Honda Car Forum

I have had my Accord for 2 years. It's an automatic (I think that some actually are manuals), and the shifter has a 3rd and 4th gear as well as low 1 and low 2. The person I bought it from said that 3rd is for town speeds, and at 35-40 mph I had to shift into 4th gear (highway speeds). I have done this for awhile, and in 3rd gear at 35-40 the engine does sound like it needs shifted, just like a manual. But on occasion I forget to downshift and leave it in 4th at a stop sign, and I take off from 4th it doesn't really seem like I need to shift. Can anyone tell me if this shifting thing is necessary?first answer: that made no sense! #rg gear is 55-60 mph but i should leave it ion 4th? i doubt it shifts after 55 mph! And in 3rd it does make a sound like it should be shifted and stops in 4th, where I AM GOING FASTER!

put it in D and hit the gas you dont need to shift a automatic. you can actually cause harm to the tranny by always shifting like that. the only time you need to put it in a lower gear is if going up a hill and down a hill or need to downshift immediately b/c your brakes are out. and third gear should take you higher like 55-65 mph. 3rd and 4th gear will automatically shift for you until you reach a certain gear(i.e if your in D3 then it will go through 1-2-3 gears and stop at 3, D4 1-2-3-4 and stop understand????). you rarely need to put it in 1 or 2 position. just leave it in D4 and drive. hope you understand and i hope i answered your question

The person who sold you the car knew nothing. The car is designed to drive in 4th gear as you call it, or as the Transmission Computer Unit(TCU) recognizes it, D4 under normal driving conditions. 3rd gear is designed for uphill driving, and can sometimes be used for passing at highway speeds. Shifting from D3 to D4 is pretty useless to put it simple. Anyway, to keep from having any other worries check out an enthusiast group at www.cb7tuner.comAny question you could ever possibly have will have already been answered there. Although, you may need to use the search function. Goodluck

I have the same car (EX version) and I leave it in D4. You don't need to shift at all. D3 is optional if you need to drive up hill or down shift for a pass or keep the car at lower speeds in snow or ice. However, the computer will usually do it automatically eventually so just drive in D4. I've had my car for 6 years and probably put it in D3 about 15 times total.. mostly in snow.