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Accelerating in D2

6K views 36 replies 15 participants last post by  Wicked 
#1 ·
Season Greetings Everyone!

Quick question, my11RL'

I put the shifter in D2 and as I accelerate seems like it wont go, like there is lag in the tranny. After a certain speed seems more agile.

Is this normal? Anyone care to chime it?

Cheers,
 
#4 ·
You're locking the transmission in second gear... And you are wondering why acceleration is sluggish? Is there a reason you're using D2?

Put the shifter in "D" and try that, you may be happier with the acceleration.
 
#6 ·
If you put the gear selector in D2, the truck is taking off in 2nd gear. NOT 1st. That would be why it would seem like it won't go.
 
#8 ·
If you put the gear selector in D2, the truck is taking off in 2nd gear.
Since this isn't how I remember automatics working (traditionally), I'm wondering .... is the RL unique in this sense, or have automatics been working this way for a while?

(Or is my memory just failing me, which is possible!)

As I recall, this would cause an automatic to start in 1st, but not shift out of 2nd into 3rd.
 
#7 ·
It is normal for any vehicle that starts out in a higher gear. It needs a lower gear initially to allow the engine to develop more power to overcome inertia.
If you ride a bike, etc. you know it takes a lot more energy to get grandma's Christmas cookies and the bike, moving from a start until you gain momentum.
 
#11 ·
In my very limited experience of 50 years, I have always seen automatic transmissions engage only the gear that you tell it to. If you, for example, try to start moving while sitting in a big mud puddle, you might not want 1st gear because it will tend to spin the tires. So you put the car in 2nd gear (D2), so it will start out very smoothly, and without a lot of power to the wheels, and then stay only in second gear until you get free. BTW, this is the same technique for a manual transmission under the same set of circumstances. (My boyhood home, southwest Louisiana/southeast Texas, has a LOT of big mud puddles.) I have not heard of Honda doing anything any different than most other manufacturers, though truthfully I would not be surprised if they did.
 
#13 ·
In my very limited experience of 50 years, I have always seen automatic transmissions engage only the gear that you tell it to. If you, for example, try to start moving while sitting in a big mud puddle, you might not want 1st gear because it will tend to spin the tires. So you put the car in 2nd gear (D2), so it will start out very smoothly, and without a lot of power to the wheels, and then stay only in second gear until you get free.
Interesting ... that's not how I remember it, at least in the trannies I was most familiar with (such as the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 and 400).

I also had a Benz that had a Winter and Summer switch on the trans ... all that the the Winter setting did was to start the trans in 2nd rather than 1st. I wonder why that switch would be necessary if you could just manually select 2nd.
 
#16 ·
Ridgeline transmission selections explained:
 
#19 ·
Yep. But the OM says not to, go figure.
 
#20 ·
Speed- where is the gear selection chart from? The OM section you posted the other day said something like D3 would overheat the transmission while towing. This sounds like you can use D or D3 somewhat interchangeable for general driving. (which not sure towing is considered general...but not sure how it would be classified for the purpose of this chart).

But, maybe the section of OM overrules the gear selection chart if it was listed in the towing section??? I'm not very familiar with the OM....i don't remember ever opening it.
 
#21 ·
Realistically, the reason to overrule the automatic transmission is when you know more about what road conditions are coming up than it does. My objective is always to keep the transmission from shifting unnecessarily, or hunting. If I'm towing up a hill, and there's a brief flat spot, and then the grade resumes - having the transmission upshift to 5th only to downshift two seconds later is bad all around. Bad for mileage, bad for the driveline to have to pull the load back up to speed, bad for the transmission to have to shift the extra times. I'll just punch the 3 button ahead of time and then turn it off again.

Likewise - if I'm floating along in snow by myself, I don't need much torque to keep me going, but I want engine braking available, and I don't want the transmission hunting 1-3 every time I touch or release the gas. I'll put it in 2. OTOH, if I'm on the same road, but there's a bunch of stop and go traffic, I don't want the torque converter to have to slip from a stop in 2 multiple times (like slipping the clutch in a manual starting in 2nd gear) - so then I'll put it in D so I get first gear starts.

Automatic transmissions are great, but they only know what's happening in the moment. If you have a better idea of the big picture, you can sometimes use it to advantage. No, I'm not saying I know better than the Honda engineers. But I am saying I know better than a twenty-word summary in the owner's manual. :)

KeS
 
#26 ·
KeS - Up until Speed posted the OM section in a different thread, I always pulled in D3 if over 3-4000 lbs as my truck never stops shifting (or lock/unlocking TC) Literally changes every 10 seconds or so all day long. I always thought that the continous shifting is what caused heat in the tranny and I thought that a tranny staying in one gear would be much easier on the clutches than shifting 100+ times an hour. (in the long run) But my thinking is not correct according to the OM. I mistakenly used D3 like the tow/haul button on a GM.

It sounds like you have a similar belief that "hunting for gears" is not the best thing for the tranny??
 
#22 ·
The info posted above comes from page 14-26 of the FSM. But here is more info from the OM:



The warning specifically addresses towing in D3. Although I can't think of any other reason to select D3 in a normal driving environment.
 
