Can you shift gears while driving an automatic car, and do you need to press the brake?
1 Answers
You can shift gears while driving an automatic car without pressing the brake. Since the car is in motion, it means the gear is already in D (Drive) mode. In this case, shifting gears simply involves switching to S (Sport) or M (Manual) mode. However, it is not allowed to shift to N (Neutral), P (Park), or R (Reverse) while the car is moving. For an automatic transmission, the brake only needs to be pressed when shifting to P (Park) mode. For other gears, normal manual control is sufficient without assistance from the right foot. This is mainly because, in P (Park) mode, there is a control lock valve that must be released by pressing the brake before the gear can be shifted from P to other modes. Automatic transmission generally refers to the car's automatic gear-shifting mechanism, where the control system of the automatic transmission selects the appropriate gear based on the engine's speed and load during driving, replacing the driver's subjective judgment and gear-shifting operations.