Shifting to neutral at stop light . . . Does this help reduce wear on a AT

[Crusader]

Does the practice of shifting to neutral, at stop lights, reduce wear on the transmission? Also going from neutral back to drive is this detrimental. Basically is this back and forth self defeating. I've been in the practice of doing this for years.

Thanks for the input,

Crusader

 

[DEWFPO]

Crusader,

Try a search on this topic, it was covered pretty well in the last 6 months or so.

DEWFPO

 

[olddognewtrks]

Disclaimer: I'm not an autotrans mechanic, but...
Shifting from neutral to a driving gear engages a band clutch against a spinning drum. The extra wear is probably subtle, but it is there. Leaving the trans in Drive only stirs the fluid against a non-sliding, "locked up" band-to-drum input shaft.
p.s. Gang, if I'm not perfectly correct, feel free to gently correct me.

 

[labman]

How about the wear on your back bumper because the guy coming up behind you expected you to go when the light turned green rather than play with the gear shift? People that fail to start out as soon as the light turns should be shot.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by labman:
People that fail to start out as soon as the light turns should be shot.

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That doesn't bother me. In fact it is a good idea, as I observed firsthand a few days ago, to wait for the red-light runners to pass by before moving when the light turns green. The light had been green for about 2 seconds when this pickup truck flew by. Had I gone when the light turned green, he would most likely have hit me--at 55-65MPH. (In fact I did start moving when the light turned green, saw this pickup truck, noticed that it was NOT going to stop, and then I stopped and waited).


Now what bothers me are the people who take about 2.5 miles to get up to the speed limit after the light turns green.

 

[427Z06]

Yep...most people in Texas learn to wait a second or two if they can't see clearly in both directions of crossing traffic. Now what irks me is people who hog the left lane while matching speeds with traffic next to them in there Big PU/SUV "cause it's smoother". Buy a Crown Victoria if you want a smooth boat like ride!

Double layer flame suit on.

 

[ChrisW]

I suppose it can put more wear on your tranny because it has to switch bands, but more importantly, you are wasting gas.

I was just watching an episode of Top Gear (BBC) and they said that when a [automatic, late model] car is coasting to a stop in neutral, you are using gas because the ECU has to feed the engine some gas to keep it turning [from stalling], however, if you leave the car in drive and coast to a stop (and even while pressing the brake), the engine uses virtually no gas.

Also, if you fill up gas on a colder part of the day, like very early morning, or late at night, the gas is denser (cause it is colder), so you get a bit more gas per gallon or litre, versus if you buy it midday.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by ChrisW:

Also, if you fill up gas on a colder part of the day, like very early morning, or late at night, the gas is denser (cause it is colder), so you get a bit more gas per gallon or litre, versus if you buy it midday.

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Gas is stored in HUGE tanks under ground. It stays the same temperature night and day.

 

[Palut]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZmOz:

quote:

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Originally posted by ChrisW:

Also, if you fill up gas on a colder part of the day, like very early morning, or late at night, the gas is denser (cause it is colder), so you get a bit more gas per gallon or litre, versus if you buy it midday.

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Gas is stored in HUGE tanks under ground. It stays the same temperature night and day.

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There might be a tiny difference in the early morning, when it's been cold all night. But it would likely be a tiny, insignificant, possibly unmeasurable difference.

 

[lakeman]

I also shift into neutral at long red lights. The idea is to limit heat buildup in the torque converter.

 

[Matt_S]

I can't say for sure that olddognetwrks is "perfectly" correct, but that is my basic understanding as well. Every time you shift from park or neutral into drive, you're engaging a clutch inside the transmission, causing a minute amount of wear. If you make habit out of doing this, you'll multiply the clutch wear by the number of times you do this in a trip. Not a good idea, as auto trans clutches are not a servicable item and weren't designed with a lot of wear or slippage in mind, like on a manual.

 

[T-Keith]

I always use nuetral in my manual car, but usually leave it in gear for my automatic. I can see taking it out of gear at a long stoplight though. I guess it depends on how good your torque conveter is. Like others have said extra heat is created in the TC and the engine is under a bit more load. How much do you trust your tranny cooler?

-T

 

[johnicon]

On my 2001 Crown Vic, the idle speed goes up noticeably when in neutral, the same as when in park. You should use more gas when you put it in neutral at a stop light.

 

[Matt89]

Labman;
I agree with you...I keep an eye on traffic coming each way so I can get rolling as soon as we "go green"!

Even more irritating is when you are like the 7th car in line and each of the 6 before you trepidatiously crawl into the intersection even though -had they looked- they would have seen no oncoming traffic either way.

Or the people who wait until they are onto an intersection, offramp, slowed traffic or other situation before making decisions about lane changes, signals, brakes etc. So much stopping and going for nothing.

If people could just think ahead when they they were driving we'd get there faster & safer.

 

[tmorris1]

Aren't you also putting more stress on your driveline? Everytime you take it out of gear and shift back into gear you are stressing your ujoints and differential.

 

[FL-400S]

quote:

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Originally posted by Crusader:
Does the practice of shifting to neutral, at stop lights, reduce wear on the transmission? Also going from neutral back to drive is this detrimental. Basically is this back and forth self defeating. I've been in the practice of doing this for years.

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Doesnt this defeat the purpose of having an auto transmission? Next time just get a manual tranny, someone will show you how to drive it if you dont know how. I highly doubt any transmission ever crapped out because someone didnt shift to neutral at stoplights.

 

[Amkeer]

Switching to neutral will keep the fluid cooler.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, 2.7 Liter , Mobil1 Synthetic SS 5W-30.
ODO 8800 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner 3.0 V6, Mobil1 Synthetic SS 10W-30.
ODO 90500 Miles.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[Ray H]

As usual, the concensus on this topic is there isn't any...

 

[Crusader]

This answers my question for the most part so I'll keep it in drive for stop lights and go to neutral for drive throughs and waiting for really long trains.

Thanks for all the responses!

Crusader

 

[olympic]

The general rule I follow is: 30 seconds or less, leave it in gear. More than 30 seconds, put it in neutral. Yes there is some wear when you shift in and out of drive but idling in gear builds up heat so there comes a point when the good outweighs the bad.