Automatic Car gears

DorsetDude

DorsetDude

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New year, new inane question.

I've had my auto for about 10 months now. Just wondering though, when is Neutral ever used? I only seem to use drive, park and reverse.
 
wiki description:

Neutral / No gear (N)
This disengages all gear trains within the transmission, effectively disconnecting the transmission from the driven wheels, allowing the vehicle to coast freely under its own weight and gain momentum without the motive force from the engine. Coasting in idle down long grades (where law permits) should be avoided, though, as the transmission's lubrication pump is driven by non-idle engine RPMs. Similarly, emergency towing with an automatic transmission in neutral should be a last resort. Manufacturers understand emergency situations and list limitations of towing a vehicle in neutral (usually not to exceed 55 mph and 50 miles). This is the only other selection in which the vehicle's engine may be started.
 
RandomlySet said:
it should/could be used when sat at traffic lights and you put your handbrake on. Like 99% of drivers, I bet you sit with your foot on the brake dazzling the person behind you.
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I thought that was what park was for. Although recently I have started doing this and wondered if I was "wrong"
 
Towing mostly. And I guess so guys with spanners can spin the wheels when it's on one of those lift things before sucking in air through their teeth and charging you a lot of money.

DorsetDude said:
I thought that was what park was for. Although recently I have started doing this and wondered if I was "wrong"
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I think there was some advice from the IAM (really, not always the greatest source) not to leave in park at the lights. If somebody runs into your car it could trash the gearbox cost you a lot more. Far safer to leave your foot on the brake so if you get hit you will get shunted into the traffic :)
 
I think it depends where P is. Sometime to get from D to P you have to pass R and that kinda s***s up the person behind when they see white lights.

I don't drive an automatic regularly, but when we was in the states, the Mustang we had had the N next to D so was easier to drop into that.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I think there was some advice from the IAM (really, not always the greatest source) not to leave in park at the lights. If somebody runs into your car it could trash the gearbox cost you a lot more. Far safer to leave your foot on the brake so if you get hit you will get shunted into the traffic :)
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That is true - when in P, I believe the clutch is in use.
 
So at lights, etc I reckon into neutral, hand brake on if needed (i know you should anyway), then back into drive and away when ready.
To get from N to D though on mine you have to press the brake first so the geezer behind will still get dazzled briefly.

Cheers all.
 
I can't remember the last time I used the handbrake when the engine was running. I got out of the habit when I had a TVR and now I drive automatics.

IAM also advise leaving your foot on the brake at lights in poor visibility. Every light helps.
 
DorsetDude said:
So at lights, etc I reckon into neutral, hand brake on if needed (i know you should anyway), then back into drive and away when ready.
To get from N to D though on mine you have to press the brake first so the geezer behind will still get dazzled briefly.

Cheers all.
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Briefly is the operative word though.

I always select neutral at traffic lights though I used to use Park.
 
I have driven autos for years and to be honest i leave it in drive the ply time i use N is to go through an auto car wash. This car svn has a hold mode when stationary at the lights just depress the foot brake a bit and it cuts out the engine and sits there till i use the throttle
 
Time to dig out the owners manual for my model and find out for sure I guess.

My first thought was that leaving it in drive whilst stationary would be wearing the clutch out and was lazy, but according to the rospa site this is not so.
 
RandomlySet said:
it should/could be used when sat at traffic lights and you put your handbrake on. Like 99% of drivers, I bet you sit with your foot on the brake dazzling the person behind you.
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That annoys me more at night than during the day.

JonathanRyan said:
IAM also advise leaving your foot on the brake at lights in poor visibility. Every light helps.
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What I've always done is stop at the traffic lights (for example), gearbox in neutral and handbrake on BUT I step on the brakes when I see a car behind me. I take my foot off once the vehicle behind has stopped. I do it to alert others to me but without leaving my foot on the brake for ages which can dazzle other drivers.

OP, FWIW when I had an automatic on the few times the garage gave me a courtesy car, I would use P when parked up but N when in stop/start traffic.
 
DorsetDude said:
Time to dig out the owners manual for my model and find out for sure I guess.

My first thought was that leaving it in drive whilst stationary would be wearing the clutch out and was lazy, but according to the rospa site this is not so.
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ROSPA tend to be pretty sensible - but there are loads of different "automatics" about now. The DSG box on my Octavia is very different from the semi-automatic gearbox on the Smart.
 
The user manual for my saab 9-3 tells you to leave it in drive at traffic lights and only select park when stopping for long periods, So does my Landrover discovery user manual. So all those moaning about brake lights shining at traffic lights..

