Do you have to shift gears when you are driving a 4-speed automatic transmission vehicle?
its called 4 speed + overdrive basically because its an Auto, if it was a stick shift then ya it would be called a 5 speed, because in a manual transmission in a 5 speed the 5th gear is overdrive gear and in a 6 speed the 6th gear is overdrive, also in an auto transmission it doesn't need the Overdrive to function properly so it doesn't need it, overdrive is just for highway and interstate driving so don't have it in Overdrive for normal everyday driving unless you go on the highway or interstate an Auto isn't going to have an Overdrive gear unless it says its Overdrive with the O with the D in it, if a 5 speed Automatic doesn't have the O with the D inside it then its just a 5 speed with no Overdrive, the gear ratios of the 5 speed with no Overdrive would be closer to each other
No, it's an automatic. The 4 gears part just designates the number of gears. Most cars with automatic transmissions have 5 gears now but some may still come with 4 speed autos. In the past there were 3 speeds. Top end cars like Lexus and Mercedes will have 7 gears in their automatics.
No, you don't have to shift. A 4 speed automatic transmission is an automatic transmission designed to have 4 different gear ratios in the forward position. Just put it in Drive (or Overdrive if offered), and allow the transmission do all the shifting for you.
