Locking the transmission in second gear

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Thanks to a road diversion, my commute to work now involves a 30 minute drive in stop and go traffic. At 10 mph, the transmission shifts into second and at 25 mph, it shifts into third. Considering the fastest I'm able to get up to is 25 mph at times, I locked the transmission in second. Sure, pick up isnt the same as first, but is all that shifting really necessary? What are the downsides of locking the transmission in second under these conditions? Thanks!
 
More torque converter slip (heat) from a standstill. I do the same in stop and go traffic. It does end up being a net benefit, IMO, over 121212323212123 etc.
 
As an aside, I remember telling my friend that to get better traction in snow, I would lock my CV in second. He was confused. He had never heard of an automatic locking in a selected gear. Most of his experience is with Mopar and GM stuff though. I know on the GM stuff I have driven, they treat a selected manual gear as a lockout of every gear above. So, in manual 2nd it will still use 1st if applicable. Dont know about Mopar, though. Have not played with one enough, especially the older stuff; but from the way he had talked, they work like GMs. Or he just wasnt aware it was locking.
 
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On GM trucks that we have selecting second is merely a suggestion.

If you go easy on the gas it stays in second. If you romp on it it will downshift into first, and if you rev it too much it automatically upshifts.

My Chrysler stays where you put it and will not up or downshift. I like that better.
 
Both of our Honda products lock into 2nd gear if you select second. No 1st, no 3rd, no matter what you do, and I like that about them.

I haven't owned any other vehicles that would do that. Our Mopar vans didn't even have 2nd on the shifter. It had P-R-N-OD-D-1.
 
when saturn put a 5 speed auto in the VUE, the shifter had 'I', for intermediate. IIRC, this should keep it out of 4th and 5th, good for around town driving.
 
I like putting an automatic car in manual first when I'm driving it up on ramps for an oil change. It shouldn't matter, but...

I then did this on a saturn s-series where manual low was 2nd, and shot myself in the foot doing so-- forgot it did that. Really had to rev it to get it up.
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This car is banned from the Mt Washington Auto Road due to its lack of low enough gearing for engine braking.
 
Our mustang allowed you to lock it in either 1, 2, or 3. And a true lock. If you put it in 3rd, and come to a stop, it will be in third. It will bounce off the rev limiter without upshifting.

The manual shifting in my cruze is similar. I can start in 2nd, and it won't upshift even if it hits the rev limiter. It downshifts automatically when it hits the minimum speed for that gear.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
As an aside, I remember telling my friend that to get better traction in snow, I would lock my CV in second. He was confused. He had never heard of an automatic locking in a selected gear. Most of his experience is with Mopar and GM stuff though. I know on the GM stuff I have driven, they treat a selected manual gear as a lockout of every gear above. So, in manual 2nd it will still use 1st if applicable. Dont know about Mopar, though. Have not played with one enough, especially the older stuff; but from the way he had talked, they work like GMs. Or he just wasnt aware it was locking.


Strange, none of our GM vehicles in "2" ever use 1st gear.
 
In my Jeep, my dad's 05 Camry, my sister's 94 Camry and my mom's Jeep, putting in 2nd will let it use 1st and 2nd, but not upshift past 2nd. I've driven Fords, however, where putting it in 2 locks it in 2nd (takes off in 2nd).
 
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