5 Ways to Shift Gears in an Automatic Car on an Incline, Very Easy!

New friends learning to drive an automatic car? Of course, you also need to know how to shift gears in an automatic car when going uphill or downhill on steep slopes.

Driving a vehicle requires skill and agility to avoid mistakes that could have fatal consequences. Especially when driving an automatic car, which is fundamentally easier and more comfortable to drive.

One of the most challenging terrains for driving a car is when the road is uphill, especially when combined with traffic conditions, including when using an automatic car.

Sometimes many people are confused about how to shift gears in an automatic car, especially on uphill roads. Because if you don't understand how to do it correctly, the car might roll back and endanger other vehicles behind you.

However, you don't need to worry anymore. Here are 5 tips you can follow to shift gears in an automatic car when on an incline. Let's go!

Tips for Shifting Gears in an Automatic Car on an Incline to Avoid Rolling Back

There are tips and methods that you need to pay attention to when shifting gears using an automatic car on an incline to avoid rolling back. Therefore, you must follow these 4 easy ways to drive an automatic car on uphill roads:

1. Learn All the Levers on the Automatic Car Gears and Their Functions

The first way to shift gears in an automatic car on an incline is that you must know all the functions of the transmission levers available in an automatic car.

Generally, some transmission levers in an automatic car consist of letters and numbers including P, R, N, D, 2, and L. Here are the various gear levers in an automatic car and their functions:

P: Means park. This lever is used to park the car so that the transmission is locked and the car cannot move.
R: Means reverse gear.
N: Means neutral. In this lever, the engine and transmission will not be connected.
D: Means Drive or forward. A car in position D will move forward. In position D, the gear shifting from 1 to the highest gear will be automatically adjusted. The driver only needs to press the gas and brake.
2: Means holding the highest gear in gear 2. The number 2 in an automatic transmission is usually used during engine braking on steep or long downhill roads, as well as when facing steep inclines. Because, if only using D, sometimes the car feels heavy when going uphill.
L: Means holding the highest gear in gear 1.
Shift Lock: Its function is to release the transmission lever lock so that it can be shifted to position N when the engine is off. Shift Lock is useful for parallel parking so that the automatic car can be pushed to move it.

2. Pay Attention to the Steepness of the Incline

After knowing the functions of all the gears in an automatic car, the next step is to pay attention to the steepness of the incline. This is important to consider because it will affect the lever you use.

It should be noted that the transmission lever is available for neutral position, P for parking position, R means reverse or the car moves backward, and D for the condition of the car moving forward. Then, there are also symbols D2 and D1 or L below position D.

3. Match the Transmission Lever with Road Conditions

If you are on an uphill road in rural or mountainous areas that usually have steeper terrain, shifting gears in an automatic car in this condition is not enough if you only use mode D, but you should use transmission D2 to get through it easily.

Additionally, if the incline becomes steeper, you can use position D1. This position is like gear 1 in a manual car. This position is used for very steep inclines or when stuck in traffic and crawling uphill.

4. Do Not Press the Brake When Shifting from D to Position D2 or D1

Avoid using the brake too deeply or not at all when shifting from position D to D2 or D1. You only need to press the button on the gear lever to shift gears.

5. Keep Practicing to Get Used to Uphill Roads

You need to get used to using an automatic car on uphill roads by continuously practicing. This way, the acceleration of the automatic car becomes more gradual, almost the same as when driving a manual car on an incline.

Thus, these are the tips and easy ways to shift gears in an automatic car on uphill roads. Hopefully, this can be beneficial and help you. Visit our other interesting articles that discuss automotive topics.