Battle of the Transmissions: M/T vs. A/T

[ghosthunter]

Yes, but generally AT's are problematic, just read the Transmission Problems thread here in tsikot.com. Ang daming horror stories, they had to look for surplus transmissions sa banawe or evangelista st. If they are lucky, they will get a good one if not it will be a big waste of hardearned money.
This will rarely happen sa MT, these are robust and can take any abuse from drivers.

You have to take it with a grain of salt. Note that many of the "horror stories" would be cars older than ten years old.

Even my 12 year old corolla already had it's A/T tranny replaced mainly because I pretty much abused it for the first eight years. The surplus tranny I have now works well enough without problems.

We just have to keep in mind that our cars were designed to have a service life of five to ten years of being relatively problem free. So if you are buying a new car or a relatively "young" car, you can expect relatively problem free motoring for a long while.

[woohoo]

Hello good afternoon, as for me never na akong bibili ng AT! Sirain ang AT at pag nasira,whole transmission replacement kasi walang nag re-repair ng AT transmission!.

And it also cannot last kung hard driving ang style mo like jackrabbit starts, heavy traffic and fully loaded ang car. Mabilis mag init ang AT and this cause premature damage.
So those with AT, be warned, take good care of your AT kundi you are in for a very expensive ordeal.

It would not be wise to do jackrabbit starts with any vehicle, anyway, be it A/T or M/T. Even an M/T car will not last as long as a light-duty one if you use it fully-loaded most of the time.

Bottom line: be good (and gentle) to your car and it will last longer than if you abuse it. [size=1]667/3,918[/size]

[Muscat]

Yes, I agree, the best I think is that after 5 years or 65,000 km. start looking for buyer of your car. This is because you have already benefitted from the trouble-free life of your car and now it is better that somebody else pay for the coming trouble filled end of your car.
This is especially true with AT transmissions, and other complicated double clutch, or other fancy named transmissions.

[Muscat]

In addition, talagang ganyan yata, if you want the convenience of an AT, then you should take extra care of your transmission more than anything else in your car. Especially new AT's it is so complicated and demands regular maintenance, unlike MT which will last until the end of your car and is easily repaired.

[Benzmizer]

Back in the day, I consider A/T a LUXURY but with the worsening traffic condition, it's now a NECESSITY. Both my Trooper and MB 240D are A/T. I would not mind owning a M/T if it'll just be an alternate (coding) car or Sunday car.

I have not back read the thread but I would assume a forumer (such as Muscat) have already posted that an A/T requires regular maintenance (change tranny fluid and filter) for a transmission overhaul would extremely be expensive.

[MAST3R]

Pag traffic and w/ my family matic. But if walang masyadong traffic, and ako lang or w/ my wyfi, manual. hehe.


Ganun! trying to look like manual transmission! Anong kanbaduyan naman yan, uber rice!

Oo nga meron akong nakita, Tama ka baduy nga, hahaha!

[alwayz_yummy]

madaming new technologies...pero, umiiral parin ang mga "old ways"

putting ATF on a CVT tranny, papatayin agad ang turbo-charged engine(be it gas or diesel, esp crdi & vgt), alisin ang thermostat sa coling system, papainitin ang makina...

siyempre most users dont know how to properly care their vehicle...alam lang gamitin.. kaya ayun...

[umi001]

Back in the day, I consider A/T a LUXURY but with the worsening traffic condition, it's now a NECESSITY. Both my Trooper and MB 240D are A/T. I would not mind owning a M/T if it'll just be an alternate (coding) car or Sunday car.

I have not back read the thread but I would assume a forumer (such as Muscat) have already posted that an A/T requires regular maintenance (change tranny fluid and filter) for a transmission overhaul would extremely be expensive.

Agree with this - I'd not mind having a M/T car, but not for a daily driver, especially in Metro Manila.

[ghosthunter]

If the traffic condition in the metro wasn't as bad as it is, I would love having a manual tranny car to drive everyday. But we have to face reality of the situation. Even when I had my weekend toy car (M/T), there were times I wished it was automatic because of some really bad traffic jam on the road I was driving through then.

[Ry_Tower]

Yes, I agree, the best I think is that after 5 years or 65,000 km. start looking for buyer of your car. This is because you have already benefitted from the trouble-free life of your car and now it is better that somebody else pay for the coming trouble filled end of your car.
This is especially true with AT transmissions, and other complicated double clutch, or other fancy named transmissions.

Kung mapera, ok lang yan.

[niky]

Depends. If you care for an AT with regular fluid changes, it can last 100-150k kilometers, no sweat. Slipping? Replace the clutch packs... poor response? Upgrade the valve body. No sweat.

With a Honda CVT, you can't do that. You have to replace the entire assembly. Which is kind of stupid. Honda should have made the clutch packs a separate item designed for easy disassembly and replacement.

Mitsubishi CVTs and some others still use torque converters... some are purely mechanical. That way, the slippage is in some part that can be replaced.

A Dual Clutch, aside from electronic niggles as it gets older (and all electronics get niggles, even on MT cars) is durable. Less slipping or friction compared to everything else. There are the odd cases of failure, though, and if it happens out of warranty... ouch.

