I was talking to a subaru mechanic who knows the SVX front and back and he told me never drive the car in second unless there is ice on the ground and your tires are moving too fast to go anywhere. you then put the car into second so when you accelerate, the tires move slower so the car can move. If you do drive the car in second for any other reason, it messes up the transmission really, really bad. This is just what he told me.