Nissan Frontier Forum banner

when to use overdrive button

55K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  Keger Jupit 
#1 ·
i assume going up steep hills you push the button to disengage overdrive,can someone explain please
 
#2 · (Edited)
I turn mine OFF when I drive in the city under 45mph. If you are going uphill and the computer senses it (certain load), it will kick-down anyways. I basically go by RPM. I turn it ON above 45mph. But as I hinted, if the truck needs it, it will kick-down. The button is really there if you are towing because you wouldn't want it to constantly kick on and off (automatically).
 
#3 ·
Plus it's hard on your transmission when you're towing, too, to be in OD.

As I mention in another thread, everytime I get in the truck, the 1st thing I do is turn off the OD and the VDC (unless maybe it's raining) until I get on the highway, or exceed a constant 50+ mph...if I'm on the freeway going less than 60 mph, it also goes off...the truck just doesn't have enough low end grunt at those speeds and it bogs it down; I don't like to force it to downshift, cause then it moves up quicker than I want/need it to.

But, to answer orig. question, going up hills it's good idea to turn it off, unless you're doing a steady 70-75 mph where the truck seems to be in a better position/rpm to maintain that speed without bogging or wanting to downshift.
 
#4 ·
I use on any long grade when I know the tranny will have to shift down anyway to maintain speed - otherwise, often the tranny with shift down, shift up, shift down, shift up - tranny will learn after several of these and stay in 4th but seems simple just to hit OD Off to begin with.
I also will often turn off when driving in the 45 mph range to stop multiple shifts.

Great feature I think.
 
#5 ·
Unless towing or driving at that exact speed where it keeps shifting in and out of O/D, there is no reason to turn it off.
That's why they call it an AUTO trans.

Clint
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gdubz
#8 ·
There's many times you'd consider turning it off:


- You need instant torque or acceleration:

When you hit the gas with O/D on the transmission has to play a guessing game. Do you want to just accelerate a little at the current gear or should it drop down a gear to let you accelerate faster? Because it's not sure what your intention is it gives you the benefit of the doubt and waits a bit before it says "Ok... this guy reallly does want to accelerate, let's shift down". This delay can be annoying. If you need to accelerate quickly (like to pass another car), you can manually drop out of O/D or even go down futher depending on how much torque you need.


- When the transmission is hunting a lot:

When towing or just going up hill at certain speeds you can find yourself in the situation where you are operating right near a shift point. You might be in overdrive, but then the hill slightly steepens and the transmission has to shift down to keep up then you come up a section that's less steep and it shifts back into overdrive. This can get real annoying and strain your transmission.


- When operating with a heavier load than normal:

In steep hills, or when towing a trailer you are putting more load on your car. When in overdrive your engine is turning slower but each turn has to push very hard on the transmission in order to turn the wheels. When turning O/D off the engine runs faster but each turn of the engine pushes on the transmission much less. Yes, running the engine at higher RPM increases engine wear, but the engine can handle the higher RPMs much better than your transmission can handle the higher torque. Climb a steep grade with O/D on and you can probably smell the hot transmission oil when you get to the top.

- In High wind:

Running lower gears when it's really windy will help you stay in control much better. The higher torque will help you cut through wind gusts that would slow you down otherwise.


-Downhill:

O/D off or even lower gears downhill will help you maintain a reasonable speed downhill without riding the brakes.



Can't think of any more.....Also, there's nothing special about overdrive. Everything I said can apply from switching from D to 3 or from 3 to 2. For example, if you have overdrive off and your transmission is still constantly hunting, then drop it to 3, etc.
 
#10 ·
I read somewhere either on here or thenewx that cruising with OD off really raises the tranny temps. Since I never tow anything (no boat for me) I always just let it do what it wants unless I'm at a certain speed or very hilly area that's causing it to shift back and forth.
 
#14 ·
how does increasing rpms[at the tach ] mean less fuel mine runs way less piggish when od off unless above 45 mph im actually trying to figure out why my 02 runs like the breaks are on when od is on but under 45 od off runs like a deer od on 4 cyl are passing me and check engine light comes on in ten minutes with it off under 45 check engine light never comes on .i got new o2 sensors and done all the throttle position resets the things a pig under 45 does anybody know why
 
#13 ·
on my gen1, if I roll on the throttle to pass, it shifts to second, winds to 5000 RPMS as the truck slows down, then decides to shift back to third.
If I turn overdrive off first, wind to about 3000-3500, then the truck will go
Same for climbing.
Desending, OD is off to engine brake.
On my gen2, it doesn't wanna down shift the same. it shifts better.
On down hill, it will engine brake automatically, but typically it takes riding the brakes 1/2 way down the mountain.
 
#16 ·
I consider OD to be icing on the 4-speed cake. I have a 2013, 4.0L, & the trans will "hunt" a bit with OD on...or not respond in a natural fashion when I give it a little extra throttle. It drives me insane...but on long, straight hauls, it's useful.

When I turn the truck on, I switch OD off until I am up to speed on flat ground & just want to maintain that speed. OD drops RPM, & theoretically, I'm getting better MPG. If I'm in town, or on a curvy road with acceleration/deceleration, or in the hills or mountains, I just leave OD off. The trans shifts in a much more natural, responsive way. It doesn't hurt the truck at all, or cause premature wear of any kind.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top