On a modern manual? Tons of stuff can go wrong. Poor shifting habits can wear down shifter bushings, synchros (synchros are cheap to buy, but labor and machine shop work to take apart the transmission? Freaking expensive), gears can be chipped (same problem), clutch assemblies and hydraulic components wear down with regularity. And flywheels, too. If you drive in traffic a lot, your flywheel may need to be resurfaced around 100,000 kms. If you own a car with a dual-mass flywheel (common on many new gasoline and diesel cars), you can't resurface it at all, and it needs to be replaced completely when the springs inside wear out. This is typically at 100,000+++ kilometers and can cost over 30-70k pesos for the flywheel alone. It's insane. Good thing single-mass flywheel replacements are available for some cars, but they're not common here, yet.

If we're going by maintenance expense... **** it all... buy whatever you want and baby the heck out of it.

[shadow3616931]

Depends. If you care for an AT with regular fluid changes, it can last 100-150k kilometers, no sweat. Slipping? Replace the clutch packs... poor response? Upgrade the valve body. No sweat.

I remember my x X-trail, its tranny wont accelerate casa said valve body is defective needs to be replaced entirely and its cost was about 80k, ouch... I ended up buying surplus luckily I found one for 7k only, casa said they will not give me warranty for the job done...who cares

[dropzone]

A/T - for girls/ old guys
M/T - macho gwapito
sino ka sa dalawa?

i have both M/T and A/T, mas sanay at happy ako M/T,sarap humataw, dika mabibitin.
tama, macho gwapito tyo,

[hinDMaxsiado]

Sirs, some people prefer manual-transmission, while others prefer the automatic ---- i have always liked the manual in my case, even in city-driving and amidst slow traffic.

Apart from the steering, as the driver, i like the idea that i'm in total control of the car due to the following:

1. The rev i want/ need before i upshift, especially in ascents (i don't like straining an engine before downshifting, and compensating just by pressing more the acceleration pedal);

2. The downshifting i need (as i'm the type that shifts actively "mahilig sa rektahan", as i don't like losing transmission oil pressure where in some drivers you hear their trannies "jarring" or vibrating before they shift) ---- meaning momentarily they are losing oil pressure at their trannies.
....I come from an offroad dirtbiking background (trail and enduros ---- mountainous), the reason why i have always prefer manual-transmissions....

3. i prefer engine-breaking (to some degree) in descents, sweep-cornering, and in winding roads where usually i don't apply breaks ---- you should see how a typical European guy living in mountainous areas like in Northern Spain and in southern France use their manual-trannies, or even those that are living in Baguio City or in the Cordilleras that understand the use of manual-tranny
....These guys from Cordilleras even know if the other guy in front of them is a typical flatland city-boy or Manila-boy as they say, dahil freno-ng-freno sa bawat kurbada at sa kaunting pagbaba lang ng kalsada....

4. i prefer loading-up my rev by downshifting instead of pressing hard the acceleration each time i make a pass where my transient speed to begin with is quite slow; and

5. A manual-gear box repair is cheaper than an automatic and in the event that you run out of battery to start your engine, with the manual-transmission, you only need to jump-start it by pushing the car and "jerking" (not jerking off haha! ) your clutch and gear while in motion. Sa ating lenguaje o sa Tagalog, "kadyotin mo", AND WHY NOT!
....If we guys know what we're doing as far as the manual-tranny is concern, tatagal ng maigi ang transmission ng mga sasakyan....

This is just so far i can think of.

[miked]

Meself uses an A/T pickup truck....actually, i prefer M/Ts. no pressure fluctuation, cooling problems, blahblah. i really don't trust A/Ts.

A/Ts so complex = not really that reliable compared to rugged design M/Ts even with these so called "high-technology".

i would also dare to DIY M/T rebuild than these A/Ts.

but that's just me.

[AICRAG0617]

Manual transmission for me.(while physically able) Drove an AT when I was in the US for more than a month and did not enjoy the experience.
2 months ago I was deciding on whether I will get a Toyota RAV4, Toyota Fortuner or Honda CR-V. When I learned that the CR-V manual tranny is 6 speed, it was one major reason for getting it(CR-V). Never owned a 6 speed manual tranny before. Love driving it!
Of course 5 to 10 years from now, my preference might change. (If traffic in my area worsens and my legs give up)

[Titleist983k]

From all M/T vehicles to now all A/T vehicles for me. Don't want to add more stress to an already stressful city life. LOL. Although I miss having M/T's. On another note, I do not believe that getting A/T means less reliable, have been through quite a few with different manufacturers none of them had transmission problems. In fact, the only car I had transmission problems was with my 2000 Civic SiR M/T (sold it after 4 years of usage). Aint that a bitch. LOL

[japkame20]

Manual transmission is better for me, but I prefer AT because of the heavy traffic. Lalo na pag stop and go yan. Nako.

[MAST3R]

Ask any mechanic... Ask any Real mechanic... He will 100% tell u that m/t is far better than a/t. Tsaka walang nagpapaconvert ng m/t going to a/t, pero andami nagpapaconvert from a/t going to m/t. Time will come (20 or so years), yung mga naka a/t will be converting to m/t kasi di na kaya ma'maintain/ ma'repair.

[burjegol]

Well folks, either you will like it or not, the trend now is leaning on the A/T side. even me was surprised to see a 1.3 car having an A/T. Mebbe later, you will see a 1.0 with an A/T. that's technology, it maybe not perfect for our preference. I like the M/t for its response but consider folks. Sa M/T, ang makina ang sumusunod sa driver, resulting in engine stress. Sa A/T, ang driver ang sumusunod sa makina.