Will turning off overdrive save gas?

No, it will waste gas

Overdrive is a “higher” gear setting, which means the engine will spin less times relative to the number of times the wheels are spinning. In other words, by turning it off you’ll be forcing the engine to spin faster during times when the overdrive would otherwise be kicking in, and consequently using MORE gas.

it will use more gas with OD off because you are not allowing your trans to shift to the highest gear.

All it does is change when it shifts up and down gears to give you more power, so as long as you not towing or driving like a tool it won’t make a difference

Look up “overdrive” on the Internet for a discussion on what it is and what advantage it provides.

Turning off the overdrive will surely make a difference to your gas mileage. You will waste more gas with the overdrive turned off because the engine is forced to run faster to make the wheels turn at the same speed.

Don’t do it.

No! Overdrive saves gas when it is on.

Overdrive works by using lower RPMs, thus saving fuel. It becomes more difficult to accelerate quickly, so if you’re running from the cops then you will want to turn overdrive off.

Overdrive is used to LOCK your auto transmission onto the drive shaft instead of allowing it to spin like a clutch when you are starting up or shifting gears. OD is why on the Highway a Automatic can get the same MPG as a stick—because once you are going a steady speed above about 35MPH your drive train is working just like a stick (if not better with nice 6 speed auto)

Turning OFF the overdrive is done to allow for better Performance (on a Honda Element ???) so as the others say your MPG will generally go down. LEAVE IT ON…. that is why Honda designed it to go on Automatically each time you start the car.

it really depends how you use the car:

1) if you drive your car in city with speed limit of 35 or 40. it’s better not to use overdrive, your overdrive is not going to use long enough to save you gas. however, constantly shifting in and out of overdrive will wear out your transmission more. a lot of transmission failure related to overdrive clutch failures.

2) if you drive on freeway, it can save you a lot of gas by using the overdrive.

so it’s depend on your diving condition.

No, Overdrive is inherently DESIGNED to save gas above the threshold of 35-40mph. All modern cars have a higher gear ratio called overdrive, as long as the drive ratio is higher than 1:1. Many cars before the early 90′s do not have this. Nearly every car since then has it.

You ONLY want to turn OVERDRIVE OFF when you are ascending or descending a long incline (such as a mountain), or towing a heavy load. When going uphill, some cars tend to “hunt” between gears, placing more strain on the transmission, and ultimately slowing your ascent (turning OFF overdrive will prevent this). When going downhill with overdrive OFF, your engine does some of the braking for you, helping take the strain off your brakes as you descend, extending the life of your brakes by helping prevent brake burnout.