Weird Automatic Shifting question

[ViberSteve]

Weird question. My vibe shifts downward wierdly and i am wondering if this is just pontiacs or vibes that do this. I could be going slightly fast down a slight hill and my vibe feels like it shifts down and it seems to noticable to forget about. Does this happen to any of you? It does this when i apply my breaks to slow down but it feels like big jolt.ps: i tryed searching for this topic but did not see anything.

[Mavrik]

its automatic right? the vehicle could be shifting down a gear to help hold the vehicle at that speed. cruise control can cause it to do this as well.

[Raven]

My auto did the same. It feels weird but they all do it.

[zionzr2]

this dose appear to be normal...On hills in town i put it in Neutral and coast my way down the hill resuming in drive at the bottom where there is usually a traffic light in the RED position. ........Yes I do stop at the red lights

[ViberSteve]

ok, i know it down shifts to slow it down but i just wanted to know if they all do it. thanks for your responses!

[ViberSteve]

Does putting it in Neutral save on gas? I coast down hills as well.

[whatthefunk41]

my vibe does the same thing but it only does that when i go down hill and step on the brakes...also i do believe puttin the car in netural savves gas cuz i do that every once an awhile

[ZubenElGenubi]

I've been testing whether coasting in neutral helps any. I've been using my ScanGauge II to display the engine load amount (0-100% of engine load) during neutral coasts vs drive coasts -- as well as neutral vs drive stops (with and without A/C).Apparently, the ECU greatly regulates fuel consumption, especially when using cruise control, because, even though RPMs are dramatically lower when coasting in neutral, the load percentage is usually 50-75% higher than coasting in drive. Conversely, the load on the engine is much lower at a stop when in neutral than when in drive. Additionally, it may actually wear your transmission more to drop in and out of neutral at high speeds. Plus it can be dangerous.My advice: leave it in drive when driving...put it in neutral when waiting.

[ColonelPanic]

You can buy an (removed) ton of gas, even if it hits $5 a gallon, with the $4,000+ that a new automatic transmission costs for this car. I don't see popping the tranny in and out of neutural all the time being beneficial for it, that isn't supposed to happen during normal driving. Plus it is actually illegal in at least once locality, which I found with a quick google, and I'm sure many others. lol!As far as the original question with it shifting down on a grade, I noticed that with my Vibe quite a bit... It could be annoying but for the most part I found the added engine braking beneficial. I think my Accent does it too, but I can't really feel the transmission shift the majority of the time so I might not notice it unless I'm looking at the tach... These are the first two cars I've had do this, everything else just picked up speed and kept going. I think I like this better. I'll guess and say I think the brakes do. lol!

[JohnC]

If I do not want it to downshift going down a hill, I let off the accelerator pedal very gradually and smoothly and it does not downshift. Pretty smart tranny.