Automatic Transmission

Guys do you have an idea or technical explanation if switching your gear to Neutral when your A/T car is moving will be harmful to the transmission. Example at 50kms/hr you will shift your gear to Neutral (N) and will shift back again in Drive (D).

This is my practice when I'm using my M/T type car, this is very economical and will save you a lot of gas. I usually do this on stop lights, I switch to Neutral even before stopping.

The question is if this is applicable to a automatic tranny vehicle?

Your humble ideas and technical explanations will be very much appreciated.

zbrando wrote:Guys do you have an idea or technical explanation if switching your gear to Neutral when your A/T car is moving will be harmful to the transmission. Example at 50kms/hr you will shift your gear to Neutral (N) and will shift back again in Drive (D).

This is my practice when I'm using my M/T type car, this is very economical and will save you a lot of gas. I usually do this on stop lights, I switch to Neutral even before stopping.

The question is if this is applicable to a automatic tranny vehicle?

Your humble ideas and technical explanations will be very much appreciated.

I don't think that move will harm the AT. I do practice that move in my GL.

Thanks Sir chaulie! May gumagawa din pla nun, kala ko ako lang. Sabi din ng friend ko from Honda Cars Manila, ok lang daw un. Bothered lang ako sa mga nagsasabing mabilis daw masisira kase lipat ka ng lipat..

Ganun din ako sir. Ganun yata talaga pag galing ka sa manual na auto, malikot ang kamay.hehehe.. sabi sakin nun mechanic ko dati mas ok pa nga daw na mg neutral sa automatic para di masyado ma pwersa yun engine.. normally daw running clutch ang problema ng mga a/t dahil nga sa laging naka drive. so mas safe sa engine ang naka neutral lalo na pag traffic o sa stoplights.

Hi guys, I tried this kind of driving style in my old '97 Honda City A/t. I noticed that while driving, shifting from D to neutral is not really a problem, but shifting from neutral to drive while the car is in motion stresses the gears. My presumption on this is that in A/T, shifting to neutral while in motion would release the wheels and therefore sets the wheels in free-wheeling or coasting. This will in turn set the engine revs into idling speed. The coasting speed then is greater than the actual engine speed, and when re-engaging the transmission (neutral to drive), a tugging sound can be heard and an abrupt jolt can be felt. This is due to engine breaking. Unlike in manual transmission, we can jump into any gear we deemed is appropriate for the current coasting/free-wheeling speed of the vehicle to compensate. We cannot do this in automatic transmission by simply shifting right away into Drive, since the logical layout of a typical automatic transmission is somewhat sequential (not so sure about this but merely based on observation). Unless, we can have the stick move into 1, 2 then Drive. But this is not the case, since the stick layout of a typical A/T is from P-R-N-D-2-1, which clearly makes it impossible to jump into specific gears.

In short, in my own honest opinion, I believe shifting from N to D and D to N in an A/T to save fuel might incur if not costly damage, but accelerate the wear and tear of the mechanical gears involved. Also, it is my preference to have an engine control/brake even on a slightly down sloping terrain. It provides me better control of my speed and if called for, I can demand power from my car immediately as needed.

But, it boils down on our different driving style. Whichever is convenient and comfortable for you is always the best driving style. A word of caution though for A/T vehicle owners adapting this shifting style, the "Reverse" gear is placed just above the "Neutral" gear. I have not experienced this myself but a friend of mine accidentally placed his gear in reverse. Good thing we were in a parking lot (looking for a parking space) and was barely moving forward when he accidentally placed it into "Reverse" from "N" and stepped on the gas pedal. We got a bit disoriented as to why things are moving past us for split second before we realize we were moving backwards.

newbie here... I have a bad experience in shifting to N while running to coast and save fuel. The explanation above is correct and as a result I burned most of plates in my tranny. I had a 2001 honda civic. I tried to save money by having it fixed in a good shop, but it did not fixed the problem. Good thing Honda was giving promo of rebuilding A/T in their plant so it is cheaper than buying a new one. Going in N when you stop at stoplight or traffic is OK as long as you engage D before you rev your engine.

better not shift to N while freewheeling or even tow an A/T vehicle even if it is on N. Theres a reason why its on the manual. Hindi nila inelaborate but it will surely shorten the lifespan of your tranny. Kaya wag malikot ang mga kamay pag A/T cars. ipirmi lang sa D unless naka full stop.