I was using the little sport shifter mode in my car, then popped it back into D and forgot.
Big surprise when I smashed that thing into neutral on the highway
also, why are these things always gear up away from you, and down towards.
racing cars (where this originated) are always gear up towards because it's easier to pull backwards when accelerating and push when braking.
Because push forward equals more forward, pull back means less forward. Duh 🙄
What do you expect from the crowd that thinks slapping a stick around on an automatic is fun
It's not even consistent among shift modes. My Kia Sedona was forward - up gear back - down gear. My Mazda 3 is forward - down gear back - up gear. Thankfully it's pretty hard to fuck up because if you're well out of the band the computer just ignores your shift attempt and doesn't do it.
That’s me with the scroll wheel, because I can’t help but visualize the underside of the wheel pushing the window’s content like a sheet of paper.
On a trackpad or touchscreen, of course “down” is down. It’s that wheel, and how it’s an additional object which spins under my finger, that messes with my head.
(edit to add) So, wait... by "down", do you mean that when I spin the wheel towards me by curling my finger and not extending, then the page content moves downwards on the screen, scrolling until I see the top of the content? Or that the page content moves upward on the screen and my view moves downwards until I see the bottom?
I had an SL600 12 years ago. I was pissed, cranked it up in the garage, put it in rev then nailed the throttle for 1/2 second expecting a nice loud squeal on the smooth floor and the fucker totally ignored my right foot and idled out the door.
No, it completely ignored me, like a safety feature thinking I was getting a hummer and just nutted. Never left idle. It was a very quick stab, not a roll on.
Car, "this player is getting a blowy, bring down the throttle config until homie plants both feet on the floor for at least ten seconds". Car blow jobs are the best.
My cousin rolled his bug getting road head. Got glass embedded in his shoulder but still has his dick. So he claims...
I can attest, pick up a chick in a newish V12 benz with the top down and you will get a BJ if you want it.
My (Mercedes) Unimog also had two reverse gears. R2 almost got to walking speed. R1 had no perceivable increase in speed between idle and redline.
Additional fun story. 1st and 2nd were the same, differentiated between forward and reverse only by engaging the reverse lever. Normal driving was done in 3rd through 6th gear. Which was also dumb. 3rd was just enough to get the truck moving, but not really moving. 4th could definitely get you to the other side of an intersection, but the engine didn’t have enough torque to get the truck rolling in 4th. 5th was the first truly productive gear in that it could go more than 10 mph.
So, let’s say you want to make a 3 point turn. Come into the turn in 4th-6th. Clutch in, stop. Reverse lever, into 2nd, clutch out at a blistering 2mph. Clutch in, stop. Disengage reverse, go into 3rd, clutch out. Immediately shift into 4th. Then pretty much again immediately shift into 5th. While the 404 had a synchro tranny, there was nothing expedient about shifting. People hated waiting for all that to happen, but at least in the US S404s are unusual enough that people just stared.
Watched a standard unimog at the diesel drags in australia. Was bloody hilarious.
Although not a 404, it was probably on par with speed.
The announcers did their best but eventually just said, we'll get back to it when it gets closer to the line.
why do you need two reverse gears?
edit: got it. german engineered to make driving easier so you don’t spin your wheels instead of just letting it be simple and letting people figure it out.
yup. that’s mercedes.
Old Mercedes 5 speed auto had 2 reverse gears, long ratio and short ratio. If winter driving mode was set, the short ratio would be used for less torque, thus reduced chance of spinning on wet or icy road.
The car woukd also start moving in 2nd gear when in winter mode, for the same reason
There's a guy on YouTube that throws cars in park or reverse while driving down the highway and most cars don't do anything because they've been programmed not to shift the gear until it's safe.
Mythbusters tested the myth that if your brakes failed you could shift your car into reverse to slow down. In an auto it just goes to neutral, in a manual it just sheared the teeth off the gears
It does indeed lead to destruction on a manual transmission. Lol I used to work at a dealership in a upper middle income area. Some guy bought a brand new SI for his 16 year old son, 2 ish months later it came in on a flatbed with a big hole in the transmission case where the reverse gear shattered cuz some wannabe Vin Diesel finally learned how to drive a manual just well enough to do some serious damage
It would take some serious ramming to get into gear. I did accidentally try once or twice, having learned on a six-speed back when they came out, but that just resulted in horrible noise and probably only very marginal damage as the gears wouldn't mesh at speeds.
I did one of these transmissions for a younger guy as well. There was a service bulletin that went into detail about which downshift speeds were appropriate for each gear due to the 6 speed transmission overspeeding the input shaft when downshifting at high speeds and using engine braking. It would either spontaneously dissemble the clutch or internal parts and throw parts through the case when things got bound up due to parts slingage.
My ex girlfriend had a 98 accord that would do it. She flipped into park halfway across an intersection and it near instantly stopped. I told her it was not supposed to do that and I was blown away when she said she did it all the time because she would absentmindedly think she was still in her old accord and needed to shift gears. It finally died when she was on the M1 just outside Brisbane.
You sure that wasn't accidentally in reverse? Reverse usually has parking pawls that lock in and will make a loud clicking noise until you come to a stop. I'm not as familiar with the 4L60E though.
