Do you guys "shift down" or engine brake?

[RogueGuy45]

I saw in the owner's manual that the OD button on the side of the shifter was to be used for towing or to engine brake. Do you guys use this and do you think there is a benefit to it? Does it save the brakes? Does it wear the transmission?

BTW, I do not have the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

[kerrton]

For towing I'd use it prior to taking off from a stand still to prevent the CVT from "upshifting" too soon. By keeping a lower gear ratio you place less stress on the CVT components and also keep the engine rpms higher for better torque as well.

I wouldn't advise using the OD off button for normal around town "downshifting" to slow down rather than just using your brakes, it already has built-in programming that I find to be very active, if you start coasting down a hill, even a moderate slope, it kicks right in and slows the acceleration. I can't say if using the OD off button on the fly as you drive around town would place more stress on the CVT for sure, but I'd rather error on the side of caution here. The CVT and computer that controls it is very sophisticated and always making adjustments, so I'd prefer to let it do it's work rather than interfering - I find when you hit the OD off button when travelling at speed it seems to be a bit of quick downshift rather than a more gradual process. It just doesn't feel real smooth.

And most importantly, a new CVT costs upwards of $4 to $5 thousand dollars, a full brake job should only be necessary every 60 thousand-ish miles depending on driving style (for me this will be every 7 or 8 years) and is quite a low priced maintenance item if it's just pad replacement, normally $100 bucks for the pads and an hour or two of labour. So I'll take the $200 brake job over the $5000 CVT replacement any day and error on the side of caution!

[Leo2005]

And most importantly, a new CVT costs upwards of $4 to $5 thousand dollars. So I'll take the $200 brake job over the $5000 CVT replacement any day and error on the side of caution!

I'm using it all the time. Every time I go up I don't feel like the car is going and I'm using it at this time. BTW CVT is covered until 100k miles without problems. If you didn't have problems with trany during 30-40k miles then you shouldn't have problems for a loooong time.

[philipa_240sx]

I use the O/D lock for engine braking as well. But not on a continuous basis.

The greatest risk will come from repeated applications at high speed and may well add some wear and tear to the transmission. It will also impact fuel economy... it's not the most efficient way of driving.

[epmeyer50]

I think y'all have missed the point of it. Its for pulling a heavy trailer or descending a steep grade - the kind with the runaway truck lanes on the side. Its not for routine driving. If you feel like the trans is in too high a gear just push the accelerator a little further down and you'll get the boost you want automatically & without scaring the CVT.

[RogueGuy45]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll just keep driving the way I have, without using engine braking.