Downshift to a Lower Gear

Continue to slow down your vehicle by downshifting into a lower gear.  This actually utilizes your engine to slow down your vehicle.

Downshifting with an Automatic Transmission

In an automatic transmission, most shifters can actually downshift your car into lower gears.  This is done with your shifter that you use to put your car into park, drive, or reverse.  These shifters also typically include neutral, and more gear options for downshifting if the need occurs.  If your brakes go out then this is definitely a situation where you’ll want to slowly downshift into a lower gear!

It’s smart to know how to do this before the need arises.  You may want to practice when going down a steep slope or mountain first so you get the hang of how it works.  

Steps for Downshifting with an Automatic Transmission

Note: Some cars have an OVERDRIVE mode, which enables the highest gear.  This is sometimes a button on the shifter, or your shifter may have two separate Drive modes.  Most often people always drive with OVERDRIVE enabled for highway driving and many don’t even know that it’s an option!

1.  Take your shifter, and move it from DRIVE to the next lower gear.  This is typically a 3 or a 2, or could entail disabling OVERDRIVE mode via the button on the shifter or shifting into the second DRIVE gear.
2.  Your engine’s RPM gauge will rise suddenly and you may feel a slight jolt – that’s okay!  This is your engine engaging a lower gear which will start to slow down the vehicle.
3.  If you feel a huge jolt or your engine’s RPM gauge flies into the RED, then you probably downshifted into too low of a gear.  Shift into the next gear up to get your engine back into a gear more suited for your current speed.
4.  Continue to downshift into the next gear down to slow down your vehicle.

Test Your Brakes One More Time

If you have a modern car with ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) you can test your brakes again by applying strong, consistent pressure to the brake pedal.  If this does slow you down a bit but not as well as it normally does, then it’s possible you have a dual braking system and either the front or back is not engaging.  A working ABS system will cause a strong vibration in the brake pedal when it is pressed hard.  If you are simply having a hard time stopping, your brakes may be old or incredibly low and may need to be serviced or replaced.

Many older cars do not have ABS.  If your car doesn’t have ABS then you will need to pump the brake pedal fast and hard 3-4 times to build up enough brake fluid pressure to get your brakes to engage.

Related: How to Avoid a Collision with ABS

Safely Pull off the Road or out of Traffic

Once your vehicle is moving at a safe speed to pull over then be sure to navigate it to a safe space out of traffic.  If you’re on a busy highway it’s important to use your 4 way flashing lights or honk your horn to warn other motorists that there is an issue and you need to pull over.  Once the road is clear and it seems safe to pull over onto the shoulder or pullover lane, start to do so.  After you’ve pulled over make sure you are far enough away from oncoming motorists or bikers.

Take a deep breath or twenty.  At this point you can relax and move on to getting some help!

Get Help!

Once you are safely pulled over it’s time to get help.  If you have AAA or a similar service they can get you tow your vehicle back to your home or to your local AAMCO for a complete brake service checkup and repair.  Alternatively you can contact your local AAMCO Colorado to see if they offer free towing!

Schedule an Appointment with your local AAMCO

Want to schedule an appointment right away?  Use our simple online scheduling form below and make sure your car gets serviced by Colorado’s transmission and automotive repair experts.  Get a free Vehicle Courtesy Check right away!

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