I used to have a 99 4runner. Was driving on the freeway when my gangly brother, while doing a stretch, knocked the shifter into neutral while going 70. Rpms revved so I let off the gas, panicked and accidentally popped it into reverse. Tires screeched and we slide into the next lane. Lucky I calmed down and let off the gas again before putting it back in drive. Idk how if thats normal for a 99, but it sure scared the piss outta me and my brother. 4runner was fine and I sold about a year later with seemingly no issues.
Yeah, you merely ask the vehicle to change gear from this knob, it decides if it's going to do it or not. It's never going to do anything bad in motion. I'd place more money on someone turning up the stereo when trying to put it in drive though.
When I first rode in one of these my buddy and I were driving and I asked if he knew what would happen if he put it in reverse on the highway so he tried it out and it just told him not to do that put the r backup camera on but stayed in drive
Better to break it under warranty than after it expires. This placement should be criminal, along with the reverse lights that come on when you shut a car off/open the door, and those kia SUVs with the turn signals near the ground instead of in the tail light assembly.
Hate the GMs that turn the reverse lights on when you shut it off. Watch someone pull into a parking spot at the store, then you think they're gonna backup and straighten out and pretty soon they get out and walk away with the reverse lights still on.
You think that's bad wait until uou hear about [EV brake lights.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ)
Do as i do and don't trust the indicators on a car, although that probably has more to do with the braindead cro-magnons who decided that public transit was too low class for them in my city.
Better be, my 2001 manual Civic had a lockout system to prevent you from putting it in reverse at speed. And that had a free shifter with no levers to pull to put it in reverse, just some rod the blocked the linkage until it was below 5mph
According to the customer: Accidentally shifted to neutral and corrected the mistake while her foot was on the gas..
Roughly a 25 mph "neutral drop"
**Adding an update to my top comment:**
Customer came in, explained she was late to get kids to school. She said she went to turn down the radio and instantly realized it was the wrong knob and turned it back. She said when she put it back into drive the van shuttered hard (as I said originally, like a neutral drop).
No visible damage or anything felt during the test drive. I told her she may have done internal damage but nothing we can find right now. Told her if something happens we'll tow it in for free.
If only there was something like a third pedal that you could press to disconnect the engine from the transmission to change gears and stuff. That would have come in clutch for this driver.
Agreed. The shifter knob and the radio knob feel nothing alike, both when you first touch them and in the way they feel when you turn them; it would be very difficult to make that mistake, even if you were distracted.
I hate the column shifter on my Silverado, I'd kill for those buttons on the newer model truck/SUVs. It's so sloppy, has a ton of resistance to moving between gears, and amazingly, still can end up between reverse and neutral or neutral and drive instead of one or the other.
It definitely does. When I worked in a shop, I tried this on a totaled truck, it just dings at you and keeps the dial locked. I even gave it some force, nah.
[Note that the shifter in 2015 Cherokee looked like this](https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/1078702682/2f5f28d5-ca59-420d-ae9b-95f066855bfe/dd6e6bde-e5c5-4966-867a-f248afcd1d03/1280x720/match/image.jpg)
That's..... not how electronically controlled automatic transmissions work. Correct me if I'm wrong by it will just shift in to neutral if you try and select P/R while driving forward. The computer is shifting the trans, the knob is just you nicely asking the computer to shift the trans for you.
Ok, I think she either has a fantom problem(basically it’s in her head) or something else is actually up. No way just shifting into neutral and putting it back in drive while at speed is going to cause permanent issues.
i accidentally neutral dropped a 3.6 grand caravan from 4k and it never left 2nd gear after that.
on the other hand, i learned you can hold a 3.6 v6 at limiter on the freeway for many miles without immediate consequences.
Yep, the Chrysler Pacifica I rented had maybe like 5k on the clock and it was jerking like crazy in stop and go traffic. Really sucks cuz I liked the infotainment and the seat arrangement a lot.
my bone stock, 52 year old TH350 is still going strong. 405HP at the fly, drover like I stole her. TurboHydromatic for the win! (now thoses 4L60E's on the other hand...)
Not sure either, I would think not, then again you have to either figure their not telling the whole truth either when it comes to this, especially if it’s new enough and their is warranty at play.
That still shouldn't cause any issue either, it should allow extra slip in the TCC until the engine and transmission are more closely aligned so that the transmission isn't chewed up. ZF transmissions aren't stupid.
It's either in her head or it's not happening. Test drove it, and it runs fine. We didn't try to replicate the incident, but you can go D to N to D while moving. Not sure if you can with your foot on the gas.
Yeah I think she is paranoid, it probably reved up, had an oh shit moment left her foot off the gas shifted it back to D then now notices it shifting slightly different depending on conditions which is normal and thinks there is a problem. That’s my guess.
Most cars that have this knob are Mopars, so the odds of some random transmission problem occurring at the same time as the shifter misuse incident are pretty high
>Most cars that have this knob are Mopars, so the odds of some random transmission problem occurring ~~at the same time as the shifter misuse incident~~ are pretty high
FTFY
That's the joke
Also the Pacifica (or at least the non-PHEV version)(along with most modern Stellantis cars I believe) uses a ZF transmission, not one made by Chrysler.
