I’ve never been able to figure out how you’re supposed to use neutral with an automatic transmission. The only ways I know of to use it are illegal, like coasting down long gentle hills with out having to step on the accelerator.
I also use it to rev my engine a little at stop lights, so as to perhaps make it warm up faster, but I can’t imagine that they invented it for this, and I don’t even know if it works.
I don’t want to make people think like me, I want them to think like me of their own free will.
I don’t know how they’re supposed to bust you for coasting in neutral, but I remember learning it was illegal … maybe only in Oregon or maybe it’s just a legend… I guess they bust you for it at the same time they bust bust you for driving with bare feet?
The folks at the car wash have me put my (automatic) car in Neutral when I have the thing washed. I guess it would mess everything up to leave it in gear.
Also, I used to drive a really crappy car that idled really low and would easily stall at a stoplight. I remedied this by putting it in Neutral and revving the motor until I was ready to go. Upon the “greening” of the light I’d drop it into gear and go. Probably hard on the motor, but it was on its last leg anyhow…
You know why I’m annoyed? Cause I’ve had a car (needed a tune-up) that used to stall out sometimes, and it never occurred to me to put it in neutral and rev. Some people! Thanks, folks.
Ok so why do automatics have a PARK? Ok ,sure it locks the drive train,extra insurance for the Park brake,back in olden times when autos weren’t so ‘reliable’ owners manuals waned about ‘excessive’ idling in park. But why don’t standards have a similar feature? A seperate pawl that drops down,connected to the clutch similar to a “hill holder” brake,or to the shift lever so no inadvertant drops into park. ( any body done that while the drive train is in motion? You’ll wind up in PARK at the tranny shop.)
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
I once ran out of gas, so I went into neutral and coasted for almost a mile, successfully arriving at an auto dealership, which happened to have a gas pump in the back lot!
You use Neutral to allow the car’s engine to run while the wheels are not impeded from turning by the use of the ‘Park’ gearing.
I am not aware of any law that generally exists making it illegal to operate a vehicle on the street in Neutral. Anyone with a valid citation to a Vehicle Code section of some state that so states is welcome to post.
You’ll also notice that on most cars, the Neutral setting is between the Reverse and Drive (or Overdrive) settings… So it also works as a buffer to prevent you from accidentally grinding the shit out of your transmission if your stick gets bumped!
Just a half an hour ago my son escaped from his seatbelt, jumped into the front passenger seat and kicked my car from Drive into Neutral; if he’d kicked it from Drive into Reverse, I’d still be picking up the gears along the side of the road.
As Manhattan has shown, there are regulations against coasting on downgrades. I can also remember seeing signs to this effect in the smokey mountains.
Here are some others:
California Vehicle Code, Section 21710 - Coasting, in neutral on downgrade. Hawaii Motor Vehicle Code, Section 291C-127 - The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a downgrade shall not coast with the gears or transmission of the vehicle in neutral or with the clutch disengaged. Alaska Vehicle Code, Section 515 - Coasting prohibited. Michigan Motor Vehicle Code, Section 678 - Coasting Prohibited, $65 fine.
It appears to be very common to fine motorists for this practice. I don’t know the rationale.
“A zebra does not change its spots.”
~Al Gore, 1992~
Do not use neutral for towing more than a very short distance with drive wheels on the ground. Automatic transmissions and some manual types are not lubricated when the input shaft isn’t rotating and can be destroyed this way.
Coasting in neutral is prohibited because you wouldn’t have complete control of the vehicle if you needed to accelerate in an emergency.
As to why we need neutral in an automatic? Well, anyone can squawk the tires pretty good with a break torque, but a neutral slam … now that’s impressive.
Neutral isn’t for towing, you’re always supposed to tow with the drive-wheels in the air. More likely it’s for pushing your car off the road if it breaks down on you.
Did you guys never hear of a “neutral safety switch?” This switch exists to prevent a car with an automatic transmission from being started while in a drive gear. A defective neutral safety switch can cause some serious accidents. Also, neutral is positioned between park and drive in order to protect the transmission from the shock of an abrupt switch from one direction to the other. Plus, shifting from neutral to drive is an effective way of rocking a car free from ice, mud or sand. It is hard on the transmission, though.
