Do You Need to Keep Pressing the Accelerator in an Automatic Car?
2 Answers
When driving an automatic car, you don't need to keep pressing the accelerator. You can use cruise control by simply turning on the cruise control switch and setting the speed to a desired value. After that, the engine's computer will maintain the set speed. For such models, once cruise control is activated, there's no need to press the accelerator because the computer has taken over the accelerator's function. If you want to turn off cruise control on the highway, simply switch the cruise control to the "OFF" position or press the brake pedal once to deactivate it. Before starting the car, it's best to press the brake pedal, shift the gear to N (Neutral), and let the car idle for a while to warm up. After warming up for a few minutes, shift the gear to D (Drive) and then press the accelerator to start moving. When pressing the accelerator, continuously pressing it is incorrect. Even if you press the accelerator all the way down, the car's acceleration won't improve significantly. The correct way to accelerate is to lightly release the accelerator, wait for the gear to shift up, and then press the accelerator again. You can think of it as lightly releasing the accelerator each time the gear shifts up, and pressing it again to make the car accelerate.
When I first started learning to drive an automatic car, I was always worried about having to keep my foot on the gas pedal, afraid the car would stop. But in reality, you don’t need to press it continuously! Press the accelerator to speed up, and when you release your foot, the car will gradually slow down or coast downhill. At a red light, simply release the gas and press the brake. I made some mistakes at first, like pressing the wrong pedal, but through practice, I learned to adjust based on road conditions: on highways with light traffic, I got used to occasionally releasing the gas to save fuel; in congested city areas, I focused more on gentle presses and releases. The automatic transmission handles everything, making it feel like having an assistant—this makes driving much easier. It’s also important to regularly check throttle response to ensure safety and avoid loss of control. The key is more practice, staying relaxed, and with time, it’ll become second nature.
