On steep downhills one can change into the manual shift mode and use the engine for braking by keeping a fixed "gear".
Is this practice good or bad for the engine / car ?

 

If you have read the Caliber/CVT owners manual that is a suggested use for "L"
shift position for the CVT.
I would hesitate to say that it would be good practice to use "L" for engine
braking for anything over 30-40 mph on the flat though,in any case I believe
the engineers have put enough forethought into the design/software to make sure
the tranny will change ratios to to protect itself from going ballistic.

 

Yeh, I don't think it's something I would do very often.

 

You CAN use L position for engine braking over 40 MPH. But I would certainly rev the engine somewhat like regular engine transmissions, so the disparity of engine to tranny speeds won't be so great. Also, a lot of L compression driving might not be the best for the Caliber. Like someone else said, "It's cheaper to change brake pads than an entire CVT.

 

Use the brakes for braking! The transmission is made to make the car moving, not stopping it!

Not convinced? Check out the price for getting new brake pads and shoes (even new rotors) v. rebuilding your transmission (which overheated) or engine (broken piston rods that destroyed the engine block).