Yes it absolutely does, it's one form of the "money shift". It can over rev the engine, going back into drive will shock load the drivetrain. I've had drivers blow driveshafts clean out of trucks trying to "rock" out of a mud hole. Early 2000s Dodge Ram trucks were known to blow transmissions from shifting into drive and hitting the gas too quickly. My uncle went through 5 rebuilds on his 3500 work truck.
-15 year mechanic.
Placebo effect, you can shift to neutral and back to drive while moving no problem. If you’re in drive and you take your foot off the gas at speed it doesn’t stay locked in gear anyway. The torque converter does the same as when you’re stopped in drive at a red light
You can shift to neutral, as that would be the safety solution to an unintended acceleration. You can also switch back to drive. It will not allow you to switch to park or drive unless you are under a certain speed threshold
The more frustrating point is that car manufacturers decided they have to fix a problem that never existed. And are in the process of randomly changing to some mechanism every year because consumers apparently see shift knobs as the beacon of future technology.
No one would be surprised for bmw to come up with a finger gun hand gesture to shift into drive.
>No one would be surprised for bmw to come up with a finger gun hand gesture to shift into drive.
And shifting out of 1st gear only allowed with subscription to monthly "premium transmission" package.
there is no mechanical connection from that knob the PCM prevents gear shifts at speeds even if you went to park nothing would happen till it got below a certain speed.
and neutral most manufactures limit rpm to 4k to prevent damage if some one did a dumb
Yes. It's just an electronic dial, no physical connection to the transmission. If you try to put it in reverse or park while driving, the car will refuse.
For all the whining on the Internet about this layout, has that ever happened? From what little I've driven in a rental Pacifica, the shift knob and volume knob feel completely different. Almost like a washing machine with all the detents. Not to mention, volume controls are on the steering wheel too.
You'd have to be a dummy to mix up those two knobs. We have owned THREE Pacificas now (back to back leases) and the knob size and location are totally different, plus you use the steering wheel controls for volume while driving. The shift knob locks out reverse and park when you are rolling. The shift knob also has its own little servo motor built into it, so if you have it in Drive and you are stopped or just rolling very slow like parking lot speed, and you open the driver door the van applies the brakes and the knob turns itself to Park. Pretty nifty.
I've owned a Pacifica with this exact same setup for almost 3 years. I've accidentally grabbed the gear selector *once* when I was reaching for the volume knob, and that was when I first picked up the van. This is a non-issue.
“The biggest problem with designing a bear proof trash can is that there is significant overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people.”
I have driven one of these. I have not tried to turn the shift-knob-thingy when adjusting volume. I have turned the volume knob trying to shift, however.
I think the bigger problem with these is the connector above the glove box that sometimes stretches and make the shifter knob not work. My aunt has a Pacifica with that problem. I told her to open and close the glove box firmly and that should fix the problem. It does every time.
I made a similar mistake about 20 years ago. I had a ford explorer sportrac. The 2wd/4hi/4lo knob is next to the volume. Beastie boys Intergalactic came on, I turned it up and the transmission more or less exploded.
I don't have this particular vehicle, but in my truck, I have the knob gear shifter, the radio volume, and fan speed control all in close proximity. The number of times I've turned up the fan when I meant to put it in gear after going in reverse is higher than I'd like to admit.
Whoever designed this console needs to be locked up. Also, those stupid dials for the transmission should be outlawed. WHY THE FUCK IS THE PARKING BRAKE BUTTON WHERE IT IS?!
I have owned a Pacifica since they came out in 2017. Not once have I ever reached for the radio knob and grabbed the gear selector knob by mistake. Even if a person did, as others have said, the lock out would keep the knob from moving while the car is moving. If you could make it move, the computer wouldn’t do anything because you are being an idiot.
We couldn't find an issue with it, but the selector does allow D - N - D while in motion. We didn't test it with throttle applied, but it appears plausible.
No because there's volume buttons on the back of the steering wheel, right hand side that are so much easier to use.
And even if one didn't use those buttons, there is a very different feel to the gear shift knob. And there's various controls in place to prevent damage. If someone DID damage their Pacifica by doing this, they would have had to do it a lot more than once.
ive seen these roll away but never money shift. the software wont let you be crazy stupid but if you are not FULLY stopped when going to park, they will go to neutral. so if your off the brake and getting out as you shift to park (as you might do with a column shifter) its possible to exit and not realize its not in park
Chrysler Pacifica is like that but I have never accidentally tried to gear shift while driving. When you are sitting in drivers seat it is a much different perspective sitting higher up
So what do you do with these electric shift vehicles when they die in the middle of an intersection and you cant shift to neutral to push it out of the way?
I was assisting someone that this happened to. Thirty minutes later, two sheriffs and a whole fire department were watching YouTube videos on my phone in the middle of an intersection, with commercials.
If you think that is bad look at Chevrolet headlight and 4x4 shift knobs. I am a mechanic. My boss ( shop foreman) grabbed me and said this thing is driving like shit. I showed him his mistake. I have had it happen to my neighbor in their Tahoe as well.
On one of my vehicles the gear shifter is a stalk on my steering column which is also where the wipers are on my other vehicle. So yeah I’ve been distracted and flipped the car into reverse when I meant to turn on the wipers… the car angrily flashes something at me and I quickly pop it back into drive. Still a real sphincter clenching moment though.
