I’m assuming it’s the overdrive button on the side of my gearshift. 2012 Nissan Altima, base model. Everything I googled assumes I know more than how to change oil. Thanks in advance!!! 😊
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It’s a feature that’s part of the manual gear control. Like how you can select only 2nd gear or 1st gear if you move the gear lever further past the normal ‘D’ position for driving forwards. Just more convenient to toggle on/off.
“Overdrive” is the nickname of your highest gear. It’s the only gear whose ratio turns the transmission/gearbox output faster than the input side where the engine is, which is where the name “overdrive” comes from. When you press the button, you might see a message “O/D off” on your dash. This means that your top gear is disabled, and the transmission will max out at your 2nd highest gear instead, shifting down if it’s in that gear now.
Lower gears means the engine is spinning faster. This is very useful when hauling a heavy load (eg: trailer) or when going down a steep hill at speed. If you’re on the highway and there’s a steep down-hill section, don’t ride the brakes as you go down. Instead, press this OD button and release both pedals. The faster-spinning engine, but not getting any gas, will want to slow down to a stop since it’s not getting fuel. This will actually help slow down the car as it goes down the hill since the wheels will turn the engine instead, and along with that all the other thing like air conditioning, the alternator (electricity generator) etc.
When doing the hill thing, be sure to hit the button again when you reach the bottom so the car shifts back into your real top gear. Using a lower gear than necessary wastes fuel, so don’t leave it like that.
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