The proper way to drive the automatic?

[discjockeyr]

Hello guys, as i am new owner of PHEV automatic transmission (Not DCT) i found several ways of driving the car but i am not sure which way is the proper so to avoid stressing the gearbox.
1. Start the car - Press D and Go (the EPB goes off automatically when press the gas pedal)
2. Start the car - Disable EPB - Press D and Go

Also when parking the car with autohold enabled does it stress more the transmission when just press STOP button and then automatically P and EPB goes ON? Is it better to shift to N each time or there is no reason to do that?
I don't know how the autohold function is working technically so if is ecxactly the same way as pressing the braking pedal then may stress more the car. If with autohold is disengaging also the gear then i assume that this not affecting in any way the car.

Thanks in advance for your opinions. I will appreciate some expert advises.

[TWPC]

With the caveat that this is my first automatic car so I am not an expert...

Reflecting on how my wife and I have driven the car over the past year with no negative consequences:
1. This procedure is what we do and it has been fine.

No need to shift to N each time.
I don't know if the car shifts out of D when autohold is engaged, but I would expect that the car has been tested and engineered well enough to withstand any stress generated if it does not disengage D.

[dylan2910]

The car does not shift out of D when auto hold is engaged, when accelerator is pressed autohold releases and car moves forward

[discjockeyr]

Theoretically is not shifting out of D but technically auto hold working the same way as pressing the brake pedal? This does not affect any parts as the D give some force to the car and pressing the brake you are trying to stop this force?

[jarvis]

The car knows not to apply any torque when you are in D or R but with foot fully on the brake, auto hold on or EPB on. Therefore when stopping on the flat you can start/stop the way you have been and not worry about stressing anything.

When parking I tend to engage EPB then ease off the foot brake before pressing "P" or turning off the car and letting it automatically select "P". Only because if I'm parked on a hill I want the weight of the car on the EPB and not so much on the parking pawl of the transmission.

[PhilHornby]

If with autohold is disengaging also the gear then i assume that this not affecting in any way the car.

FYI - the 6AT hybrid drivetrain contains neither a torque converter, nor a conventional clutch. The clutch it has, is never "slipped"; it's either fully engaged or fully disengaged. It's never used for moving off (or ever in reverse) - that is always done using the electric motor. The minimum speed at which the ICE can actually be connected to the wheels, seems to be around 10~12mph - though it may be running, to provide power to the battery, via the HSG.

So, as Auto-Hold disconnects and the electric motor takes over, it should be one smooth, seamless, computer-controlled operation

[TWPC]

If with autohold is disengaging also the gear then i assume that this not affecting in any way the car.

FYI - the 6AT hybrid drivetrain contains neither a torque converter, nor a conventional clutch. The clutch it has, is never "slipped"; it's either fully engaged or fully disengaged. It's never used for moving off (or ever in reverse) - that is always done using the electric motor. The minimum speed at which the ICE can actually be connected to the wheels, seems to be around 10~12mph - though it may be running, to provide power to the battery, via the HSG.

So, as Auto-Hold disconnects and the electric motor takes over, it should be one smooth, seamless, computer-controlled operation

Ooh. That is properly geeky interesting stuff. Makes perfect sense and definitely makes me like the car a little bit more. So the gearbox only has 6 forward ratios… This makes it the first automatic car I’ve owned, the first hybrid, the first Korean car and the first without a reverse gear.

Thank you Phil.

[jarvis]

I would have thought it would have a reverse gear as they used an existing gear box already developed, removed the torque converter and replaced with the electric motor.

I did find a site with the gear ratios (only for the US model) that did mention a reverse gear, but of course I can't find it again. Found it! and it shows the reverse having a different ratio from all the other gears.

Only way to be sure is drive hard in reverse watching the revs. J-turn anyone?

[PhilHornby]

I would have thought it would have a reverse gear as they used an existing gear box already developed, removed the torque converter and replaced with the electric motor.

Reverse gear is quite difficult to organise, as it needs an extra, contra-rotating shaft. Why would you have that extra mechanical complication (and mass), when you can simply spin the electric motor in the opposite direction?

I did find a site with the gear ratios (only for the US model) that did mention a reverse gear, but of course I can't find it again. Found it! and it shows the reverse having a different ratio from all the other gears.

It also says "Transmission Description: Automatic w/OD" though - which isn't correct. They might have mixed their information up with another gearbox?

The Kia Niro (6DCT) also has no reverse in the box: https://www.bullfrag.com/wait-how-kia-d ... -new-niro/

Only way to be sure is drive hard in reverse watching the revs. J-turn anyone?

I managed to engage the Sportage owners in this new sport ... Somewhere in this thread

[jarvis]

Reverse gear is quite difficult to organise, as it needs an extra, contra-rotating shaft. Why would you have that extra mechanical complication (and mass), when you can simply spin the electric motor in the opposite direction?

It also says "Transmission Description: Automatic w/OD" though - which isn't correct. They might have mixed their information up with another gearbox?

Something about cost saving while developing the drive train using an existing transmission? Torque converter sounds easier to remove than reverse gear to me. Now their hybrids are more popular they've thrown more R&D cash at it and designed a completely new DCT with no reverse, saving even more weight - good for them!

Depends what w/OD stands for - could be "with overdrive": gear 6 looks to have an output speed higher than the input so that would be overdriven.