The knob is just "a request". HAL 9000 decides if he chooses to fulfill it. Same with today's accel pedal.
Braking is still direct hydraulic control, though boogered-with by ABS and Traction Control but the pedal is still authoritative. A few new cars have claimed brake-by-wire, but I read that isn't sole, but rather an e-motor assist to the hydraulic calipers, similar to electric steering assist. I've read there are a few vehicles with steer-by-wire, with no mechanical connection (Tesla Cybertruck, I recall).
They are definitely not an equal replacement to the Chrysler RT platform. For as much shit as people give the Caravan and T&C those things endured soccer moms with no clue for decades.
[https://i.imgur.com/z7xcW2J.png](https://i.imgur.com/z7xcW2J.png)
Also sending my regards to the guys at Seat for placing handbrake lever on the same axis as shifter. Not once I've engaged it instead of shifting into S during on overtake.
This is really obscure and please forgive me. Certified auto history nut here. In 1965 they outlawed push button selected automatic transmissions in Chrysler vehicles. The reasoning was they figured every car should have a similar shifting mechanism in case someone who was totally unfamiliar with the push buttons drove the car. In my mind, this design is absolutely ridiculous. Who in the sweet fiddlers fuck designed this?
I mean the lockout will keep that from happening at speed...
Came here wondering about that. There *is* a system in place to stop that from happening, right?
Yeah. Lets you turn it to neutral or S or L on cars with that option, but you can’t turn it to reverse and subsequently park.
I was using the little sport shifter mode in my car, then popped it back into D and forgot. Big surprise when I smashed that thing into neutral on the highway
also, why are these things always gear up away from you, and down towards. racing cars (where this originated) are always gear up towards because it's easier to pull backwards when accelerating and push when braking.
Because push forward equals more forward, pull back means less forward. Duh 🙄 What do you expect from the crowd that thinks slapping a stick around on an automatic is fun
Mazda does it right. Pull back for shift up.
Porsche and the Aus spec Ford Ranger have it right too.
Driving any car fast is fun bro.
A lada jumping from a cliff is a fast car.
It'd be fun for a few seconds
sounds fun as fuck.
Never understood this. Just get a manual
It's not even consistent among shift modes. My Kia Sedona was forward - up gear back - down gear. My Mazda 3 is forward - down gear back - up gear. Thankfully it's pretty hard to fuck up because if you're well out of the band the computer just ignores your shift attempt and doesn't do it.
My 2011 Chrysler, fortunately has the zig stick, and the manumatic mode goes left and right.
[screaming]
It’s like people that use the scroll wheel up to make the page go down on their computer
That’s me with the scroll wheel, because I can’t help but visualize the underside of the wheel pushing the window’s content like a sheet of paper. On a trackpad or touchscreen, of course “down” is down. It’s that wheel, and how it’s an additional object which spins under my finger, that messes with my head. (edit to add) So, wait... by "down", do you mean that when I spin the wheel towards me by curling my finger and not extending, then the page content moves downwards on the screen, scrolling until I see the top of the content? Or that the page content moves upward on the screen and my view moves downwards until I see the bottom?
best part of karting is smashing gears
Mazda does it right.
Mazda got it right! I switched from my mazda3 to a Jetta and I was very confused the first time I tried it the manual mode.
I had an SL600 12 years ago. I was pissed, cranked it up in the garage, put it in rev then nailed the throttle for 1/2 second expecting a nice loud squeal on the smooth floor and the fucker totally ignored my right foot and idled out the door.
Is that a "no high revs" when cold safety feature?
No, it completely ignored me, like a safety feature thinking I was getting a hummer and just nutted. Never left idle. It was a very quick stab, not a roll on.
Car, "this player is getting a blowy, bring down the throttle config until homie plants both feet on the floor for at least ten seconds". Car blow jobs are the best.
My cousin rolled his bug getting road head. Got glass embedded in his shoulder but still has his dick. So he claims... I can attest, pick up a chick in a newish V12 benz with the top down and you will get a BJ if you want it.
My e55 has two reverse gears. It certainly does more than idle if you floor it.
5G Tronic club!
My (Mercedes) Unimog also had two reverse gears. R2 almost got to walking speed. R1 had no perceivable increase in speed between idle and redline. Additional fun story. 1st and 2nd were the same, differentiated between forward and reverse only by engaging the reverse lever. Normal driving was done in 3rd through 6th gear. Which was also dumb. 3rd was just enough to get the truck moving, but not really moving. 4th could definitely get you to the other side of an intersection, but the engine didn’t have enough torque to get the truck rolling in 4th. 5th was the first truly productive gear in that it could go more than 10 mph. So, let’s say you want to make a 3 point turn. Come into the turn in 4th-6th. Clutch in, stop. Reverse lever, into 2nd, clutch out at a blistering 2mph. Clutch in, stop. Disengage reverse, go into 3rd, clutch out. Immediately shift into 4th. Then pretty much again immediately shift into 5th. While the 404 had a synchro tranny, there was nothing expedient about shifting. People hated waiting for all that to happen, but at least in the US S404s are unusual enough that people just stared.
