 3rd gear instead of drive. I drove on the highway and in town, with a maximum speed of 75 or 80. I was not paying attention to the RPM, so I don…

No damage. Rev limiters will keep the engine from red lining and engine damage. As for the transmission, No damage either. Rest easy… transman

Except for using a lot more gas, and adding a bit to the wear and tear on the engine, no damage has been done. In the long run, this will make no real difference in the life of your engine, but just in case this resulted in some extra oil consumption during the early break-in process for the engin…

No damage was done. You just burned more gas than you would have in DRIVE. Your vehicle doesn’t have a V4, it has an inline 4.

No damage done & you’ll probably be pleased by the increase in MPG! :slight_smile:

You’re fine. The computers in modern cars are designed to cut the fuel off as the engine approaches red line.

The owner’s manual usually says how long one should avoid running high rpms during the first 600 miles or so. You should look through it if you haven’t already. I dunno about Toyota, but Mazda has it where I can download a copy of the owner’s manual from their website and keep it on my computer for…

Driving on the freeway in 3rd gear in an automatic transmission vehicle

Maintenance/Repairs

kizwiki January 15, 2011, 7:14am 8

You did a little wear and tear on your engine. How could you not? Nothing fatal but you shortened the life of your engine. Your engine will last longer if you run it at the lowest possible RPM’s most of the time. The reverse is also true.

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Driving on the freeway in 3rd gear in an automatic transmission vehicle

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