{"id":83450,"date":"2023-05-15T19:30:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T02:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogv2prod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/?p=83450"},"modified":"2025-03-25T01:30:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T08:30:26","slug":"automatic-gear-shift-letters-and-numbers-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/automatic-gear-shift-letters-and-numbers-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Automatic Gear Shift Letters and Numbers Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 6<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><style>.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column83450_86242d-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column83450_86242d-ef inner-column-1 qk-look-widget\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-row ultp-block-fca391  qk-main-wrap\"><div class=\"ultp-row-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-row-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-0a94df\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8\"]{text-align:center;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-family:Inter;font-weight:500;font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"kt-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8 summary-title wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading83450_1a27e0-e8\"><span>Summary<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Younger drivers typically refer to the letters on automatic transmissions as &ldquo;prindle.&rdquo;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&ldquo;P&rdquo; stands for park, &ldquo;R&rdquo; stands for reverse, &ldquo;N&rdquo; stands for neutral, &ldquo;D&rdquo; stands for drive, and &ldquo;L&rdquo; stands for low.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&ldquo;S&rdquo; stands for sport, &ldquo;M&rdquo; stands for manual, &ldquo;E&rdquo; stands for economy, and &ldquo;B&rdquo; stands for brake.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Numbers like &ldquo;2&rdquo; and &ldquo;3&rdquo; are modes that indicate the maximum gear the transmission can reach. These are useful for climbs and high torque applications.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some vehicles will have a manual mode with plus and minus symbols, allowing the driver to manually select the transmission gear.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>What does the &ldquo;L&rdquo; mean on a gear shift? Though they usually follow a common format, some automatic gear shifts have different letters and numbers. Many of these letters and numbers are intuitive, and you&rsquo;ve likely gotten used to what each one does. However, if you&rsquo;ve ever wanted to know exactly what they mean and when to use them, you&rsquo;ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Do the Letters on an Automatic Car Gear Shift Mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Letters are seen on automatic gear shifts more than numbers. However, different vehicles can use different letters on their gear shifts, leading to some confusion. Here are the common letters that most models use:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"automatic transmission in park gear\" class=\"wp-image-83499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-gear-shift.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The common car gear shift letters are P for Park, R for Reverse, N for Neutral, D for Drive, and L for Low.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Common <\/strong><strong>Car Gear Shift Letters: P R N D L<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some younger drivers fondly refer to the automatic gear shift as a car&rsquo;s &ldquo;prindle,&rdquo; stringing together these common gear shift letters into a word:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>P: Park &ndash; <\/strong>&nbsp;The &ldquo;P&rdquo; setting locks the transmission, which prevents the car from moving. It&rsquo;s ideal for parking, especially on steep inclines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>R: Reverse &ndash; <\/strong>The &ldquo;R&rdquo; position shifts the car into reverse, which lets you back the car up into a parking space or driveway.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>N: Neutral &ndash; <\/strong>The &ldquo;N&rdquo; setting disconnects the wheels from the car&rsquo;s engine, but doesn&rsquo;t lock the car in place like park does. It&rsquo;s often used for coasting, or when the car needs to be towed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>D: Drive &ndash; <\/strong>&ldquo;D&rdquo; is the gear shift letter with the most familiar meaning. With automatic transmission, the drive setting lets you cruise along without worrying about shifting gears while on the move.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>L: Low &ndash;<\/strong> The &ldquo;L&rdquo; in an automatic gear shift stands for &ldquo;Low.&rdquo; It limits the car to only the lower and slower but more powerful gears.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Uncommon Car Gear Shift Letters: S E M B<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A few more uncommon gear shift letters include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>S: Sport &ndash; <\/strong>The &ldquo;S&rdquo; setting keeps the car in lower gear settings for longer periods of time. This allows for increased throttle sensitivity and quicker acceleration. You can expect your vehicle to have tighter steering and increased power output as well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>M: Manual &ndash; <\/strong>&ldquo;M&rdquo; is a rare one to find on an automatic gear shift as it lets you switch to manual transmission. This mode gives you full control of the gears.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>E: Economy &ndash;<\/strong> The &ldquo;E&rdquo; setting makes use of frequent engine breaks and earlier shifts to conserve fuel. It also keeps the car on lower gears.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>B: Brake &ndash; <\/strong>The &ldquo;B&rdquo; setting does the same thing as &ldquo;L&rdquo; and &ldquo;E&rdquo; by braking the engine and keeping the car from using the higher gears, ensuring a more steady, controlled drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>+\/- &ndash; <\/strong>Plus and minus signs are usually on a specific gear position where you can manually select your vehicle&rsquo;s gear. This manual gear position is useful when you need precise control of the transmission, such as on the track. The plus gear indicates that pushing the lever in that direction will shift the transmission to a higher gear. Meanwhile, the minus gear will do the opposite.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Do I Use L or B in an Automatic Car?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The transmission in older vehicles might not automatically set the vehicle in the appropriate gear. Luckily, the &ldquo;L&rdquo; or low gear is the transmission&rsquo;s manual override, which means the transmission will prevent the transmission from shifting to a higher gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you set your transmission to the &ldquo;L&rdquo; or &ldquo;B&rdquo; gear, then you&rsquo;ll have more torque when accelerating but you&rsquo;ll have a very low top speed. The &ldquo;L&rdquo; and &ldquo;B&rdquo; gears are great for climbing steep inclines, towing, or navigating through bad weather and difficult terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Shift Into Low Gear in Automatic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In a manual vehicle, you have to manually shift to a lower gear when you&rsquo;re towing heavy cargo, driving in bad weather, or going down a steep hill. In an automatic vehicle, however, the transmission will automatically shift into low gear whenever you slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"698\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters-1024x698.jpg\" alt=\"gear letters of an automatic transmission\" class=\"wp-image-83500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/automatic-transmission-gear-letters.