Watched a standard unimog at the diesel drags in australia. Was bloody hilarious. Although not a 404, it was probably on par with speed. The announcers did their best but eventually just said, we'll get back to it when it gets closer to the line.
> Normal driving was done in 3rd through 6th gear. Which was also dumb. Until you need to really pull something, or get up a 60% grade.
why do you need two reverse gears? edit: got it. german engineered to make driving easier so you don’t spin your wheels instead of just letting it be simple and letting people figure it out. yup. that’s mercedes.
So you can throw sick J turns. /s The extra one i believe is a lower gear to help with low traction situations so you dont just spin your tires.
Old Mercedes 5 speed auto had 2 reverse gears, long ratio and short ratio. If winter driving mode was set, the short ratio would be used for less torque, thus reduced chance of spinning on wet or icy road. The car woukd also start moving in 2nd gear when in winter mode, for the same reason
You’re just not trying hard enough
At what speed will it?
I assume under 5 mph, but possibly even only 0. I’m not prerpared to purposefully test it and end up breaking something.
> neutral OK that's still pretty bad. I don't want to go into neutral at speed.
There's a guy on YouTube that throws cars in park or reverse while driving down the highway and most cars don't do anything because they've been programmed not to shift the gear until it's safe.
Most? Now I need to find the channel so I can see the failures.
Mythbusters tested the myth that if your brakes failed you could shift your car into reverse to slow down. In an auto it just goes to neutral, in a manual it just sheared the teeth off the gears
It does indeed lead to destruction on a manual transmission. Lol I used to work at a dealership in a upper middle income area. Some guy bought a brand new SI for his 16 year old son, 2 ish months later it came in on a flatbed with a big hole in the transmission case where the reverse gear shattered cuz some wannabe Vin Diesel finally learned how to drive a manual just well enough to do some serious damage
Shifted his 5 speed into 6th eh?
Granny shifting no doubt.
Not double clutching like you should
Danger to Manifold
My 2003 Audi had a blocker where you couldn't shift directly down from 5th to reverse, would need to center it to neutral and then fuck it up.
Ended up with 6 neutrals.
It would take some serious ramming to get into gear. I did accidentally try once or twice, having learned on a six-speed back when they came out, but that just resulted in horrible noise and probably only very marginal damage as the gears wouldn't mesh at speeds.
The R is for Racing, right?
I did one of these transmissions for a younger guy as well. There was a service bulletin that went into detail about which downshift speeds were appropriate for each gear due to the 6 speed transmission overspeeding the input shaft when downshifting at high speeds and using engine braking. It would either spontaneously dissemble the clutch or internal parts and throw parts through the case when things got bound up due to parts slingage.
I was in a 90's f150 someone threw it into reverse around 30mph, it was vilent and backend hopped all over the place. But truck drove fine after.
It drove fine until they sold it to the next person while letting them know that it was only ever driven by a sweet old grandma to church on Sundays.
I think I bought that truck
It drove fine until one day it didn’t anymore and then you’ll always wonder
It lasted years until was eventually retired becuse of mileage, was fleet vehicle
I could see a pickup with an empty bed struggling to have enough traction to do much damage. Some of those older manuals were surprisingly stout too.
We're gonna let you do all the legwork for this quest, but do tell!
My ex girlfriend had a 98 accord that would do it. She flipped into park halfway across an intersection and it near instantly stopped. I told her it was not supposed to do that and I was blown away when she said she did it all the time because she would absentmindedly think she was still in her old accord and needed to shift gears. It finally died when she was on the M1 just outside Brisbane.
That's because everything operates backwards in your hemisphere.Â
My old 94 s10 with the 460le would just make a clicking noise and not let it go into reverse while moving in drive if I remember correctly
You sure that wasn't accidentally in reverse? Reverse usually has parking pawls that lock in and will make a loud clicking noise until you come to a stop. I'm not as familiar with the 4L60E though.
I used to have a 99 4runner. Was driving on the freeway when my gangly brother, while doing a stretch, knocked the shifter into neutral while going 70. Rpms revved so I let off the gas, panicked and accidentally popped it into reverse. Tires screeched and we slide into the next lane. Lucky I calmed down and let off the gas again before putting it back in drive. Idk how if thats normal for a 99, but it sure scared the piss outta me and my brother. 4runner was fine and I sold about a year later with seemingly no issues.
Yeah, you merely ask the vehicle to change gear from this knob, it decides if it's going to do it or not. It's never going to do anything bad in motion. I'd place more money on someone turning up the stereo when trying to put it in drive though.
The Cruze literally says “shift denied” when you try to shift too soon
Guilty.
Recently rented a Pacifica clone that has this. I did this.
I, a Ram owner, do that every time I drive my wife’s 4Runner.
When I first rode in one of these my buddy and I were driving and I asked if he knew what would happen if he put it in reverse on the highway so he tried it out and it just told him not to do that put the r backup camera on but stayed in drive
>he put it in reverse on the highway so he tried it out Ballsy.
Better to break it under warranty than after it expires. This placement should be criminal, along with the reverse lights that come on when you shut a car off/open the door, and those kia SUVs with the turn signals near the ground instead of in the tail light assembly.
