On & off the throttle at highway speeds w/ an AT

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Tom300M

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I am usually very aware of the driving habbits of others when I am a passenger. I have noticed with some people, they are constantly going on and off the gas on the highway when there is no need (like heavy traffic). And by constantly I mean about every 5-10 seconds. I can see it in the tachometer and slightly feel it. One of my friends actually does this quite harshly with his new Accord to the point where it is uncomfortable to ride in the car with him driving (but if I say anything about it he takes offence that I am criticizing his driving).

I wonder if this causes any excessive wear or stress on an automatic transmission? I know someone who has driven an 04 Taurus like this for 65,000+ miles and the transmission still shifts smoothly. However, thats not exactly high mileage.
 
It would probably make no difference. The automatic "lock" on the overdrive lock will kick in and out causing some wear, but manufacturer's design for this.Something else will always break first.
 
Depends on transmission and its duty cycle. Theoretically, if you increase the number of shifts it must do, you shorten its lifespan.

I can only speak personally about a few chrysler transmissions. The 4 speed 604 unit has a tendency to overheat and rapid constant shifting accelerates building of heat. The 604 unit is infamous for being high on failure lists.
However, the 3 speed A413 unit I have is almost unstoppable. It lacks the ultra smooth shifting of the newer transmissions. Mine has 184K on the original unit, no rebuilds. Only now is it showing its age(fluid leak from last owner, they ran it nearly dry and burned up clutch packs).

My ex girlfriend was like that though, but she also applied brakes. It was gas-break-gas-break! When I first met her and rode with her I even asked her, "is something wrong with your engine or something?".
 
Another reason not to buy a used car. Not only is it a sucky way to drive, it places less-then-ideal amounts of stress on the drivetrain. My Dad does it.
 
Had a rental corolla and am pretty sure it was drive-by-wire.

On purpose, I "wavered" the gas pedal to see if that would drive the car nuts. It seemed to ignore me and kept on smoothly driving.

Had other anti-abuse stuff built into the PCM, it upshifted earlier than redline when cold at WOT.

usually the joke is the gas-brake crowd were insufficiently rocked as babies.
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What really gets me is when I see brake lights light up on the freeway when there's no other cars around for miles.
mad.gif
 
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... with some people, they are constantly going on and off the gas on the highway when there is no need...

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Oh man I hate that!
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I let my FIL drive my van from NY to KY and back once. He cannot stay steady on the gas or with the wheel. I don't know how the transaxle and steering rack didn't explode. The slightest throttle position change and the TC unlocks and re-locks on my van's AX4N. The 4L60E in the trailblazer is different. It will hold in OD & lockup unless you make a really big go pedal change. The TB has throttle by wire as well.

Joel
 
I hate people that pulse the throttle too, it is a nervous habit and annoys the living poopoo out of me.

Case in point my brother in law came to pick us up in my wife's Cavalier and for about the first hour that is all he did was go up to 110kms/hr and then release and back down to 100km/hr constantly.

It was getting bad enough that me and my wife were getting car sick and WE JUST GOT OFF A JET FROM EUROPE.

I started talking about how there must be something wrong with the engine seeing it is surging while I knew that he was the cause and he spoke up that the surging was making us carsick.

He spoke up and said that it was him and that was the way he drove. I asked him if he could keep the speed steady and stop the surging seeing it was making us nausious and he was good for about 10 kms and then he started again.

I just told him that I wanted a drink at the next service center and when we were walking back to the car I asked for keys and said I felt like driving for a bit.

Problem solved.

BTW, a week later the CV joint went on it and it WAS FROM HIM.

Pulsing liek that is hard on the CV joints.
 
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What really gets me is when I see brake lights light up on the freeway when there's no other cars around for miles.
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Oh man! I am with you dude. I had that all last night. No one ahead of the car ahead of me and he just starts breaking. Dry roads, no turns, ramps, nothing. Its like, "what are you breaking for? testing the pads?". I just coast downhills, not brake unless I feel a real need to.
 
Maybe a *little* throttle change is good? I don't know...I'm just hypothesizing. Is it good to sit at one speed for long periods...does that create more wear in a certain area than if it moves around? Don't know...just throwing it out there for consideration.

But it makes me wonder why people don't just use their freakin' cruise control more often!
mad.gif
We've all been passed by and then passed the same care repeatedly on a long trip, just because they won't use their cruise. And they're eating, talking, laughing, chatting on their cell phone, dicking around with their stereo, makeup, etc., reading a newspaper, and so on. To me, it's like the other person saying, "Hi! I'm an oblivious driver. I have no idea what's going on around me or who is around me. I'm just going to roll along fat, dumb, and happy with no care, thought, or concern about what I'm doing. I don't care about your or anyone else in the world...it's all about me. I'm an accident waiting to happen. Have a nice day!"
 
I was like that too when I went from a stick to an automatic. No idea why, my only guess is I wasn't used to the car down shifting when I gave it gas.

What ticks me off is when people see a cop and immediately slow to 10 below the speed limit.
 
Quote:

Maybe a *little* throttle change is good? I don't know...I'm just hypothesizing. Is it good to sit at one speed for long periods...does that create more wear in a certain area than if it moves around? Don't know...just throwing it out there for consideration.

But it makes me wonder why people don't just use their freakin' cruise control more often!
mad.gif
We've all been passed by and then passed the same care repeatedly on a long trip, just because they won't use their cruise. And they're eating, talking, laughing, chatting on their cell phone, dicking around with their stereo, makeup, etc., reading a newspaper, and so on. To me, it's like the other person saying, "Hi! I'm an oblivious driver. I have no idea what's going on around me or who is around me. I'm just going to roll along fat, dumb, and happy with no care, thought, or concern about what I'm doing. I don't care about your or anyone else in the world...it's all about me. I'm an accident waiting to happen. Have a nice day!"

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I don't think it makes any difference if the engine sits at a constant output for hour after hour. Some of the offroad equipment my company makes operates at WFO all day long without a problem. The only exception to this would be engine break-in.

I'm with you on the criuse except for the guy that hangs out in the hammer lane and won't move over.
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I've got a really good friend that I simply cannot ride with for anything other than a 2-3 mile trip, for all of the gas/brake and constant steering (over)corrections. The funny part: He was a driver in the Army.
 
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Case in point my brother in law came to pick us up in my wife's Cavalier and for about the first hour that is all he did was go up to 110kms/hr and then release and back down to 100km/hr constantly.

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I was in a car pool where one them drove like that. It was only a 15 minute drive (each way) every 4th day, so it wasn't too hard to deal with. The rest of us just found it amusing and didn't say anything.

I don't think it really hurts anything though. A little extra wear, but nothing I'd worry about.
 
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