Toyota car transmissions: what you need to know

Park, reverse, neutral, and drive. Car transmissions are the essential to acceleration and keeping your vehicle operating when idle. Depending on the transmission in your vehicle, your driving experience will likely be much different when compared to other drivers and their vehicles. Understanding the differences can be a bit confusing at times and that’s why Toyota of Orlando is here with a simple guide on car transmissions that’ll help you when buying a new vehicle or when you need maintenance.

Let’s talk Orlando car transmissions

While automatic and manual may seem like the only types of car transmissions, but the truth is that there are several and each one provides a different type of driving experience and fuel economy. Here are the key differences and what they mean for your car:

Manual: The original type of transmission, manual cars are different from automatics because of their clutch based shifting system. Drivers of manual Orlando Toyota vehicles must use the clutch to move back and forth between gears when the vehicle accelerates to decelerates. This type of car transmission requires more attention from the driver and usually doesn’t leave any hands free, unless driving on the highway in one gear.

Automatic: These types of car transmissions are common in many Orlando Toyotas and use an electronic control system to switch between gears without having to use a clutch pedal. Shifting between gears is typically smooth, but some amount of fuel efficiency is lost when compared to manual car transmissions because of a slip that occurs when shifting. There are four different sub-types of automatic transmissions and each one provides a unique feel to shifting and driving.

1. Conventional Automatic: This transmission transfers power to itself from the engine by using a torque converter. It contains several sets of gears and speeds are chosen by electronically controlled clutch packs. A way to tell if your Orlando Toyota vehicle has a conventional automatic car transmission is to see how it acts when on a hill or when you’re in drive and take your foot off the brake. If your vehicle holds itself while on an incline and moves forward when in drive on a flat road and your foot is off the brake, you likely have a conventional automatic in your vehicle.
2. Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT): Orlando transmissions like these abandon gears and opt for two sets of variable pulleys for smooth transitions when shifting. It uses the same type of torque converter as a conventional automatic and maximizes fuel efficiency by keeping shifting smooth. Unfortunately, Orlando CVT car transmissions can’t handle a lot of power because of their reliance on friction to generate power and they make a lot of excess noise because they operate at a high rpm to maintain efficiency.
3. Automated Manual: Now, the name seems confusing, but this is still an automatic car transmission, but rather than having a pedal the clutch is in the engine and computer operated. There isn’t any required driver input to shift gears, but drivers can use column and paddle shifters to adjust gears manually if they choose. These Orlando transmissions have higher fuel efficiency because there isn’t a slip when shifting between gears.
4. Dual-Clutch Automated Manual: While still an automatic car transmission, this one has two different gear shafts, one for the odd numbered (1, 3, 5, and 7) and one for the even numbered (2, 4, and 6) gears. An internal computer pre-selects gears to shift to during driving and simultaneously selects the next gear to shift to while engaging the first one. When the previous gear disengages the Orlando transmission shifts to the next gear and repeats the process.

All your car transmission questions answered at Toyota of Orlando

Transmissions can get confusing and our auto service department at Toyota of Orlando is here to answer your questions! We can guide you to the perfect vehicle with the ideal transmission to suit your needs or perform maintenance on your current vehicle’s transmission. Give us a call at (407) 298 – 4500 or visit us at 3575 Vineland Road, just off I-4 near the Millenia Mall!