Where is the overdrive button on a 1999 ford taurus?
There is no overdrive button in your car. Those were only used in the panther platform cars like the crown victoria and the ford trucks/SUVs, and those buttons were found on the shifters themselves. The overdrive is activated when you simply put the car in drive, but if you wanted to disengage it, you simply shift to L2.
What is the purpose of the overdrive button on my car?
It simply allows your car to shift into a higher gear, which as your mechanic noted will give you better gas mileage because the engine will be turning less rpm's. The reason they put the button on there is so that you can turn off the overdrive in situations where you don't want the car shifting up. Some common situations would be when towing something like a boat, or driving in a very hilly area. Any situation where you find the car constantly shifting between overdrive and drive. It isn't really good for the transmission, and when towing you don't want to "lug" the engine down by working it hard under low RPM's. I suppose you wouldn't be towing a boat with a 4 cylinder car, but if you were driving in the mountains you might want to turn off overdrive.
Is the overdrive button supposed to be on or off?
You leave it on. You only turn it OFF when you need that extra power (pulling more load, climbing long up hills, etc.) If you were to step on the gas a little it will automatically go in and out (on and off) the over drive anyway. That is what AUTOMATIC transmissions do. The OD is just another extra gear. There's nothing magical about it. So it only kicks in at hwy cruising (for better MPG). === Think of all the gears as D1 (lowest - slowest), D2, D3, D4 (highest - Over Drive). If you put the gear in D1 or D2, it doesn't matter what the button (or the light says), the OD is off. You only need to use D1 or D2 when you want to pull out of mud or snow - or you have really heavy load AND climbing a steep hill (like in Rhode Island). Just leave it in D and leave the OD (overdrive) on all the time. It will kick in and out as necessary and automatically. Good Luck... P.S. Here's a true scenario - in Pennsylvania hwy, there are some hills that are like 4 or 5 miles of up hill. That is 4 or 5 miles at hwy speed. On overdrive, you will feel the engine and the tranny really struggling to maintain hwy speed. Eventually the tranny can even begin to slip. In that kind of driving, it would be wise to turn the OD off.
What is the purpose for the overdrive button in an automatic transmission vehicle?
Paul Caskie has it right.Overdrive only means that the transmission is now turning the output shaft of the transmission faster than the input shaft, or more than 1:1 ratio. The purpose is generally to improve efficiency and reduce noise. Unless you are towing a large load, or on a long uphill road, there is little reason to turn it off. Normally the transmission automatically chooses the best gear ratio for the current conditions, but in unusual conditions, it may end up shifting in and out of overdrive unnecessarily. This is generally only found on older vehicles with 3 speed automatics. Modern automatics often have 5, 6 or even more “speeds” or ratios, and the controls can more easily pick the right ratio for the task at hand.So keep it “on” virtually all the time.
What is overdrive and how should I choose between putting my car in drive or overdrive?
All the answers here are good for describing what overdrive does, but don't really give examples as to when you should use or not use overdrive.Most have said overdrive is good for highway use to reduce the RPM's of the engine and therefore conserving fuel. This is true as that is what it was designed to do.Additionally, overdrive would be safer in slippery situations where ice or wet roads may be a factor as the drive wheels would be much less likely to see a sudden acceleration from loss of grip.However, when do you not want to use overdrive?A good rule of thumb for this situation is to compare it to situations where you would find it beneficial to down shift in a manual transmission.These may include:When you are preparing to switch from a slower moving lane of traffic to a faster lane. Passing. Extended downhill grades, to prevent having to ride the brakes.Extended uphill grades to maintain power Hills when you are having trouble maintaining speed.Curvy roads where engine braking would be beneficial.TowingHopefully this helps.
When do I use overdrive in my car?
