Q&A for How to Drive a Car With an Automatic Transmission

It's a kind of manual car that doesn't have the clutch pedal, and you have to change gears yourself. They're a little trickier to drive than an automatic, but it's mostly a matter of preference if you know how to drive.

No, this is not recommended at all. It can be very dangerous because, in the event of an accident or sudden stop, you don't necessarily have time to determine which foot is which. It's safer to just use one foot that can be quickly switched from pedal to pedal.

For an automatic transmission, it is not necessary to use two feet, because you should never hit the brakes and the accelerator at the same time. Use the rest provided for your second foot.

No. The brake slows down your forward momentum by converting kinetic energy from rotating wheels into heat, or in the case of hybrids, electrical potential energy to store in batteries. Once the car is slowed/stopped, you'd have to engage reverse gear to go into reverse.

If you are parked, place the lever in P (park). If you are stopped for a traffic signal or similar, leave the lever in D (drive) and keep your foot on the brake.

Yes, if you don't want the car to move.

Going into park while the car is moving is a massive no-no. When you put the car into park, a prawl locks the output gear and prevents it from turning. If you engage park whilst the car is moving, you will destroy either the prawl or the output gear (which is a very expensive job to fix). Just leave the car in drive until you come to park up unless you're stuck in a traffic jam. You'll have more control of the car and in some situations leaving it in drive provides better fuel economy (in a modern car) as the engine will use the speed of the wheels to keep the engine rotating rather than providing fuel (in neutral it cannot do that).

No. In a conventional automatic, a torque converter is used, which allows the engine to stay connected to the transmission so you can come to a complete stop without the car stalling.

You can, but it's advised to keep it in D (unless you're stuck there for awhile). It won't harm the gearbox.

Park (gear) is used as a fail safe for if your handbrake fails. It uses a prawl which locks the output shaft from spinning so the gearbox cannot spin. If you park on a flat surface, then yes it would hold the car, but on a hill, chances are the prawl could snap under the strain of holding your car in place and not only would this ruin the gearbox but would send your car flying down the hill.

This is for when you're in sport mode. If you bump the shifter towards the +, the car will up shift, and down towards the - will downshift.

S stands for "sport". On twisty roads, this allows you to keep your RPM up as you wind through corners. B doesn't have anything it stands for. B increases engine drag so that you can slow your car when going down a hill.

If you're referring to the pedals, there are only two, brake and accelerator. If you're referring to the actual mechanism of the gearboxes, dual clutch gearboxes have two clutches. When you're in, say 2nd, and you're about to change into 3rd, the dual clutch gearbox will already be spinning 3rd gear with one clutch so when 3rd gear is selected, it can engage very quickly.

L stands for "Low" and it keeps the gearbox in a low gear. This is useful for towing, as lower gears make it easier to tow or when driving in icy conditions which allows something called "engine braking" to be more effective so you rely less on your brakes so the car doesn't skid all over the place. "2" means the car will use 1st and 2nd gear but will not exceed 2nd gear, even if you accelerate hard.

Yes.

No, the car changes gears automatically. That's why it's called an "automatic." You only have to control the gas pedal and the brakes.

Yes, as long as it is in neutral.

You simply push the accelerator as needed to get up the hill.

You have to put an automatic car in park before starting it.

Yes, you should always slow down before entering the curve or turning, then you can accelerate once the turn is completed halfway.

Be prepared to almost floor the gas pedal when you leave the junction, because if it's busy, you need to take advantage of gaps that might be a little tight. Go too slowly and you'll cause a pile-up behind you in the roundabout. There is no way to "safely" leave a busy roundabout, because you're supposed to wait for a suitably safe gap which - because it's busy - never presents itself.

How a car accelerates depends on many different factors, not just gearbox: weight, torque, power, etc. For example, a Lexus LS400 automatic will accelerate slowly because it's a very heavy car. A Mercedes C63 AMG automatic will accelerate fast because it has a lot of power to overcome the weight.

If you can drive a manual car then there is no need to go to training school. If you have not driven a manual car before, then it depends on how fast you learn things.

Yes. Pull the gear lever to D mode (or M mode with 1st gear). Push the accelerator pedal until the car thrusts forward, then release the gear.

It depends on the road you're driving. On a big road like an interstate highway, it's a good idea to be driving in a higher gear.

In a manual transmission car, it is advisable: left foot for the clutch and right foot for the brake and accelerator. However, with automatic cars, it's not necessary to use both feet.

It depends entirely on personal preference. I prefer manual, but other feel differently.

This puts the car into economy mode. This makes the gearbox shift at lower rpm to save fuel and in some cases, reduce the power produced by the engine for better fuel efficiency.

It is not necessary to shift into neutral in order to apply the brake. You should set the handbrake after stopping your car, but before shifting into park.

Yes, to avoid the car from jumping, then you release the break pedal slowly. This is for safety purposes.