gearing

hey.. got a Blazer 2000 v6 vortec. .. Automatic... i've never drived automatic cars before (always manual transmission) ... so.. i have this question...
I'm stoped. I begin pressing the gas pedal. if your're on 3rd gear , the car should be able to automatically change to 1st gear then 2nd and at last 3rd as i press the gas pedal ? .. or it's normal that I should have it on 1st gear from the begining as a manual transmission cars?


I ask this because in the example explained above, the car doesn't move... if i'm not in 1st gean unless i'm in "drive" gear... is that a normal?


thanks....

It should move in 1, 2, 3 and D. If it doesn't you have a tranny problem. For normal daily driving, you should always be in "D". 3 should only be used for towing and 1,2 for low speed pulling or pulling a trailer up hill.

1 and 2 (4x4 low)for going vertical while fourwheeling/rockcrawling as well!

The transmission shifts all the gears on its own you don't need to do anything. Basically all you do is choose the highest gear that you want the transmission to shift into and it will do the rest. When you start off it will do all the upshifts. When you slow down or accelerate rapidly it will do the downshift and then upshift when it is time. There is no clutch that you have to use ( so if you are using the brake as a clutch this would explain why you are having trouble starting off.) If yours isn't working like I described then you probably have transmission problems, but please be more specific about what problems you are having, being that you are new to automatics it could be something simple.


P = Park

R = Reverse

N = Neutral

D = Drive (this is the one you should drive in, the tranny will shift all three gears and overdrive)

3 = Will shift up to drive but not overdrive

2 = I haven't paid attention to how my Blazer is... in some cars the tranny will shift between 1 and 2. And in others this is 2 all the time (for better traction while taking off on slick roads.)

1 = first gear

thanks everybody has been really helpfull.. let me try to explain further....
i´m doing some mounting climbing. My car is park. Obviously looking at the sky.... so, these are the cases:
1. If I´m on "D" . as i push the gas the car begins climbing. that´s ok as exected.
2. If I try to do so in "3" , the car does not move. You get high speeed RPM but the car almost not move. That happens also in "2", but not in "1".
is that behavior normal.?
i was expecting that the car shifts by itself from 1 to 2 and to 3 if I´m on "3" but it seems not... now it´s easy to understand?
thanks

Don't feel bad, I didn't drive an automatic trans car until drivers-ed. Taking off in second or third gear in automatic trans car is like doing it in a manual it can be done but it wouldn't do it. If you want to drive without going into o/d just put it in first and shift through the gears like it was a manual.(w/o the clutch)

Don't feel bad, I didn't drive an automatic trans car until drivers-ed. Taking off in second or third gear in automatic trans car is like doing it in a manual it can be done but it wouldn't do it. If you want to drive without going into o/d just put it in first and shift through the gears like it was a manual.(w/o the clutch)
It is nothing like a manual, you are completely wrong. Your entire post is wrong. There is nothing wrong with taking off in second or third in an automatic. You can take off in second anytime you want without hurting anything, you shouldn't drive at highway speeds in second because it over revs the engine though. You can take off and drive in third anytime you want without any damage, because the transmission actually starts off in first and shifts up to third.(this is the perfered gear for towing)

If you want to drive without going into O/D just put the shifter in 3. Manually going through the gears does nothing like that. You do that when you want to determine the shift points.(which really you don't need to because the computer moniters everything from vehicle speed to throttle position and bases the shifts on all this info, it can deliver a better shift than you can.

****EDIT****
redneck tech,
I want to apologize for being such a dick when I posted this reply. You were only trying to help, and I shouldn't have responded that way.

thanks everybody has been really helpfull.. let me try to explain further....
i´m doing some mounting climbing. My car is park. Obviously looking at the sky.... so, these are the cases:
1. If I´m on "D" . as i push the gas the car begins climbing. that´s ok as exected.
2. If I try to do so in "3" , the car does not move. You get high speeed RPM but the car almost not move. That happens also in "2", but not in "1".
is that behavior normal.?
i was expecting that the car shifts by itself from 1 to 2 and to 3 if I´m on "3" but it seems not... now it´s easy to understand?
thanks

Is your check engine light on?

thanks.... No. "the check engine" light it's not on... and I really can't take off if i'm second or third. I have to manually shited to 1st gear or to drive if i want to take off .. this situation, of course, is more obvious in an uphill take off. I'm not towing anything... so by your reco it seems that something is not working properly in second and third gear... any guess?
thanks..

There is definitely something wrong. In D does it shift right?....1...2...3...overdrive or is it missing some gears?

There is definitely something wrong. In D does it shift right?....1...2...3...overdrive or is it missing some gears?


Exactly, in D it shifts right.....1...2...3 and overdrive.. no problem at all... seem to be the 2nd and 3rd gear while taking off... so is this defenitly not normal? and if so, what should i do? any hint?

thanks..
:confused: