Is it bad if I change gears without pressing on the brakes?

I live in Boston and not all the streets are cleared...so frequently I will go from Drive to gear 3 (even to Low) without pressing on the brakes or coming to a complete stop. (btw I drive an automatic) Is this destroying my car at all? Or is this how it's supposed to be done?Is it bad if I change gears without pressing on the brakes?
No, it doesnt hurt the car if you change the gears while moving. Just watch your engine RPM and speed, you don't want to go into 2nd when you are going 50 mph.Is it bad if I change gears without pressing on the brakes?
That won't hurt a thing.
yea it shouldnt be done like dis coz it might damage da gearbox on the long run :)
well you dont need brake to change gears either way but really shouldnt be shifting to any gear with auto but really depends on way your shifting out of gear is it ti climb a steep hill yes it it to go down a mounation road yes shift to lower gear driving on a normal street no its bad
is it two or four wheel drive? if it is two wheel automatic there is no reason to change gears even in snow (that's why they call it automatic). this could cause transmission damage if you downshift while going too fast.
Definatly not got for the trany.
I agree with Mr. know-it-all. No problem, and besides, on snow it's a better idea than hitting the brakes.
if u r doing 50,it isn't a good idea to shift into 2nd or 1st immediately.not only would the deceleration throw u toward the windshield,that is rough on your engine.

It would be better to just shift down to the next lower gear.If u r in 5th,shift down to 4th.

Braking just helps u slow down faster but not necessary.
I shift my automatic manually all the time, the modifications I've done to the motor make it more fun to drive that way. If you have a ';sport or power'; switch on the console or dash have it set to the sport or power setting. That advances the timing, changes the shift points for higher rpm shifting, and on many vehicles it ups the ATF pressure to the clutch packs for more positive shifts.

I'd quit down shifting in the snow. You will lock up the wheels on FWD as well as RWD vehicles and end up in the ditch.
I assume you are down shifting to slow down. This is certainly not good for the transmission but is much better than locking up the brakes and/or smashing into something.
Any sudden shifting to a lower gear may break wheel traction if the streets are ice or snow covered. You will not hurt the transmission if you're going 55 MPH in drive and decide to slip the gear selector into drive 3. If you're going under 30 mph it's perfectly OK to shift to drive 2 without doing any damage what so ever.



Keep in mind whenever you shift to a lower gear the *driven wheels are the only two that do the slowing down. If you have anti-lock brakes that's really a better deal to safely slow down.



Wish you'd have included the year make and model of your ';wheels.'; Newer cars has a small button on the gear shift nob that drops your car from overdrive to the next lower gear which would be 1:1 or direct drive. That's handy if you are pulling a light trailer up an incline so that the transmission won't be ';hunting'; for a forward drive gear.