Get over it.
 
The current Jag XF has a stop/start system to save fuel but it only works if you stay on the footbrake, dazzling the car behind. Use the handbrake like a nice person and the engine keeps running.

Depending on the set of lights I'm sitting at and their cycle point, I'll sometimes go into neutral and use the handbrake but usually stay in D (for do it) with the handbrake on. No need to release the brake to pull away since it's automatic/electric. When I do slip into neutral at the lights, the rear of the car rises slightly so presumably it's trying to drive against the brake. Handbook says to use N if sat for an extended period but doesn't hint as to how extended that period is.
 
DorsetDude said:
Time to dig out the owners manual for my model and find out for sure I guess.

My first thought was that leaving it in drive whilst stationary would be wearing the clutch out and was lazy, but according to the rospa site this is not so.
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It doesn't work like that, you're applying perfectly logical reasoning because a manual would sit there trying to destroy its clutch or stall the engine, but auto's are quite different. As said, more wear comes from going from drive to neutral to drive again, but unless you're driving some ancient fragile old snotter, this is going to be negligible.

Ultimately a transmission needs a neutral position where the engine and drivetrain are 'uncoupled'. This might be for maintenance purposes, for recovery, for moving it not under its own power (as in, giving it a push perhaps).
 
Shine On said:
As for dazzling lights, they are brake lights there for a vital function. It'd be more worth while getting riled up against the mouth breathing morons that insist on driving around with front and/or rear fog lights on at every opportunity.
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Indeed plus I don't think I've ever been dazzled by break lights, not super bright headlights that dazzle even when dipped, those are a real problem...
 
The only time I get dazzled by headlights is if they are at eye level on a van or lorry, rest of the time they are no problem as I'm don't drive around staring at other cars lights. Brake lights, front or rear fog lamps are no problem neither for the same reason.
 
My Lexus has an automatic handbrake, which I believe leaves the brake lights on when in operation.

The 'N' position is for "Nowhere" :)
 
If people get blinded by brake lights, should they really be driving.

It is thought unless you are going to be stopping for over 2mins, you'll place more wear and tear on the gear linkages than by holding the car on the brake, thats why we have torque convertors on automatic cars. In the event on a rear collision, having the foot on the foot brake wll prevent the car being pushed forward. Unless stopping for a long period just leave in D
 
Since when did brake likes dazzle folk ?

People who drive around with rear fog lights on in the rain bug me but not brake lights when standing still.

As for 'neutral' - being a Discovery owner - it's for being towed or bump starting ;)
 
Brakes other than the foot brake are also available in cars when waiting at lights for instance.
 
ST4 said:
In the event on a rear collision, having the foot on the foot brake wll prevent the car being pushed forward.
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Probably. Unless your foot gets knocked off in the shock. But who worries about stuff like that?
 
JonathanRyan said:
Probably. Unless your foot gets knocked off in the shock.
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Even better reason for using the handbrake.

I think if you are sitting at red lights with your foot on the brake, whether an automatic or a manual you are a lazy driver I'm afraid. But you wont be alone coz I do it at times too but I know I am being lazy when I do it.
 
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Steve Smith said:
Really? What has them that high?


Steve.
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Most large vans, 4x4's and lorries have them that high and when parked on the wrong side of the road with their lights on the light beam isn't very sympathetic on car drivers.
 
I am only allowed to drive automatics having learned and sat my test in one.

The advice from my instructor was that if sitting stationary for more than a few seconds then the handbrake goes on with your foot still on the brake as well, a few seconds more and it's into neutral and your foot can come off the brake. If you sit at lights with only your foot on the brake and are hit from behind then there's a good chance that your foot will come off the brake, shunting you into the oncoming traffic.

Sitting in drive with the handbrake on isn't a good idea as the engine is effectively working against the brakes in that scenario.
 
May I offer an alternative explanation, particularly @Leslie. A traditional "torque convertor" automatic employs a hydraulic coupling rather than rotating friction plates and doesn't wear when sitting stationary in "Drive". Nor do the brakes wear while the vehicle is stationary. Equally, if you're concentrating on traffic around you you might want to control the impact of being "rooted up the hole" by coming off or going on to the brakes of your own car as it is moved. You might conceivably even want to share the force of the impact with the vehicle in front!

More defensively, I've often moved my car forward a foot or two in traffic when I had no faith that the vehicle I could see growing in my rear view mirror had judged its stopping distance correctly.
 
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