Are automatics programmed to skip gears?

Question

Are automatics programmed to skip gears?

Answer 1

Hmm.  That's a good question.  When GM brought out the new Corvette back in the 80s it was designed to skip a few  gears if you weren't pushing the engine hard, and that was the stick.

A few years back Dodge had a four- or five-speed auto they were using for a couple of cars, but it was set up to work as a three- or four-speed; upshifting it would use one cog for Third, but downshifting it would use a different one, and always it would skip over that other gear 3a going up, but 3b coming down.  Weird, but there it is - and that actually does answer your question.

Some sportier models may indeed be programmed to skip a cog or two if you aren't goosing the pedal enough to merit the extra shifts.  It'd be worth it to them to program the tranny to do that to deliver the best possible fuel mileage at the EPA tests - and yes, they would definitely design to perform well on the test, since it means they have better numbers to brag about on ads.  You'd have to research the specific model you suspect though; I haven't heard of any manufacturer doing it but that doesn't mean it isn't being done.

Answer 2

...if you are talking about cars then why would a car forcefully skip a gear.  to go faster your transmission and motor need to hit a certain RPM per every gear.  skipping gears will force your car to "bog out"  which can be only fixed by...going in the correct gear order.  But automatics are a joke stick you have full control over the car and its speed...need to go faster downshift.

Answer 3

downshifting yea but not upshifting.

Answer 4

Not that I know of.