Shifting (A/T)

[Spades]

I haven't had experience with the automatic transmission used in the Yaris, but if it is like most auto trans I have had experience with, constantly shifting your auto trans like it is a manual generally leads to transmission failure sooner than leaving it in gear would.

I have been told not to do this by many people MUCH smarter than myself, and I have listened to their advice and have seen a couple cases where transmissions went bad at 30k miles from people using them like a manual gearbox.

To sum it all up, if you wanted a manual you shouldn't have bought a auto. The automatic transmission in your car was designed to shift at the right time to increase longevity of both the engine and transmission. From the performance side of it, I have yet to see a auto car run quicker times when shifted manual instead of leaving it in drive...its usually 1 second slower in the quarter mile by pretending your slushbox was a gearbox.