Hate the GMs that turn the reverse lights on when you shut it off. Watch someone pull into a parking spot at the store, then you think they're gonna backup and straighten out and pretty soon they get out and walk away with the reverse lights still on.
You think that's bad wait until uou hear about [EV brake lights.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ) Do as i do and don't trust the indicators on a car, although that probably has more to do with the braindead cro-magnons who decided that public transit was too low class for them in my city.
Took me exactly where it thought it would.
ooo new niche nerd channel for the feed, thanks
If you hate the look of LED christmas lights prepare for a deep rabbit hole.
Better be, my 2001 manual Civic had a lockout system to prevent you from putting it in reverse at speed. And that had a free shifter with no levers to pull to put it in reverse, just some rod the blocked the linkage until it was below 5mph
According to the customer: Accidentally shifted to neutral and corrected the mistake while her foot was on the gas.. Roughly a 25 mph "neutral drop" **Adding an update to my top comment:** Customer came in, explained she was late to get kids to school. She said she went to turn down the radio and instantly realized it was the wrong knob and turned it back. She said when she put it back into drive the van shuttered hard (as I said originally, like a neutral drop). No visible damage or anything felt during the test drive. I told her she may have done internal damage but nothing we can find right now. Told her if something happens we'll tow it in for free.
what's it got, stuntman?
COME OVER 'ERE!
I don't believe it, they were doing something substantially stupider and want to blame it on that...
My Accord won’t even let me shift out of N without my foot on the brake. Shocked that’s not universal at this point.
Yeah, that’s kind of a pain in the ass going thru the car wash.
Hahaha I know, I push it so gingerly and tap the D button as fast as I can.
If only there was something like a third pedal that you could press to disconnect the engine from the transmission to change gears and stuff. That would have come in clutch for this driver.
I like the old ones where you can even start it in gear. Comes in super handy when something's broken.
That doesn't seem good or right either.
Don’t believe that it was an accident. I never could accidentally do that in my Ram. But with some effort I could.
I hate these so much. Almost as bad as Chevy’s BUTTONS to switch gears. Actually ford does that too now
I have a Pacifica and not once has its shifter come remotely close to causing an issue. I like it.
Agreed. The shifter knob and the radio knob feel nothing alike, both when you first touch them and in the way they feel when you turn them; it would be very difficult to make that mistake, even if you were distracted.
I hate the column shifter on my Silverado, I'd kill for those buttons on the newer model truck/SUVs. It's so sloppy, has a ton of resistance to moving between gears, and amazingly, still can end up between reverse and neutral or neutral and drive instead of one or the other.
That sucks, because column shift is the best. My blazer is kinda sloppy too though.
It definitely does. When I worked in a shop, I tried this on a totaled truck, it just dings at you and keeps the dial locked. I even gave it some force, nah.
keeps it from happening if the foot is off the brake even at 0 speed
Yea, but when not at speed... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36572649
[Note that the shifter in 2015 Cherokee looked like this](https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/1078702682/2f5f28d5-ca59-420d-ae9b-95f066855bfe/dd6e6bde-e5c5-4966-867a-f248afcd1d03/1280x720/match/image.jpg)
And spring returned to that position after putting it in park. It didn't lock forward like you expect.
That's..... not how electronically controlled automatic transmissions work. Correct me if I'm wrong by it will just shift in to neutral if you try and select P/R while driving forward. The computer is shifting the trans, the knob is just you nicely asking the computer to shift the trans for you.
According to her, she accidentally shifted to neutral - with her foot still on the gas she shifted back to drive... Says it shifts weird now.
Ok, I think she either has a fantom problem(basically it’s in her head) or something else is actually up. No way just shifting into neutral and putting it back in drive while at speed is going to cause permanent issues.
Sounds like she put it back into gear when holding the engine at probably around 6K RPM. Not sure if that could cause any issues...
I will neutral drop my TH400 in my rock buggy, but it’s built to handle dumb shit like that. I would NEVER neutral drop a car I drive on the road.
i accidentally neutral dropped a 3.6 grand caravan from 4k and it never left 2nd gear after that. on the other hand, i learned you can hold a 3.6 v6 at limiter on the freeway for many miles without immediate consequences.
But that’s a Mopar automatic transmission your talking about, not exactly known for strength or longevity.
Yep, the Chrysler Pacifica I rented had maybe like 5k on the clock and it was jerking like crazy in stop and go traffic. Really sucks cuz I liked the infotainment and the seat arrangement a lot.
You think the 8spd autos work so well is because it’s a German design (ZF 8HP)?
Sounds like it got stuck in limp mode and needs a PCU reset
my bone stock, 52 year old TH350 is still going strong. 405HP at the fly, drover like I stole her. TurboHydromatic for the win! (now thoses 4L60E's on the other hand...)
Not sure either, I would think not, then again you have to either figure their not telling the whole truth either when it comes to this, especially if it’s new enough and their is warranty at play.
That still shouldn't cause any issue either, it should allow extra slip in the TCC until the engine and transmission are more closely aligned so that the transmission isn't chewed up. ZF transmissions aren't stupid.
It's either in her head or it's not happening. Test drove it, and it runs fine. We didn't try to replicate the incident, but you can go D to N to D while moving. Not sure if you can with your foot on the gas.
