I know this is a stupid question, so sorry in advance.

I have '08 auto and I do quite of bit of driving in the mountains of Colorado. As you all aware the auto for '08 only has drive, 1, & 2 for selectable forward gears. To use the transmission for engine breaking on the highway, 65 mph, could I put it down into 2 and it would not drop into 2 until it slowed enough/ rpm dropped enough... I guess the question is would it stay in 3rd for most of that time even though the shifter is in 2nd?

Thanks!

 

Ive always wondered the same thing but never tested it out of fear of blowing up the transmission. im sure with all the electronics in the jeep nowadays there has to some type of safety mechanism that wouldnt drop it to 2nd gear until you hit a certain speed.

 

Not sure if the same holds true for previous years, but in my 11' if you drop the gears through 1 and 2 the vehicle will not downshift unless you're under a certain speed. I am unsure what the speed for second gear is but I know that it will not shift into 1st above 60km/h (37mph).

In short, the answer to your question is yes.

 

if you have the stick in 2 you will never be in third gear. it can downshift but it will never upshift.... if you are driving on the highway in 3rd and put it into 2 it will immediately downshift to 2... just like when you turn off over drive it goes from 4 to 3.

 

I have found no need to downshift to 2nd for engine braking while at highway speed.
When in O/D, with cruise on, it will drop to 3rd on its own, then the injectors will shut off for additional braking.
If you have the O/D off, the injectors will shut off whether you are in cruise or not.

Manually dropping it into 2nd works fine when at around-town speeds, for long downhill grades.

 

So the generaly thought, is that it would be bad for the tranny and would not actually go down to 3rd, but go down to 2nd?