Q&A for How to Drive Uphill

You'll want to switch to a lower gear whenever you go uphill. If it's really steep, shift a manual all the way to first or second gear. If you have an automatic vehicle, you can switch to D1 or D2 if you have those options on your gear shift.

There are several reasons this could happen. If your car tends to lose power when going uphill, you could have a clogged exhaust filter or a bad fuel filter. It could also be a problem with your camshaft position sensor, or you might have low cylinder compression. Take your car to a mechanic to figure out what’s at the root of the problem.

Many automatic transmission cars have hill assist to keep this from happening. If your car doesn’t have hill assist, put your left foot on the brake, shift into Drive, and smoothly accelerate with your right foot while easing your left foot off the brake at the same time.

Your options may vary depending on the car. Try shifting into “2,” “3,” or “L,” whichever is available.

Sounds like a fuel or carburation problem. Go and see a mechanic if changing down gears doesn't help you climb the hill.

When you are in a complete stop, move your gear to reverse (R) (your feet must be on the foot brake the entire time), and just gently back down by releasing the foot brake. You don't need to use gas.

Brake down your car deliberately to the desired speed and then open the brake completely so it can cool down. If the road happens to be really steep, it may be necessary to shift down to second or first gear. Then you will go downhill quite slow (with an engine revving on high revs).

Most likely the transmission will perform that shift for you without your having to do anything, but you could make the shift if you wanted to, as long as you weren't driving at high RPM's at the time.

No, preferably Not. As in a manual transmission, you need to let off the gas. Otherwise you start grinding gears, which is bad. So ease off, make a quick switch, and give it some gas.