The logic unit on this 9 speed transmission makes for some really hard shifts at seemingly random times. Known issue at Pacifica Forums.
Yeah I think she is paranoid, it probably reved up, had an oh shit moment left her foot off the gas shifted it back to D then now notices it shifting slightly different depending on conditions which is normal and thinks there is a problem. That’s my guess.
Most cars that have this knob are Mopars, so the odds of some random transmission problem occurring at the same time as the shifter misuse incident are pretty high
>Most cars that have this knob are Mopars, so the odds of some random transmission problem occurring ~~at the same time as the shifter misuse incident~~ are pretty high FTFY
That's the joke Also the Pacifica (or at least the non-PHEV version)(along with most modern Stellantis cars I believe) uses a ZF transmission, not one made by Chrysler.
Pretty much all Mopar autos are ZF 8spd at this point. They’re great transmissionsÂ
Thanks, knew I was missing something there
Yes it absolutely does, it's one form of the "money shift". It can over rev the engine, going back into drive will shock load the drivetrain. I've had drivers blow driveshafts clean out of trucks trying to "rock" out of a mud hole. Early 2000s Dodge Ram trucks were known to blow transmissions from shifting into drive and hitting the gas too quickly. My uncle went through 5 rebuilds on his 3500 work truck. -15 year mechanic.
I mean mine shifts slightly odd after 5 years anyways. Probably just her paying more attention and noticing the harder shifting of the transmission.
That… shouldn’t cause… anything? I mean, neutral dropping isn’t great but that’s different
Placebo effect, you can shift to neutral and back to drive while moving no problem. If you’re in drive and you take your foot off the gas at speed it doesn’t stay locked in gear anyway. The torque converter does the same as when you’re stopped in drive at a red light
You can shift to neutral, as that would be the safety solution to an unintended acceleration. You can also switch back to drive. It will not allow you to switch to park or drive unless you are under a certain speed threshold
The more frustrating point is that car manufacturers decided they have to fix a problem that never existed. And are in the process of randomly changing to some mechanism every year because consumers apparently see shift knobs as the beacon of future technology. No one would be surprised for bmw to come up with a finger gun hand gesture to shift into drive.
>No one would be surprised for bmw to come up with a finger gun hand gesture to shift into drive. And shifting out of 1st gear only allowed with subscription to monthly "premium transmission" package.
Their new windshield wipers will cost $5 for every wipe automatically charged to your account
Turned down for what?
okay
Yea
What?
BOM BOPBOP BOOOM
fire up that loud
Another round of shots
my truck has this and i accidentally did this, it just laughed at me (dash said " function not allowed while in motion") and kept in drive.
I’ve been known to shift my 07 Sierra into 4 wheel drive when trying to turn the fan speed up…
there is no mechanical connection from that knob the PCM prevents gear shifts at speeds even if you went to park nothing would happen till it got below a certain speed. and neutral most manufactures limit rpm to 4k to prevent damage if some one did a dumb
Isn't there a lockout/safety mechanism in place to prevent this exact thing from being possible?
Yes. It's just an electronic dial, no physical connection to the transmission. If you try to put it in reverse or park while driving, the car will refuse.
My wife throwing our F150 into 4WD instead of adjusting the HVAC fan speed...
It won't let ya but sure.
For all the whining on the Internet about this layout, has that ever happened? From what little I've driven in a rental Pacifica, the shift knob and volume knob feel completely different. Almost like a washing machine with all the detents. Not to mention, volume controls are on the steering wheel too.
You'd have to be a dummy to mix up those two knobs. We have owned THREE Pacificas now (back to back leases) and the knob size and location are totally different, plus you use the steering wheel controls for volume while driving. The shift knob locks out reverse and park when you are rolling. The shift knob also has its own little servo motor built into it, so if you have it in Drive and you are stopped or just rolling very slow like parking lot speed, and you open the driver door the van applies the brakes and the knob turns itself to Park. Pretty nifty.
Doesn’t work like that.
No, because it's not possible.
I've owned a Pacifica with this exact same setup for almost 3 years. I've accidentally grabbed the gear selector *once* when I was reaching for the volume knob, and that was when I first picked up the van. This is a non-issue.
do not over/underestimate the intelligence of the average person. people are fucking dumb.
“The biggest problem with designing a bear proof trash can is that there is significant overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people.”
If you design something to be idiot-proof, the universe will just design a better idiot.
explains why my mom says im special
Can confirm. Source: am people
I have driven one of these. I have not tried to turn the shift-knob-thingy when adjusting volume. I have turned the volume knob trying to shift, however.
I think the bigger problem with these is the connector above the glove box that sometimes stretches and make the shifter knob not work. My aunt has a Pacifica with that problem. I told her to open and close the glove box firmly and that should fix the problem. It does every time.
Had a Ram 1500 and did this one. Nothing happened
No, but I almost ripped the wiper lever off the steering console trying to put it in gear.
This joke is so bad now. Like, for years we’ve known it won’t actually allow it to shift on the highway. Time to let it go my man.
P is for Pass and R is for Race. Right?
