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I have an automatic Honda odyssey (1997) and have been advised to drive in the D3 gear position when driving around town and switch to D4 when on highways/open road.

What benefit does this provide?

Thava

From the "Ask Jack" archive - 14 December 2009

By leaving the select lever in the D3 position means the transmission will not change into 4th gear.

Because of the slow traffic you encounter at times, the transmission can be constantly chopping and changing between 3rd and 4th gear if the selector is left in the D4 position.

These constant changes are often not desirable for the long life of the transmission if stop start traffic is encountered on a regular basis.

One of the problems using this techique however is some people forget and drive at highway speeds in D3 which can cause high fuel consumption.

It's one of those theories which has a lot of merit however, most people don't want the hassle and leave the gear selector in D4.

I am not aware of any specific mechanical issues the Odyssey suffers from by leaving it in D4.