Automatic car - Car will not move at night.

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Wed 13 Jun 2012 03:24
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - wazza

Just bought myself a used automatic car. I have a problem with it. It will not move at night. No matter how much i press the accelerator it will not move. Yes the handbrake is off. In the daytime it works perfectly.

I think the gearbox is faulty. I will explain.....

In the daytime i get in the car, start it up and select D for daytime mode, handbrake off and move off.

At night i do the same as above but put the gear into N for night mode but the car will not move.

One day a boy racer challenged me at traffic lights so i put the gear into R for race mode. The car went backwards and crashed into the car behind me.

Am i right in assuming the gearbox is faulty?

Yes the above is a joke but i have come across some people who drive an auto without knowing how to drive it or without reading the manual. Few never knew about kickdown.

Edited by wazza on 13/06/2012 at 03:25

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 13 Jun 2012 16:09
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - Oli rag

Have you tried putting it into 1 - if there's only you in the car and 2 if you've got a passenger in there.

See if this helps.

Edited by Oli rag on 13/06/2012 at 16:11

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 13 Jun 2012 19:13
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - madf

.

Edited by madf on 13/06/2012 at 19:14

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 13 Jun 2012 19:16
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - unthrottled

Try putting it into P for 'performance' mode. If the car doesn't move then it means that you are in 'p******' mode instead.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 14 Jun 2012 13:21
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - Chris M

I've had a similar problem with a manual car.

I went into a showroom last year and was looking at a car with a six speed gearbox. I just couldn't get my head around when I would use the sixth gear. Gear 1 when it's just me, 2 if I had one passenger and so on until I have four passengers. I confronted the saleman by saying the car only had five seats so when would I use 6th. He told me I should be using R for retard.

Edited by Chris M on 14/06/2012 at 13:22

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 14 Jun 2012 14:32
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - Avant

At this rate none of you lot will get as far as France - but if you do, beware of the taps in French washrooms - C for cold and F for freezing.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 15 Jun 2012 20:45
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - hillman

I am accused by my service mechanic of not using the brakes enough. Learners are taught the mantra, “Brakes to stop, gears to go”.

On going down Blaze Hill not far out of Macclesfield I’ve seen drivers ride the brakes all the way down. The discs must be glowing red at the bottom.

I have the practice of using engine braking when going down steep hills. It’s easy enough with an automatic gearbox to change down to a suitable gear and relax while the engine does its thing.

Then again, I don’t like the feeling when the car is running sweetly up a steep hill and then part way the gearbox changes up and the engine is no longer happy. I like to keep the engine spinning freely, so I lock it in a 'happy' gear.

In ice and snow I used to rely on all wheel drive and a manual gearbox with dual ratio, effectively ten forward and two reverse gears, with gentle clutch work. I thought that this was the only way, but now that I have an automatic I just put the gears in manual and rely on the torque converter for a smooth pickup.

BTW, wazza, I checked. I can start mine in the night setting. Are you holding your mouth wrongly.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 15 Jun 2012 21:00
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - unthrottled

On going down Blaze Hill not far out of Macclesfield I’ve seen drivers ride the brakes all the way down. The discs must be glowing red at the bottom.

I've coasted down the A537 from the cat and Fiddle into Macc in neutral just using the brakes-no fade at all. With drivers being conscious of fuel prices, brakes generally don't get used enough. Little used discs rust, and scuff the pads which can score the discs. Light pressure on the brakes generally doesn't seem to apply sufficient clamping force on the inner pads to keep a nice clean interface between pad and disc. The result is grating, inefficient brakes.

Engine braking is fine-I use it warm up the oil, but unless you can downshift smoothly it's best to use the brakes.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 15 Jun 2012 21:22
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - Bobbin Threadbare

I rather suspect that people misuse Saab's night mode as well. Don't they know it causes the car to turn into a Batmobile?!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 16 Jun 2012 00:03
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - bathtub tom

Alternatively, try checking your ABS.

Quiet road, no following traffic, nice warm tarmac, stand on the brakes at 60 MPH.

Bejasus, that effing hurt as you hit the seat belt.

Takes no end of corrosion off the discs!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 16 Jun 2012 09:25
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - RT

Alternatively, try checking your ABS.

Quiet road, no following traffic, nice warm tarmac, stand on the brakes at 60 MPH.

Bejasus, that effing hurt as you hit the seat belt.

Takes no end of corrosion off the discs!

On a serious note, everyone should do that with their "new" car, just to get used to the effect of ABS - many drivers panic in an emergency when the ABS operates and take their foot off the brakes rather than pressing harder.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 16 Jun 2012 19:22
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - hillman

“I've coasted down the A537 from the cat and Fiddle into Macc in neutral just using the brakes-no fade at all.”

Unthrottled : The A537 is regarded as "A stonking good ride" by the testosterone fuelled young motorcyclists, and it's not for nothing that the Macclesfield Hospital is a centre of excellence in treating young males for head injuries. Be that as it may, we are talking about cars, not motorcycles. Your treatment of the brakes goes against good sense, and hopefully they will never fail on you. It’s always good practice to have a Plan B, and that means having the car in gear ready for an emergency. Point taken about corrosion on the discs.

“On a serious note, everyone should do that with their "new" car, just to get used to the effect of ABS - many drivers panic in an emergency when the ABS operates and take their foot off the brakes rather than pressing harder.”

RJ : you’re talking sense here. The judder when the ABS operates can be frightening to an inexperienced driver, and they can lift off in their confusion instead of pressing all the harder.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 16 Jun 2012 22:09
Automatic car - Car will not move at night. - unthrottled

many drivers panic in an emergency when the ABS operates and take their foot off the brakes rather than pressing harder.”

Really? In a true emergency stop, I doubt that all but the most experienced drivers would be able to overcome the urge to push the pedal through the bulkhead. Even when people know they are skidding, they cannot lift the foot off the pedal.

Your treatment of the brakes goes against good sense, and hopefully they will never fail on you.

In the past I would have agreed with you. It's only when I examined my brake pads and saw the uneven wear on the inner and outer pads (common with free floating calipers) that I started trying to work them a bit harder. This makes a lot of sense. Brakes are designed to turn kinetic energy into heat. Kinetic energy is proportional to speed squared. So if your brakes are designed to stop your car from 100+mph, but you only ever brake gently from 40mph or so-with engine assistance-they're never going to get very hot-let alone the point of brake fade. Everyone hears about brake fade but it doesn't usually apply to them.

Such a pity that they had to ruin the Cat and fiddle with that killjoy average speed camera. That's why we have to find other ways of being irresponsible!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link