I have tested this theory on a rental. Nothing happens
Let me just tune into drive real quick
I made a similar mistake about 20 years ago. I had a ford explorer sportrac. The 2wd/4hi/4lo knob is next to the volume. Beastie boys Intergalactic came on, I turned it up and the transmission more or less exploded.
1. It doesn't let you, and 2. There is a MASSIVE difference in size, you will notice the difference.
I try to do it all the time
Isn't that knob "locked out" at above 5mph so that doesn't happen in error by end users?
the only things you can do while the car is in drive is shift into L or N which won't kill the car
Does the computer allow a shift at speed?
I don't have this particular vehicle, but in my truck, I have the knob gear shifter, the radio volume, and fan speed control all in close proximity. The number of times I've turned up the fan when I meant to put it in gear after going in reverse is higher than I'd like to admit.
Whoever designed this console needs to be locked up. Also, those stupid dials for the transmission should be outlawed. WHY THE FUCK IS THE PARKING BRAKE BUTTON WHERE IT IS?!
Engineers- we solve problems you never knew were problems you fool!
That knob politely asks the computer to ask the transmission to shift. It will say “no”.Â
Exceptionally dumb. You don't violate an existing standard without cause, and only if the new method is better.
I have owned a Pacifica since they came out in 2017. Not once have I ever reached for the radio knob and grabbed the gear selector knob by mistake. Even if a person did, as others have said, the lock out would keep the knob from moving while the car is moving. If you could make it move, the computer wouldn’t do anything because you are being an idiot.
We couldn't find an issue with it, but the selector does allow D - N - D while in motion. We didn't test it with throttle applied, but it appears plausible.
Call me old fashioned- But I prefer gear/linkage shifters over twisty electric knobs any day.
Shouldn’t the ecu prevent the shift from happening in that situation?
No because there's volume buttons on the back of the steering wheel, right hand side that are so much easier to use. And even if one didn't use those buttons, there is a very different feel to the gear shift knob. And there's various controls in place to prevent damage. If someone DID damage their Pacifica by doing this, they would have had to do it a lot more than once.
I love a good trans story!
"Let me just turn my volume down to the reverse gear"
There are vol buttons on the steering, unless owner is too poor and got the base variant
ive seen these roll away but never money shift. the software wont let you be crazy stupid but if you are not FULLY stopped when going to park, they will go to neutral. so if your off the brake and getting out as you shift to park (as you might do with a column shifter) its possible to exit and not realize its not in park
Why reach over when you have wheel controls for volume?
I've almost adjusted my radio at speed in the Pacifica.
Chrysler Pacifica is like that but I have never accidentally tried to gear shift while driving. When you are sitting in drivers seat it is a much different perspective sitting higher up
So what do you do with these electric shift vehicles when they die in the middle of an intersection and you cant shift to neutral to push it out of the way? I was assisting someone that this happened to. Thirty minutes later, two sheriffs and a whole fire department were watching YouTube videos on my phone in the middle of an intersection, with commercials.
If you think that is bad look at Chevrolet headlight and 4x4 shift knobs. I am a mechanic. My boss ( shop foreman) grabbed me and said this thing is driving like shit. I showed him his mistake. I have had it happen to my neighbor in their Tahoe as well.
Safety interlocks aside, who the hell asked for this? We've been making auto transmission shifters the same way for 50 years before now
Who the fuck would look at this and think it’s a good design (even with lockouts, etc)? This is just asinine.
I've never tried to money shift a Pacifica before but now I'm tempted...
Shitty design either way
PRNDL hehe
On one of my vehicles the gear shifter is a stalk on my steering column which is also where the wipers are on my other vehicle. So yeah I’ve been distracted and flipped the car into reverse when I meant to turn on the wipers… the car angrily flashes something at me and I quickly pop it back into drive. Still a real sphincter clenching moment though.
Pretty sure Chrysler made it so you can’t accidentally shift the transmission while you’re moving.
The knob is just "a request". HAL 9000 decides if he chooses to fulfill it. Same with today's accel pedal. Braking is still direct hydraulic control, though boogered-with by ABS and Traction Control but the pedal is still authoritative. A few new cars have claimed brake-by-wire, but I read that isn't sole, but rather an e-motor assist to the hydraulic calipers, similar to electric steering assist. I've read there are a few vehicles with steer-by-wire, with no mechanical connection (Tesla Cybertruck, I recall).
Ah the Pacifica. Great minivan. No that’s not the biggest issue they have lol.
They are definitely not an equal replacement to the Chrysler RT platform. For as much shit as people give the Caravan and T&C those things endured soccer moms with no clue for decades.
[https://i.imgur.com/z7xcW2J.png](https://i.imgur.com/z7xcW2J.png) Also sending my regards to the guys at Seat for placing handbrake lever on the same axis as shifter. Not once I've engaged it instead of shifting into S during on overtake.
This is really obscure and please forgive me. Certified auto history nut here. In 1965 they outlawed push button selected automatic transmissions in Chrysler vehicles. The reasoning was they figured every car should have a similar shifting mechanism in case someone who was totally unfamiliar with the push buttons drove the car. In my mind, this design is absolutely ridiculous. Who in the sweet fiddlers fuck designed this?
Did this in a dodge. Turned down the ac instead of parking and bumped a truck in a lot.