New Clutch vs Driver Safety?

I drove a auto with close to 80,000lbs every trip from KS to Oregon and return to KS. Never had an issue. Did I like it? No, I did it cause its what I was put in. Did it ever slip out of gear, or give me trouble? No. Can they? Probably, but I never had an issue.

 

if it pops out...you will know it...lol

 

I love a head-full of steam and britches full of #### charging down a mountain. That's right living! Lol.

 

All automatics provide for a provision to keep the vehicle moving in a nuetral state should it brick, fail or malfunction.

I do support your thought regarding the boneheads in the Fleet Operations disabling this, that and something else and all sorts of wonderful necessary useful goodies we rely on to be the best on the mountain. They take away everything like a grinch. #### that old grinch, always screwing with something that should already be good.

 

The Detroit transmission will always stay in gear anytime you use the brakes or engine brake. So it always in gear going downhill

Remember going downhill in a diesel even in gear does nothing to slow a truck down. I was always told keep it in gear also. That so you can use the engine brake or if needed in the winter to pull the trailer downhill. To save yourself from a jacknife.

Having an auto shift you don't have to worry about getting it back in gear. You just step on the pedal and it will go into gear or just turn engine brake on and it will go into gear. Plus it always in gear just the clutch is not engaged. The transmission is not in neutral going downhill.

I just found out Detroit has a descent mode for going downhill but it sounds like it just setting the cruise control. I want to try it and see. It basically setting up the truck a little different going downhill. You slow down to the speed you want using the brakes. Then turn the engine brakes on(leave transmission in automatic) then set the cruise control.

That will set the cruise control at your current downhill speed. Then you just let the transmission and engine brake work together to hold truck back. If they can't you just tap the brakes to slow down and then you can reset the cruise control again at a slower speed or just keep using the brakes and egine brake like you normally do.

 

You can watch videos on Detroit auto shift if you want to see how they claim the design it to work. Donload the app then you can watch the videos.
Freightliner Smart Source - Android Apps on Google Play

 

Two thoughts,

first is I never saw the option to change the fall back settings on an autoshift tranny, so I don't buy that the safety people would do that, plus if they actually did and the insurance investigator investigating the pancaked driver for litigation found that out, they may drop the carrier.

Second is if the trans actually failed, you have to stop on the side because it is a failure.

 

If this is really such a huge issue, how come I have yet to hear about a single crash that resulted from an auto transmission coming out of gear? The real problem on the roads is stupidity (of the variety only Darwin can fix).