There are two cars. Both have automatic transmission. One has very good gas mileage. The transmission shifts gears when the engine reaches 1800 RPM, and when it does, you can’t feel it. It rides very smoothly. The other car eats lots of gas. Its engine runs up to 2800 RPM before shifting gears, and when it shifts, the car jerks forward. It’s not a pleasant feeling to drive this vehicle.
Is it possible to adjust the transmission on the second car to make the car more economic? I think the reason it eats so much gas is because most of the time its engine is running very fast. For example, when you drive 40 MPH, it’s running at 2600RPM. There’s a lot of power in this car, and I think it’s just being wasted by the poor transmission. Is there anything that can be done about this?
And if yes, how? Do you have to take the transmission apart to fix this problem or what do you do?
The idle speed for the first car is 1000RPM, and the second is 800 RPM. The engines of both cars run perfectly, and they are very quiet.
Each car has different engines and transmissions. That’s ok. But I think it shouldn’t jerk the car when the transmission shifts gears. There’s something wrong with this car I think.
Details: The “good” car is a 1994 Dodge Grand Caravan SE minivan with 143,000 miles. The “bad” car is a 1990 Honda stationwagon with 217000 miles. Naturally, you’d expect a Honda to have good gas mileage. But this one is an exception.
