LOW GEAR FUNCTION? ((SNOW))

[SpeedyV09]

I own a 2008 Versa SL CVT, right below drive is a letter that sells (L) I assume it means low gear, now this is my first car new driver I guess one might consider me to be but I can't figure out the purpose of this.

I live in Minnesota right now I have a blizzard in my backyard with about 4 inches of fresh snow

I guess my question is what is the purpose of this gear? will it help me in snow, mud...??

Thank You

[biggie]

I haven't seen the CVT shifter, is L the only other forward option besides D? If so then yes L would be the one to use and drive slow. Basically you don't want to go too fast and you want to keep the RPMs lower.

In a standard auto transmission you want to keep it from changing gears (since that can cause a loss of traction), but with CVT that should be a problem.

[SpeedyV09]

Wow thanks for the fast reply

To answer yes L is the only other gear to go forward other then D. So when I put it in that the engine gets louder. I was just wondering if this gear is beneficial in situations such as a lot of snow where it might create a type of traction for the car

+ I was wondering can I switch in and out of this gear as I please? as long as I'm not at highway speeds obviously?

Thanks

[biggie]

I'm not exaclty sure what the L is equal to for a standard AT, so not sure what speeds it could handle switching into it. My guess is its somewhere around a 2nd gear, so wouldn't want to be much over 30mph or so, but you can put it in L and see how fast you are going when the RPMs are too high for comfort.

And if you are worried about the snow amount on the roads I wouldn't want to be over 30mph anyway.

[the djay]

I have the CVT as well and I only use L when I want to slow down on slippery roads but you must be careful that this doesn't throw you into a skid on ice as you are using engine compression to slow the car. I will sometimes disengage the overdrive (a little button on the driver's side of the shifter near the top below the lock button) and this gives you a bit better control in the deep snow or in heavy traffic when the roads are slippery. A light comes on in the dash when OD is disengaged. I wouldn't use this very often as your engine revs higher and your gas mileage drops quite a bit.

[Slither]

I use 'L' for start up on a slippery grade to help eliminate wheelspin.

You can use it as an 'engine brake' when descending a steep hill.