I have a question regarding the gears '3' and 'L' in the Dodge Caravan 2003:

I believe that one of them is for tough terrain (?) and the other for uphill driving etc, am I wrong. I cannot seem to find any reliable info on this.

Also, if I am driving and the road is starting to go uphill quite steeply, how do I change gears while driving? I don't wanna experiment with it while on the road so I thought I'd better ask here. Usually with the stick you can only change gear when the brake is compressed.

 

Eventually, you will know when to shift by feel, but early on you'll have to act deliberately. Even if you've never been in a car before, you can tell when a car is in the appropriate gear: the car's not making a coughing and chugging sound (gear too high) but it's not making a high-revving sound either (gear too low). If you have a tachometer, shift around "3" (3000 RPM) on each gear or every 15 miles per hour (1st gear 1-15 MPH, 2nd 15-30, 3rd 30-45, etc.). This is only a general rule, of course, and higher-powered autos will deviate from this. Shift before you hear that loud revving sound.

 

Thank you!

If I am driving and the road is starting to go uphill quite steeply, how do I change gears while driving? In my car you cannot change gears unless you stop, pressing the brake down...then you can change gears. My problem is that even on the Freeway when driving uphill, the car won't go faster than 40 mph, that doesn't seem normal. On even roads it can go as fast as I want, just struggling severely going uphill. Could that be a transmission issue?

 

The transmission should shift itself into the appropriate gear. What rpms the engine turning when you are stuck at 40?

 

Unfortunately, there's no tachometer on my dashboard, so I can't say what the rpms would be at 40.

 

Have to agree. It should down shift automatically.