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Generally, &ldquo;1&rdquo; keeps your car in the first gear while in some setups, &ldquo;2&rdquo; forces your car to start in second gear, giving it a burst of speed from the get-go.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Do the Numbers on an Automatic Car Gear Shift Mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What the numbers on an automatic gear shift mean often depends on the vehicle. Some vehicles will have a combination of numbers and letters. What is &ldquo;2&rdquo; and &ldquo;L&rdquo; in an automatic transmission?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, the numbers correspond to transmission gears. On most vehicles, setting the transmission gear lever to these numbers will keep the transmission on or below the corresponding number. For example, setting the transmission to the number 1 means the vehicle will stay in first gear. Meanwhile, setting the transmission to the number 2 will allow the vehicle to alternate between the first and second gears only. Many modern vehicles have a single &ldquo;L&rdquo; gear, and it should function like several other numbered gears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping your vehicle set to a low gear ratio can be helpful in situations where you need extra torque, like when traversing a high gradient, carrying heavy loads, or going over mud or snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On some vehicles, you&rsquo;ll find gears that are labeled &ldquo;L3&rdquo;, &ldquo;L2&rdquo;, or &ldquo;L1&rdquo; gears. These same gears can also be labeled &ldquo;3&rdquo;, &ldquo;2&rdquo;, or &ldquo;1.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the transmission is set to &ldquo;3&rdquo; or &ldquo;2,&rdquo; then the transmission will work similarly to &ldquo;D.&rdquo; The numbered gears will maintain the automatic transmission&rsquo;s function of automatically shifting gears, but the transmission will only shift between the lesser gears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the driver requires a lower gear for a specific load, they simply need to depress the throttle pedal further and the transmission will switch to a lower gear that can climb steep gradients and carry heavy loads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some setups, &ldquo;2&rdquo; forces your car to start in second gear, giving it a burst of speed from the get-go. This is useful in snowy conditions. The transmission will then refuse to drop down below second gear while in this setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other vehicles though, the numbers indicate the upper limit. This means, for instance, that the car won&rsquo;t go past second gear if it&rsquo;s on &ldquo;2.&rdquo; So, if you&rsquo;ve ever wondered, &ldquo;What does 2 mean on my car&rsquo;s automatic gear shift?,&rdquo; now you know that it depends on the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Meaning and Purpose of Automatic Transmission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic meaning of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/a-short-course-on-automatic-transmissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"automatic transmission\">automatic transmission<\/a> is part of its name&ndash;it automatically handles gear shifting for you. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/how-to-take-care-of-your-manual-transmission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Manual transmission\">Manual transmission<\/a> requires more of your attention when shifting the gears of your vehicle. Automatic transmission only needs you to set basic parameters, such as if you want to limit your use of the upper or lower gears, reverse, or stay in neutral or park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main purpose of automatic transmission is to let you drive conveniently. It removes a lot of the smaller decision-making connected to driving with a manual transmission. Learning about your gear shift letters&rsquo; and numbers&rsquo; meaning is a step towards making it even easier to drive automatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why You Should Know the Automatic Gear Shift Letters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a responsible driver, you should know what all the symbols and numbers on your car mean. This includes the warning lights on your dashboard, the buttons on your control panel, and the letters on your gear shift.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being familiar with the different gears of your vehicle can help you drive much more confidently and efficiently. It&rsquo;s also the first step to knowing when to shift gears.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is It Bad To Drive in Low Gear?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In certain cases, it&rsquo;s actually much better to drive in low gear than high gear. When you&rsquo;re going up or down an incline, driving in low gear can reduce strain on your engine, transmission, and brakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Driving in low gear isn&rsquo;t necessarily bad, but there are specific instances when it can damage your engine. For example, driving in low gear at a fast speed means you&rsquo;re over-revving the engine, which can in turn damage the clutch, pistons, and other parts of the transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thankfully, you can easily avoid this dilemma by paying close attention to your tachometer or indicator light. It should tell you when to shift gears, so you don&rsquo;t end up damaging your vehicle by unnecessarily driving in low gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 6<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>What does the &ldquo;L&rdquo; mean on a gear shift? Though they usually follow a common format, some automatic gear shifts&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/automatic-gear-shift-letters-and-numbers-explained\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":83489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52,3748],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2607,3269],"class_list":{"0":"post-83450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-diy","8":"category-transmission","9":"entry"},"acf":{"adrotate_specific_mobile_ad":"","adrotate_specific_desktop_ad":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Automatic Gear Shift Letters and Numbers Explained - In The Garage with CarParts.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ever wonder what the L or 2 on your automatic gear shift means? Learn about the letters and numbers on your car\u2019s transmission here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/automatic-gear-shift-letters-and-numbers-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Automatic Gear Shift Letters and Numbers Explained - In The Garage with CarParts.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever wonder what the L or 2 on your automatic gear shift means? 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