All cars are designed to start at the lowest gear, as that’s where you get the most power for acceleration, but driving at the highest gear will increase fuel economy. Fuel consumption will increase when you stay long at lower gears. Driving slow at the highest gear will also increase fuel consumption.

Your handbrake should only be used once you’ve stopped moving. While you’ll usually apply it by pulling a lever, in some newer cars, you activate the handbrake using a small button. In an automatic car, you’ll engage the handbrake by putting the car into P, for “Park”.

If you are in a higher gear while going down a steep hill or driving on even a slight a downgrade for a long time, your brakes can become overheated, which could lead to brake failure. Before a downgrade, shifting to low gear allows the engine braking system to save your brakes from absorbing the brunt of the force.

Your vehicle will stall and you may hear a grinding noise. If by chance your vehicle is not equipped with a reverse inhibitor, or it is malfunctioning or broken, putting your automatic transmission in reverse while driving will more than likely stall the engine.

When you run the car in reverse, the odometer actually can go backwards — it’s just a gear train. In the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in the scene where they have the car up on blocks with the wheels spinning in reverse — that should’ve worked! In real life, the odometer would’ve turned back.

Shifting into “Drive” or “Reverse” can cause a sudden, jarring movement on the transmission which increases the stress on the transmission bands and clutch plates. Not only can this sudden movement jolt the entire transmission, but it can also cause damage to other drive line components.

Transmissions are not meant to engage reverse while traveling forward. Barring lockout rings or pushing down on the stick shift, deliberately trying to select reverse while driving forward at normal speeds is basically impossible with a manual.

It’s possible that your reverse gear might have been affected by overheating if your transmission doesn’t have enough fluid in it to lubricate and keep the internal gears and components cool. In cases of having low fluid, you will likely experience shifting problems with other gears as well.

But , it may happen that the driver puts the gear into reverse while moving forward in 5th gear. Hence , the vehicle will act as the neutral for the time being until the synchronization speed is achieved and then it will slide to engage with the reverse gear and will act as a reverse gear.

Automatic transmissions that shift hard, jerk or shake during a shift change may mean your transmission fluid needs changed or fluid level is low. In manual transmission vehicles, abnormal gear shifts could indicate damaged gear synchros, worn clutches or other, more severe issues.

Jerking is bad if you do it too much or you jerk it hard. It will damage or wear out the transmission gear itself. If you have a rear wheel drive, it will shorten the life of the u joint and put stress on the rear differential. Chances are, the u joint will wear out faster than the deferential.

#5 Don’t Rest Your Foot On the Clutch When Driving You’ve heard the term before. It’s called “riding the clutch.” That can cause major slippage with your clutch disc (also wearing down your clutch). The Bottom Line: Resting your foot on the clutch is a bad habit to get into, so try and avoid it as much as possible.

Here is a list of things you should never do in a manual transmission vehicle:

1. Never Engage The Clutch Continuously While Driving.
2. Never Shift Gears Without Engaging The Clutch.
3. Never Leave Your Manual Car In Gear When Stationary.
4. Never Use Wrong Gears With Wrong Speeds.
5. Never Press On The Break Without Engaging The Clutch.