One of the odd questions that come across our mind once in a while is what will happen if we shift to reverse gear while the car is a high speed. However, no driver has actually tried it for fear that it will explode the transmission or cause a disaster of some kind. Well, no more wondering. Join us today for an exploration of Reverse Gear while driving at high speed: its outcomes and explanations.

But first let’s dig into what the Reverse Gear does:

A reverse gearwheel works to make sure the vehicle can direct backward. On the reverse gearwheel there is a shaft with teeth that are used for reverse, and there is another toothed shaft used to drive the wheels. This shaft will put the car in the reverse mode. As the Reverse Gear is selected, a toothed gear will get in between these two shafts and slides its teeth into the shafts’ teeth, thereby engaging them.

A reverse gear wheel works to make sure the vehicle directs backward

What happens when you select the Reverse Gear while driving forward

If the reverse gear is selected while the vehicle is at high speed, say, the fifth gear, the lever will disengage the fifth gear, then gets to the reverse gearwheel and engages with it.

It does not seem likely to happen as there’ll be no synchronization between the gears and the main shaft at that high speed. The reverse action will come into effect when your vehicle ultimately reaches the synchronization speed. Simply speaking, the reverse gearwheel will force the 1^st gear to rotate anti-clockwise (as it was clockwise) and the 2^nd Gear to clockwise (as it was anti-clockwise).

Judging from it, your car may suffer serious damages which even include the totally broken gearbox. Possible problems caused to your car may be:

• The gears are stuck up in a position.
• The gear’s teeth break that are engaged
• The engine comes to a stall.
• Serious damages may happen to various parts consisting of the connecting rod, crankshaft, and many others.

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The reverse action will come into effect as your vehicle ultimately reaches the sync speed

>>> Also check out:

• Tips to protect the gearbox – the most expensive part in your car
• Driving habits that unexpectedly reduce the gearbox’s age

What actually happens

However, these harmful causes are actually be well handled automatically in modern cars. These cars have an advanced function named Reverse Inhibit to reject your command of reversing your car, which will only come into force when the car achieves the proper speed. The transmission will still give off odd sounds when you do it at a slow speed though, so you know, it’s still unwelcome.

If you get the reverse gear on in an old gear shift, the transmission will emit a repugnant buzzing sound. The gears will try to engage in reversing movements, but it can’t be attained at the high speed.