Auto gearbox
Hi, Does anyone out there tow with a auto gearbox and if so what are your experiences good or bad.
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We have towed with automatics. 4litre Jeep Cherokee, absolute dream of a drive, much preferred to manual gearbox. You could tip the gears up or down if required, useful on big hills. No aching clutch knee😁 would always opt for an auto over manual given the choice.0
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It depends on the type of gearbox. A torque converter box is pretty much unbeatable, others may leave you wanting.
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Before changing to a motorhome my last two tow cars were automatic, all albeit 4x4's, and quite frankly its the only way to tow, takes all the stress out of towing. Since giving up towing all my cars have been automatic and I just don't see any advantage in manual gearboxes for normal motoring.
David
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In the.past I have towed with a Volvo 740 petrol and a 850 diesel, both automatics, cannot ever remember there being any problems. I now have a motorhome and that is semi automatic. As David says it makes sense for normal driving, certainly less tiring on long trips and hilly/mountainous terrain.
peedee
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Same here, both the car and it being our first automatic tow car. Can't really fault it, although it is a bit thirsty as we tend not to do long journeys without the caravan.
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I'm now on my second Touareg with a 'proper' torque converter gearbox. Best tow car I have ever owned. The 3 litre V6 engine is so smooth and quiet - it's an absolute joy to drive. Like @Takethedogalong , the ability to switch to what is, in effect, 'tiptronic' in manual mode is a boon when doing long hill descents. I definitely wouldn't contemplate going back to a manual - especially for towing.
Yes, it is thirsty - lucky to get much over 20mpg towing - but the van does weigh 2 tonnes! However, since retiring I don't do much more than 8000 miles a year, so it's not a big issue.
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it’s an xc60 we are thinking of changing to, people talk about a torque converter gearbox is yours one of those?
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The Volvo auto is a type of TC box. We considered buying one and wouldn’t have done so if it was any other.
The different types of auto are explained here -
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i have been driving with an auto gear box on Volvo cars since 1982. I was towing a 4 birth caravan from 1988 to 2016. I then moved to a large (4250) Kon-tiki MH on a Fiat engine and auto gearbox and chassis in 2016 to 2024, drove 42,000 miles and loved every moment of it. For personal reasons I downsized the MH last October to A new Swift 640. The engine is the standard Fiat engine but with a brand new 9 speed auto gearbox… This is the same box the Mercededs install in their cars and Sprinter vans. it is a dream to drive because the engine and gearbox are so perfectly matched. in all that time and miles I have not experienced any problems with engines or auto gearboxes. A lot has to be said for choosing Fiat and Volvo engines and gearboxes.
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Our automatics have all been Volvos in the past, though we now have a Touareg, like Richard.
We started out with a 145 then another 145. We also had a 240, but did not tow with it. We also had 3 smaller Volvo automatics over the years, and then a 2002 model V40 which our daughter inherited, it kept going for 22 years until it was written off due to someone driving into the side of it.
Our next towcar was 940 estate, then an XC90. It must have been a Friday car, it had more go wrong with it than all our other Volvos combined! We replaced it in 2017 with a pre -registered Touareg, only 14 miles on the clock, another XC90 now being beyond our means, plus having lost faith in Volvo .
The XC90 was an excellent towcar, just unreliable.
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