diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt
index 7ea11f5..8c1443a 100644
--- a/README.txt
+++ b/README.txt
@@ -126,6 +126,10 @@ Hidden variables
   prefix is added, so the global prefix will come first in the final name:
   (GLOBAL_PREFIX)(INDEX_PREFIX)(INDEX_ID)
   The same rules as above apply for setting the prefix.
+- search_api_solr_http_get_max_length (default: 4000)
+  The maximum number of bytes that can be handled as an HTTP GET query when
+  HTTP method is AUTO. Typically Solr can handle up to 65355 bytes, but Tomcat
+  and Jetty will error at slightly less than 4096 bytes.
 
 Customizing your Solr server
 ----------------------------
diff --git a/includes/service.inc b/includes/service.inc
index ee43501..5da94b3 100644
--- a/includes/service.inc
+++ b/includes/service.inc
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrService extends SearchApiAbstractService {
       'excerpt' => FALSE,
       'retrieve_data' => FALSE,
       'highlight_data' => FALSE,
-      'http_method' => 'POST',
+      'http_method' => 'AUTO',
       // Default to TRUE for new servers, but to FALSE for existing ones.
       'clean_ids' => $this->options ? FALSE : TRUE,
       'autocorrect_spell' => TRUE,
@@ -219,9 +219,10 @@ class SearchApiSolrService extends SearchApiAbstractService {
     $form['advanced']['http_method'] = array(
       '#type' => 'select',
       '#title' => t('HTTP method'),
-      '#description' => t('The HTTP method to use for sending queries. Usually, POST will work fine in all cases.'),
+      '#description' => t('The HTTP method to use for sending queries. GET will often fail with larger queries, while POST should not be cached. AUTO will use GET when possible, and POST for queries that are too large.'),
       '#default_value' => $options['http_method'],
       '#options' => array(
+        'AUTO' => t('AUTO'),
         'POST' => 'POST',
         'GET' => 'GET',
       ),
@@ -898,7 +899,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrService extends SearchApiAbstractService {
       $params['fl'] = '*,score';
     }
     // Retrieve http method from server options.
-    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'POST';
+    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'AUTO';
 
     $call_args = array(
       'query'       => &$keys,
@@ -1603,7 +1604,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrService extends SearchApiAbstractService {
       'spellcheck.count' => 1,
     );
     // Retrieve http method from server options.
-    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'POST';
+    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'AUTO';
 
     $call_args = array(
       'query'       => &$keys,
@@ -1830,7 +1831,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrService extends SearchApiAbstractService {
     }
 
     // Retrieve http method from server options.
-    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'POST';
+    $http_method = !empty($this->options['http_method']) ? $this->options['http_method'] : 'AUTO';
 
     // Send search request
     $time_processing_done = microtime(TRUE);
diff --git a/includes/solr_connection.inc b/includes/solr_connection.inc
index 8a26212..b759037 100644
--- a/includes/solr_connection.inc
+++ b/includes/solr_connection.inc
@@ -208,8 +208,8 @@ class SearchApiSolrConnection implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
    *     information to add basic HTTP authentication to all requests to the
    *     Solr server. Not set by default.
    *   - http_pass: See "http_user".
-   *   - http_method: The HTTP method to use for searches. Can be either "GET"
-   *     or "POST". Defaults to "POST".
+   *   - http_method: The HTTP method to use for searches. Can be either "GET",
+   *     "POST" or "AUTO". Defaults to "POST".
    */
   public function __construct(array $options) {
     $options += array(
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrConnection implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
     $this->base_url = $options['scheme'] . '://' . $options['host'] . ':' . $options['port'] . $path;
 
     // Make sure we always have a valid method set, default to POST.
-    $this->method = $options['http_method'] == 'GET' ? 'GET' : 'POST';
+    $this->method = in_array($options['http_method'], array('GET', 'AUTO')) ? $options['http_method'] : 'POST';
 
     // Set HTTP Basic Authentication parameter, if login data was set.
     if (strlen($options['http_user']) && strlen($options['http_pass'])) {
@@ -871,6 +871,8 @@ class SearchApiSolrConnection implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
 
   /**
    * Implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface::search().
+   *
+   * Ignores $method in favor of the option passed at construction time.
    */
   public function search($query = NULL, array $params = array(), $method = 'GET') {
     // Always use JSON. See
@@ -887,15 +889,18 @@ class SearchApiSolrConnection implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
     // PHP's built-in http_build_query() doesn't give us the format Solr wants.
     $queryString = $this->httpBuildQuery($params);
 
-    if ($this->method == 'GET') {
+    if ($this->method == 'GET' || $this->method == 'AUTO') {
       $searchUrl = $this->constructUrl(self::SEARCH_SERVLET, array(), $queryString);
-      return $this->sendRawGet($searchUrl);
-    }
-    else if ($this->method == 'POST') {
-      $searchUrl = $this->constructUrl(self::SEARCH_SERVLET);
-      $options['data'] = $queryString;
-      $options['headers']['Content-Type'] = 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8';
-      return $this->sendRawPost($searchUrl, $options);
+      if ($this->method == 'GET' || strlen($searchUrl) <= variable_get('search_api_solr_http_get_max_length', 4000)) {
+        return $this->sendRawGet($searchUrl);
+      }
     }
+
+    // Method is POST, or AUTO with a long query
+    $searchUrl = $this->constructUrl(self::SEARCH_SERVLET);
+    $options['data'] = $queryString;
+    $options['headers']['Content-Type'] = 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8';
+    return $this->sendRawPost($searchUrl, $options);
   }
+
 }
diff --git a/includes/solr_connection.interface.inc b/includes/solr_connection.interface.inc
index df30ade..be8f5cd 100644
--- a/includes/solr_connection.interface.inc
+++ b/includes/solr_connection.interface.inc
@@ -288,8 +288,8 @@ interface SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
    *   documentation). Use arrays for parameter keys used more than once (e.g.,
    *   facet.field).
    * @param string $method
-   *   The HTTP method to use. Must be either "GET" or "POST". Defaults to
-   *   "GET".
+   *   The HTTP method to use. Must be either "GET", "POST" or "AUTO". Defaults
+   *   to "GET".
    *
    * @return object
    *   A response object.