What the overdrive switch usually does is disable the highest gear of the transmission- so a 5-speed transmission won’t go above 4th gear. The lower gear will improve responsiveness, but will increase fuel consumption. You should leave Overdrive on during normal driving- the “OD Off” light should not be lit.What you can do is use the overdrive switch to improve acceleration responsiveness. For example, when following a slower vehicle and planning to overtake, when you put your foot down, the transmission will kick down into a lower gear. This causes a slight hesitation before the vehicle responds. By pushing the overdrive switch before you move to accelerate, you can manually kick-down into a more responsive gear. Then, when you do put your foot on the pedal, the transmission is already in the correct gear and accelerates immediately. Once you’ve passed the slower vehicle, switch overdrive back on.Other situations where you might want to inhibit overdrive are steep hills (up and down). Disabling overdrive will cause the transmission to hold the lower gear, rather than possible shifting frequently between two gears. Likewise when descending a steep hill, disabling overdrive provides better engine braking. Switch it back on when you get to flatter roads.
Does anyone have a Ford Focus or a car with overdrive button?? Need advice on the overdrive...?
I think I can make clear how it works. When you start your car and see the OD Off light come on momenterialy, it only comes on to let you know that the light on the dashboard is working. If you do nothing, you have the OD on. If you press the button on the gearshift, the OD will turn off and the light on the dash should light showing that OD is off. Press the button again, and the light should go off showing the OD is on. Under normal driving conditions, the OD should be on and the light on the dash should be off. So remember, when OD light is off, the OD is on.
On my 2003, CR-V, what does the Overdrive button mean?
I think I know what it means, by just the name of it. Does it mean, it keeps the vehicle more stablized on the road. Stability control? more traction the road? I would think it'll be helpful in the rain & snow. And have it off, during normal days, when i dont need it. Now I thought turning the over drive button off, would help me save gas. However, I noticed when I press it - to turn it off - Its using more RPM or its at rpm 3 (so I'm guessing more engine power?). but when it is on, its at rpm 2. So apparently having it on, is saving me gas? Hopefully this makes sense! lol can someone please explain to me in detail what this overdrive button is for and what happens if I turn it off and when i turn it on? ALSO, which will save me gas? thanks in advance! Any other helpful tips for the 2003 - CRV? I just bought it a year ago. How long has your CRV lasted, if you had one? I bought it when it was at 70,000 miles. now its 89,573!!!
When is the overdrive of a car on or off?
There are very few times you should turn the Overdrive off on a car. For normal driving, let the transmission use all of its gears. It really does know best what gear to use.Some cars have a button where you can limit the transmission to all but its last gear - the overdrive gear. This one looks like a Ford, other cars will have the button in other places and some cars don’t have a separate button, you use the gear shift lever:You push this button to turn the overdrive off. If you have a four speed transmission, your transmission will only shift through the first 3 gears. This is used when you are towing or hauling a heavy load or when your driving causes the transmission to shift frequently between the top two gears.Shifting frequently between two gears is called hunting - the transmission is hunting for the right gear to drive in for the conditions you are driving in. You don’t want to allow an automatic transmission to hunt between two gears for a long period of time. This can cause damage to the transmission if allowed to continue for a long period of time. To prevent this, you force the transmission to stay in the lower of the two gears it is hunting between. If this is overdrive and the top gear below that, turn the overdrive off and allow the vehicle to operate in the lower of the two gears. At even slower speeds, you can move the transmission gear shift into 3, 2, 1 as necessary.Depending on the number of gears your automatic transmission has, the gear shift might be marked differently, but the principle is the same> D321, D21, D2LWith a paddle shift transmission in manual mode, you can hold the transmission in any gear it has.
What does an overdrive button on a 2018 Nissan Altima’s gear stick do?
The “automatic” Nissan Altima actually has a continuously variable transmission. The overdrive button toggles a mode that changes the software-controlled final drive ratios. At a given speed, the engine RPMs will be higher in “overdrive off" mode than in normal mode.The stated purpose of the overdrive off mode is to provide increased engine braking if desired.