I’m a new driver and it’s my first time to drive a brand new car (automatic) … with lack of guidance and knowledge on the gear I had used + or - or 1 and 2 mode, I hit as much as 80kph on a highway on my first day… as to what I had observed: I can hear some noise on the engine once I step up the acceleration… and then on the 2nd day, a friend of mine told me that I should be on D ( driving mode ). After I tried that, the engine runs smoothly with no noise…my concern now is does this affect much on the engine or have any bad effect after what I have done running at 80kph at 1 and 2 mode? Your comment will help me a lot on this issue .
Well you didn’t do it any good but probably no real damage at what 50 miles per hour? There are two modes on the transmission, automatic and manual shift. In automatic you just put it in D for drive and let the transmission decide what gear to use. In the manual shift mode, you have to shift gears. Push the paddle or whatever plus to go up one gear and minus to go down one. You should not be going over 2500 to 3000 rpm before shifting to a higher gear. Low gear means the engine goes faster and the wheels slower for slow speed. High gear mean engine goes slower and wheels faster for higher speed. Spend a few hours reading the owners manual.
If you used only first and second gear at these speeds, then you were revving your engine quite a bit faster than usual. Normally this won’t hurt anything, but the break-in instructions for your car might tell you not to do this for a certain number of miles, in which case it’s best to follow those instructions.
As Bing says, please read your owner’s manual. You don’t want to guess at how to operate an item that costs so much.
In general, as a new driver, you should use D and let the transmission pick the gear, unless you’re going down a long, steep hill. Later, when you have much more experience, you might choose to shift manually at certain other times.
yeah thank you guys i am almost to my first 1k km and i’m going to have my first service from the dealer after buying it…surely i will read the drivers manual a lot from now on, once again thank you for sharing your thoughts…if you guys have some tips on whatever may help for a new driver like me will definitely be appreciated hug hug
“+ and -” is the “autostick” feature that some cars have. It allows you to manually shift your automatic transmission. (if you don’t know that by now) Press towards + to go up a gear, - to go down a gear. In your case, I would leave it in “D”.
If you drove your car on a long trip in 2nd gear, it could have caused some engine wear, but you’re probably okay. Time will tell.
Tips for a new driver: Read the manual. Learn how to check your oil and do so regularly–don’t just expect it to always be full because “I just had it changed” Keep up with the oil changes and other maintenance. Don’t ignore your “check engine” light when it comes on, or other warning lights, especially the red ones on your dash. If you drive in a winter climate, take your car to a big, open, unpopulated parking lot after you get some snow, and drive like an idiot–learn what it takes to make your car slide and how long it takes to stop when it’s slippery. When you do slide in actual driving conditions, you won’t panic and you’ll know what to expect. Don’t drive distracted or impaired.
@oblivion makes some good points here especially the “winter driving” advice. When I was stationed in the great state of Maine while in the Air Force…winter driving classes were mandatory for all personnel. The class was held on a very large parking lot and you had to drive your own vehicle. Since I had 3 vehicles at the time…I had to take the class 3 times. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I drove the vehicle daily that handled the best in ice and snow (my wife’s Subaru) and parked the other 2 until spring rolled around…usually sometime in May.
My dad recently did something similar, we rented a Toyota Auris (5 door hatch similar to a Mazda 3) with the shift paddles while in the UK recently and it took him a few miles to realize what he had done. Automatic meant one less thing to have to do while navigating narrow country roads.
well most of the people i asked about it has says that there maybe cause some engine problem…but as of now after doin the right thing, it runs smoothly and quite im still hoping that there will be no bad effect in the future…again lemme restate on what happen…i used the + - on the first few kms after gettin the car from the dealers workshop place and drove it back to my home like about 11 kms away from the dealers place…not only that i did the same mode on the first and 2nd day hittin like 80kph max inside the city for about first 100km of my travel… @oblivion thnx for that info…i just hope that snow comes also in middle east xD @OlyDoug did you experienced some engine noise or problems after on what your father had done?
all city driving means that you varied your speed a lot. If so, then you are OK, had you hit the highway for a couple hundred km at a steady speed in one of the lower gears, then you would not have done your engine any good. It might take a couple hundred thousand kms to show up but eventually it would start to burn oil prematurely.
@keith i remember i had like less than 100km before realizing my mistake and yeah i did a steady speed in lower gear running at max speed of 80kph…as of now it runs smoothly cant see any problem so far … doin great as well in long travel … but ill ask the dealer also once i bring the car to them for free service on my 1k km. probably nxt day cuz im on my 900 km now
Even in the + and - manual mode the transmission will shift automatically at conservative engine rpms if you don’t to protect the engine from any damage. I think the worst thing you may have done is use a little more gas, no worries.
I don’t think I would mention this to the dealer. It would be an excuse to deny any engine warranty problems that may develop. What would they tell you anyway? Compression is fine, ignition is fine, no codes, etc. Nothing to be seen here. Just drive and enjoy and keep your secrets to yourself.
@GeloMatias When my dad noticed quite a bit of engine noise and then realized that he was in manual mode and switched to regular Auto for the rest of the trip, car had lots more power then we were expecting. The car didn’t seem affected by this. The Auris is a european market hatchback that would be similar to the Focus/Mazda3 Hatchbacks.
GeloMatias Judging from your post of October 8 I see that you still don’t understand the transmission. You don’t drive in +or -, that just shifts up or down from where you are already. Say you are cruising in 4th and you move the shift to the - side, it should downshift to 3rd.