Automatic car help! I can’t do it!

[ghostyslovesheets]

I feel like such a twat but my hire care it a bloody automatic and I can’t even reverse it of the drive!
always driven with gears - not even sure how to control this thing. Take foot of break it shoots backwards- break and it stops. How do I reverse slowly?
holy hell I have to do a 200 mile trip tomorrow - considering hiring a car with gears!

can anyone talk me through it like a 5 year old?

im 56 and have no problem driving a normal car

There should be a foot rest to put your left foot on. Put it there and do not move it…things will be a lot easier and you won’t even want to drive a non automatic again.

I promise you once you've got the hang of it and driven it for a few days you will NEVER want a manual car again.

I got used to it in a day and drove it for about a year. Still went back to a manual when I had the opportunity.

I remember flying to Florida on our honeymoon - it hadn’t even entered my mind the rental car would be automatic and I’d never even been in one let alone driven one. A couple of laps of JFK with new husband in an emergency crash position I went back to rental place and told them to take it back. The guy was so patient - took me on around 50 laps of their car park to build confidence and off I went , can’t say the nerves were completely cured but I managed and now drive an automatic and love it ! I often think there should be some sort of driving simulator you can visit before flying to US and develop skills on automatic

I've had an auto for a year now and would switch back to a manual in a heartbeat. I borrowed a 6sp manual for a trip last month and realised how much I'd missed the extra control you have.

Unfortunately it's getting harder and harder to find a manual gearbox now.

As evidenced by the fact if you pass your test in an automatic you are restricted to an automatic but if you pass your test in a manual car you're permitted to drive either manual or automatic.

It’s like driving a go cart.

Once you get used to it you won’t ever want to go back.

I think it must be because you are using your left foot - hopefully if you just use your right you will have more control. I drive an automatic honda jazz and honestly it's like driving a go-kart. However - I tried to drive my late husband's manual car recently and it was like an alien spacecraft to me! Haven't driven a manual in about 16 years and now I just cannot get my head around it, even though I passed my test in one!

I've never liked automatics, it's not like real driving but they are good in traffic jams. A colleague's FIL bought a new automatic car and put it into reverse instead of drive (or vice versa) and killed his wife.

Muscle memory is going for the clutch when there isn't one. In a manual your right foot operates both accelerator and brake, and it's exactly the same in an automatic

I put my left on the rest plate. I did keep trying to change gears, but it didn’t last long. I have a brilliant camera when I reverse that even shows me where I’m aiming for. Love it now.

I completely understand that it feels a bit odd to start with - I remember being freaked out that it was moving by itself, but I don’t even notice that now. Autos are so easy - far less faff.

A lot of automatics have a little foot rest to keep your left foot out of the way.

Mine has the foot/handbrake as a third pedal where the clutch would be. Muscle memory had me reaching for it every time I would have gone for the clutch, so feel your pain.

Just remember with an automatic, always do everything with your foot on the brake. To Start. And to change between Drive and Park. And always put it in park before you turn the engine off or you'll likely lock the steering. It'll move as soon as you lift your foot off the brake, (but slowly until you accelerate) if its in drive or reverse. Hill starts are a breeze.

Took years for me to fully appreciate it but I do love it now.

Haha did make me laugh you put your left foot on the brake! I’d never go back to a manual car now. Driving an auto in traffic jams is so much easier

My previous and current car is automatic, as they are company cars, but I’d go back to a manual now if I had the chance.

After 45 years of driving a manual it took me some getting used to. Metaphorically pinning your left foot back helps.
I wouldn't go back to manual now though. Setting off is so smooth, hill starts, stop and start traffic are all better in automatic. Even my car mad DS is a convert.

Occasionally have to use DHs car and it's not pretty.

As everyone has said, it's because you're using both feet. I've driven both and hate being in an automatic.

If it's a VW they seem to be impossible to edge forwards or backwards. End up lurching about and they have whiplash sharp brakes.
I absolutely hate them.

@DryTerryandJUNE that’s not what my VW Golf automatic is like, at all.