How to drive efficiently an automatic transmission car?

[lm723]

Guys, I drive a Hyundai i10 1.2 AT. And I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to drive efficiently using an automatic transmission car?

First AT owner kse.

Thanks a lot!

[meledson]

IMO, magaan na paa pa rin ang sagot.

[lm723]

Makakatulong ba ung pag lagay nang gear sa nuetral if malapit na sa stoplight? -- saw from some forums.

[ghosthunter]

Guys, I drive a Hyundai i10 1.2 AT. And I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to drive efficiently using an automatic transmission car?

First AT owner kse.

Thanks a lot!

SMooth and slow movements of the accelerator pedal. Don't floor it.

[mazzipino]

Makakatulong ba ung pag lagay nang gear sa nuetral if malapit na sa stoplight? -- saw from some forums.

..and put the handbrake up otherwise you might roll up/down hill :D

But you should really put it in P when you're stationary!

[_Qwerty_]

P is used when parking.. kung stoplight lang.. just put it in N.

..and put the handbrake up otherwise you might roll up/down hill :D

But you should really put it in P when you're stationary!

[XTO]

+1 but plus handbrake

anticipate your next braking point to avoid over acceleration.

[JJGF]

huwag masyado magmadali sa daan... 5-10 minutes late lang naman ang diff. mo sa mga mabibilis magpatakbo pagdating sa pupuntahan... relax ka pa at dami nakikitang bebots hehehe

[ehnriko]

Always keep it in D (Drive Mode) all the time... unless you are negotiating a steep gradient.

Dont use D when going uphills... put it in Low 2 or 1 if need be... this will lock you gears at the lower gear numbers and will be a much lighter load for your engine - meaning... lesser fuel consumption and lesser effort on the pedal.

Keeping it in D at uphill driving will force your engine to rev more and keeping the torque converter to work more also... of course it will shift automatically but the slightest pressure detected that can make your ECU decide to put it back to D will immediately put added unnecessary fuel into the cylinders.

With an AT tranny - you cannot Hypermile... dont put it in Neutral when you are already in high speed... this will shorten the life of your AT tranny. The only time you need to put it in Neutral is when you are stopping temporarily in traffic.

Also dont rev hard and make your tyres screem by putting the shifter immediately to drive. If you like to hear some tyres screeming... put it in drive mode first before you step on the gas pedal gradually but heavily. Never the other way around if you want your tranny to live longer.

Basically... a light foot will always save fuel.

[speed unlimited]

Tamang acceleration para sa normal driving at Weight reduction .Tagalin lahat ng mga mabibigat na bagay na hindi kailangan sa sasakyan .

[OldSchoolHack]

UNLOAD. Yup, all the junk in the trunk does eat fuel. You can always bring a tire repair kit which is lighter than a spare tire and if you only do short distances this will do.

RELAX. Drop the ego. Drive in a relaxed manner and keep the foot off the gas pedal. No need to be a snail but do keep a consistent and safe speed.

N+Hand Brake when stopping. Not only will you consume less fuel, your brakes will last longer. Your hand brake will wear faster though.

Use energy efficient tires. Check Michellin. Others also have similar tires. And keep these properly inflated.

Keep the car in tip top shape. Clean air filter, flush ATF once a year (some do it every three months!) and check your power steering for leaks and fluid. Also remember to have your car properly aligned (lalo na pag luma na yung oto).

[mreyes]

learned much by reading this. i drive a 09 city, 1.5E and im guilty of hypermile, like what sir ehnriko pointed out. wont do that again. thanks a bunch guys.

[prince777]

UNLOAD. Yup, all the junk in the trunk does eat fuel. You can always bring a tire repair kit which is lighter than a spare tire and if you only do short distances this will do.

YES!..i even remove the 3rd row seat completely...

RELAX. Drop the ego. Drive in a relaxed manner and keep the foot off the gas pedal. No need to be a snail but do keep a consistent and safe speed.

sometimes...

N+Hand Brake when stopping. Not only will you consume less fuel, your brakes will last longer. Your hand brake will wear faster though.

don't just pull the hand brake up to the point that it's difficult to retract..

Use energy efficient tires. Check Michellin. Others also have similar tires. And keep these properly inflated.

proven theory...there are really tires that are fuel effecient.


Keep the car in tip top shape. Clean air filter, flush ATF once a year (some do it every three months!) and check your power steering for leaks and fluid. Also remember to have your car properly aligned (lalo na pag luma na yung oto).

this i never did for the span of three years......but i do regular tune ups.

