What is the purpose of the L gear?

[TaliaLynn]

L gear is the low gear. When going downhill or on long downhill slopes, shifting to this gear restricts the car's gear to automatically stay in the lowest gear (equivalent to first gear in a manual transmission car). This allows the car to use engine braking when going downhill, preventing the driver from having to press the brakes for extended periods, which could overheat the brake pads and cause danger. When shifted to L gear, the transmission will remain in first gear and not upshift, making it suitable for use on slopes and providing some braking function when going downhill. Some cars have a D2 gear, called the low-speed forward gear, which is used for bad roads or off-road conditions. Generally, automatic transmission cars have six gear positions, arranged from top to bottom as: P, R, N, D, , L.