Expected tranny behavior in this column

"Q. I have a 2002 Nissan. In winter, the transmission will not shift into overdrive unless I drive five to 10 miles and apparently warm up the car. Then it hesitates, staying in third at times. In summer, it works OK.

The dealer says that is the way it works. Having driven for 50 years, I have never had a temperature-dependent transmission on any car before.

Is he correct, or is something else wrong?

A. Believe it or not, that is the way it is supposed to work. But we have to wonder why sales and service people don't explain why. It would go a long way in earning customer confidence.

Why doesn't your car shift into overdrive until it warms up? To help reduce emissions. For proper emission control, the engine must reach operating temperature and the catalytic converter must heat up.

Keeping the engine running at higher speeds accomplishes both quicker than if the transmission was allowed to upshift. On some cars, even the shift between second and third is delayed."

 

Although I haven't been driving for 50 years, I've never had a temp dependent transmission as well. Aren't standard transmissions wonderdul
Ahh..the beauty of choosing your gears and your shifts.

On a side note, interesting post

 

u wonder why car salesmen sell cars when they dont' know jack abotu the cars they sell