[jick.cejoco]

Guys, I drive a Hyundai i10 1.2 AT. And I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to drive efficiently using an automatic transmission car?

First AT owner kse.

Thanks a lot!

lm723,
don't overcool the engine by removing the thermostat. it also disables the overdrive mode and prolongs the torque converter lockup. by overcooling, you are wasting the necessary heat to convert from heat energy to mechanical energy. lighter paint color also affects mpg by reducing the cooling load to the airconditioning or climate control.
jick

[the lark]

No hard acceleration, no hard braking. Use airconditioning sparingly. lalo na ngayon malamig na sa umaga or sa gabi.

[KinKyHOOTER]

Always keep it in D (Drive Mode) all the time... unless you are negotiating a steep gradient.

Dont use D when going uphills... put it in Low 2 or 1 if need be... this will lock you gears at the lower gear numbers and will be a much lighter load for your engine - meaning... lesser fuel consumption and lesser effort on the pedal.

Keeping it in D at uphill driving will force your engine to rev more and keeping the torque converter to work more also... of course it will shift automatically but the slightest pressure detected that can make your ECU decide to put it back to D will immediately put added unnecessary fuel into the cylinders.

With an AT tranny - you cannot Hypermile... dont put it in Neutral when you are already in high speed... this will shorten the life of your AT tranny. The only time you need to put it in Neutral is when you are stopping temporarily in traffic.

Also dont rev hard and make your tyres screem by putting the shifter immediately to drive. If you like to hear some tyres screeming... put it in drive mode first before you step on the gas pedal gradually but heavily. Never the other way around if you want your tranny to live longer.

Basically... a light foot will always save fuel.

* ehnriko

Just an inquiry sir. I read my 2005 Altis' manual and it said that don't put the transmission into 2 and L for a long time when negotiating an uphill as it will put uncessarry stress to the transmission causing it to get damaged. Well I understand 1-2mins of going uphill is not a long time.

But what about the Talisay going-up Tagaytay route. WOW thats more or less 10mins estimate (10mins that is if there is not line of cars going uphill) of very steep zig-zag uphill road.

I passed that route sometime this summer and BOY did my Altis 1.6E felt the challenge. There were 3 of us, me my wife and her sister. There was a car in front of me which was slow so I somehow lost momentum on certain areas...bad trip nga.

So what would be the proper way of attacking a steep uphill like the Talisay to Tagaytay route? Do we need to go L and 2 all the way? Do we have to turn-off the Over Drive also while in L and 2?

[CVT]

^^^ My suggestion is just to turn off the "Overdrive" in regular D mode....There should be no issue in your climb..... I am very familiar with the Talisay to Tagaytay climb, bro. It is a great driving 'experience', especially since I am driving a van..... (Did you buy some tawilis and maliputo from the vendors near Taal Lake?).....

10.4K:shazam:

[ghosthunter]

Generally, in areas with uphill roads, simply turning off the O/D (overdrive) would be enough. There isn't need to manually shifting to "2" in most cars.

But in some older A/T cars, the tranny will "hunt" between gears in certain specific conditions. To avoid that, drivers simply shift down to 2 or even L.

So unless you can feel your A/T tranny "hunting" between gears, simply putting it to D (with OD off) will be good enough. It will shift by itself to a lower gear when it is needed.

[vito corleone]

1. light foot on the pedal
2. pull up your foot from the gas pedal when approaching a stop sign or a curve
3. turn off the air con when you're about to arrive to your destination
4. N for short stops, P for parking
5. regularly check your tires--underinflated tires are a no no

[KinKyHOOTER]

^^^ My suggestion is just to turn off the "Overdrive" in regular D mode....There should be no issue in your climb..... I am very familiar with the Talisay to Tagaytay climb, bro. It is a great driving 'experience', especially since I am driving a van..... (Did you buy some tawilis and maliputo from the vendors near Taal Lake?).....

10.4K:shazam:

Hahaha. No we were not able to buy tawilis and maliputo

Yup I did run it in D and O/D off. But sometimes when the car up front slowed a little, I put the car to L and 2 to gain momentum and D again.

I turned-off the aircondition also.

Pero iba talaga. Grabe yung route na toh. During that day I thought what I did was a big mistake grabe. Hahahahaha.

Before kasi we went that route, but on a Nissan Safari. So straight-6 diesel naman so panis! We were 6 then.....so I was sad for my Altis. Hahaha parusa for the car.