So my dad can no longer drive, so sometimes I have to drive him here and there. Recently, I drove him to store and questioned why my overdrive was on. I just said "it always been on." He told me I should have it off during street driving and turn it on when going on freeways. But I thought the manual say to have it on for better mpg.

Then I got the same thing from his best friend, when I took them to pick your part. "Why do you have overdrive on? RPMs are high." He always said something about ruining part of the car. I thought it probably the way im driving that I getting high rpms. So I must know question: Do I have it off or on? I clearly dont know the answer now and want help on this situation.

 

you just leave it on. like the manual says. i'm very certain toyota, the people who conceived, engineered and built the car, know what is better for the car than your dad and friend does.

you only leave the overdrive off when you need more acceleration and snappier throttle response. it keeps the car from upshifting to the final gear.

whether it is on or off doesn't hurt the car at all. it just means that your mpg will be lower when you're out on the highway going 50 mph or faster for a longer time. so just laugh at your father's and friends ingnorance, and leave the overdrive on. why do you think they have a reminder light for when the overdrive is off, to remind you to turn it back on, instead of the other way around?

 

That's what I said. My dad and his friend are just old. They know basic mechanics and stuff, but fail to understand that new cars are different now of days. But thanks Draxcaliber for clearing it up for me.

 

I only turn off the overdrive when in the mountains or goat country.

My xA is an amazing car.

 

I only turn mine off when the tranny just refuses to step down going up a long sloping hill.

 

same here - going between SF and LA once a month means that OD goes off going through the Grapevine, otherwise I'd never make it through at a reasonable speed.

 

As said before, Overdrive lets you go into 4th gear.

When it is off, you will only be able to reach 3rd gear, hence giving you more RPMs and acceleration (used most often for climbing an hill).

You'll want to keep it on to spread out the power band and keep your MPGs.

 

I only turn the OD off when I'm needing some extra oomph to pass someone, going through Pacheco Pass to SJ, or through the Grapevine to LA.

My previous car had an OD toggle and I abused it...and got crappy gas mileage because of it.