Best Way to go down a hill?

Asked by Allison Aug 22, 2019 at 03:53 PM about the 1997 Toyota Camry LE V6

Question type: General

I'm wondering what would be the best way to go down a hill with an 8%
grade within my cars circumstances? The brakes are semi-good, when
coming off a higher speed they do shake a little. The transmission however
is going bad to the point where I have no choice but to use overdrive at all
times or else my car won't shift properly, even with overdrive on it still doesn't
at times but not as bad. I just need this car to last me one more week before
we can get a new one, however with husbands new job there is a steep hill
im concerned about mostly with my brakes.

So what would be the best way for me to maneuver the car through these
hills using overdrive without having to apply alot of brake at times? 45 mph
down the hill, with a traffic light around the bottom. Would it be safe to
downshift into a lower gear with the overdrive on? If so what should I use?

2 Answers

41,350

over drive is 4th gear. Going down a hill with a steep grade I would lock the car out of overdrive. If your transmission is shot, and you don't want to lock it into 3rd gear, then use up the brake pads in meantime. Like you said, it is only one more week.

If you can't down shift on grades you had better fix the brakes don't you think?

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