What type of transmission did the Ford Model T use?

The Ford Model T used a planetary-gear transmission. Instead of sliding separate gears into mesh, its gearsets used sun, planet, and ring gears to provide the driving ratios.

Ford operated the transmission with three floor pedals and a hand-operated lever. The left pedal selected low gear or high gear depending on the lever position, while the center pedal engaged reverse and the right pedal applied the transmission brake. This unusual arrangement made the Model T very different from later cars.

Period descriptions sometimes called it a “three-speed” transmission because they counted low, high, and reverse. In modern terms, however, it had two forward speeds plus reverse. That is why “planetary gear” identifies the transmission type, while “two-speed” describes its forward gearing.

The design was durable, compact, and simple to operate once drivers learned its controls. It was not a modern automatic transmission: the driver still managed the pedals and hand controls, and the system used a wet clutch rather than the hydraulic controls associated with later automatics.