jherrer

Hey guys,
I have a simple question for those of you who are familiar with the 2002-2005 mountaineer. I am not sure whether my O/D is On or Off. See, when I press the button the light in the dash comes on that says "O/D Off" and when I press it again the light turns off. So I am confused because usually when something is off, the light is off. But in this case when the light is on it says o/d off, so what's the deal?

If you know the answer to this, please let me know. Also, what are the problems with driving your car o/d all the time?

Thanks for your help.

 

dr_fosg8

My 2004 explorer is the same way, push the button on the end of the shifter and it shows the od off light. I think the only time you would want it off would be when towing, other than that you would want it on. Just the way they have set up the notification lights. Hope this helped.

jherrer

Thanks for the help dr_fosg8! I kind of understood but I am still unsure as to whether it is on or off when the light is on.

Also, I thought O/D was just for when you were passing people and really needed a boost of energy, i.e. to avoid hitting a semi or another car. Because doesn't having it in O/D all the time waste more gas among other problems.

dr_fosg8

I beleive as long as the light is off the od should be on. To my understanding of transmissions(which is quite limited :)), od is for cruising at highway speeds. The tranny will shift into the od which is a higher gear to increase feul economy and lower engine noise by way of the engine running at less rpm.

GJSmackdown

If the light is off you are in overdrive. If it's on, your not in overdrive. Unless your pulling a trailer or in very mountainous traveling it's best to keep the OD on.

thehamstack

jherrer, you have totally psyched yourself out! If the light is ON overdrive is OFF. For general purpose driving you want overdrive ON as you will get better mileage. Turning off overdrive locks your tranny out of 5th gear. This should only be needed when towing or going up or down mountains.