#23 ·
There are so many variations on this. The Mazda 626 and Ford Probe of the late 1980s would allow manual selection of any of the 4 forward speeds. You could take off in 4th if you so desired. Some of GM's 3-speed automatics in the 70s would start off in 2nd if shifted to "2", but most would start off in 1st and automatically shift between 1st and 2nd. The 1999 Buick Regal would start off in 1st then shift to 2nd if "2" was selected, but the computer would override this if you left it in 2 and hit redline at which point it would upshift to 3rd anyway. The 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix used the same engine and transmission as the Regal, yet it would start in 2nd if shifted to 2nd. It's all about how the transmission's hydraulic circuits are designed (or how the computer is programmed in modern, electronically-controlled transmissions).

As others have said, the primary purpose of allowing an automatic transmission to start in 2nd or higher gear is to reduce the torque being applied to the drive wheels making it a bit more difficult to lose traction on slippery surfaces.

The primary purpose of allowing a transmission to hold a lower gear is additional engine braking to make it easier on your brakes when descending a steep grade - particularly with a load.

There is usually little to no advantage to shifting manually for any other purpose as most automatics are calibrated to shift at or just before redline during wide-open throttle. Manually shifting doesn't change the gear ratios or line pressure, so you aren't going to accelerate any faster, burn any more rubber, or win any more drag races despite the urban legend of "manually shifting to 1st and stomping it".

The references to "D3" offering "rapid acceleration at highway speeds" over "D" is a bit misleading. What actually happens is that you'd normally be in 4th or 5th at highway speeds. If you floor it to pass someone, the transmission will take a second or so to downshift to 3rd for more passing power. If you've already manually selected 3rd, you save this second since the transmission is already there. The engine and transmission put the same amount of power to the wheels in D3 as they do when 3rd is automatically selected in D.
 
#25 ·
That is what I also recall. Which is why the Honda D2 staying in second gear only was good to know. Unless needed for traction purposes, I never use D2 for starting out. That's unnecessary wear and tear on the system.
 
#27 ·
You also have 150k+ miles of operating experience that says the OM may be conservative too.

Out of curiosity, did you ever get an A/T temp warning on the tranny fluid when towing in D3? And how often do you change your tranny fluid?

Edit: notice the caveat in the OM about towing in D3... on level roads. It almost sounds like in hilly terrain you might be better off towing in D3. But they leave that conspicuously vague.
 
#28 ·
I have never had the temp light on before. I changed the tranny fluid around 70K, 105k, & 140K along with VTM. I changed the transfer at 70K & 105K. (these figure are approximate, but probably within 5K)

I am completely torn as to what to do. I generally think that the OM is gospel...but years ago, my grandfather smoked a tranny in a 96 GM 1500 conversion van in less than 200 miles. (van probably had 60K on it) He went to pick up a new camper that was somewhere around 30ft and 9000lbs. Me, Grandpa, & Dad talked about how to pull this camper, and Dad suggested pulling it out of OD manually into 3rd. (this is what I was told to do by a GM tech too). Well, Grandpa read the OM and it said to leave it in D and drive. Soooooo, he hooked the camper on a crazy windy day, and headed back south into a massive head/side wind in drive. The van seamed to hold its own for such a big camper....until tranny fluid started blowing out of the vent. He pulled over at that point and we went up and pulled the camper home with a different vehicle. The van still drove, but the tranny went out shortly after that trip. After the tranny was rebuilt, he pulled the camper no problem in 3rd. And I pulled the guts out of my K1500 for nearly 200K miles. Pulling a 10,000 lb camper, tractors, car trailers, etc always in 3rd if the load was over 5-6000 lbs. I sold the truck to my cousin and it is still running fine.

I realize that I am comparing apples to oranges here and technology has came a long way in 15 years and different style trannys, etc.,etc, etc....but my point is: I was unaware of the OM section that you posted. Since you posted it, I now think I should switch my thinking to just "D and go" as to follow what the OM says. But, in the back of mind, I remember Granpas van and it seems hard on things to shift esentially non stop.
 
#32 · (Edited)
#35 ·
Mine does not correlate. I usually shut off the A/C manually unless I need it. It still hunts. Mine will actually hunt out on the flats without a trailer if the wind is blowing. Especially at higher speeds. I went to Branson, MO across I-44 a few weeks ago at about 80mph (its a little hilly, but not bad) and mine was constantly shifting - to the point that my wife asked me if something was wrong and wondered if we would make it home.
 
#37 ·
Is the OP from snow country?
I am a D2 user.
I read somewhere D2 is good for accelerating on slippery surfaces. Of course you should shift up to D for cruising.

(In snow and ice conditions I usually turn off the traction control and spin the tires...this behavior aggravates my wife. Her reaction always amuses me)

I use D2 when I leave the house in the morning. There is a half mile hill that ends at a "T" intersection, with a light, that usually requires you to stop.
I use the D2 to hold my speed at 25 not touching the gas pedal. Most people like to go down the hill faster. They have to brake hard at the bottom of the hill due to the usually red light and the 45 degree curve just before the light. There is a 15 mph speed limit. This is a condo complex, we own the road.
 
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