Car auto boxes

[Robotstar5]

Although I've driven a few automatic cars I've never owned one until now. I've always believed that when stopped on an incline e.g. traffic lights, heavy traffic etc. it's OK to leave it in drive and let the box hold the car without applying the brakes, or is it best to put it in neutral and hold on the brakes?

 

[Spark plug]

I've always applied same technique as a manual, short stops leave in drive but hold on the bakes and longer stops put it in neutral.

 

[BrokenBiker]

in the same as above. A few seconds and ill leave it in drive, anything longer and drop into neutral and use the brakes. I don't lime putting it in park though as it has to go through reverse and people panick when they see reverse lights at a roundabout lol

 

[rich r]

Exactly as above. That's what it's said in the owner's handbook on all the automatic cars I've owned (mainly 1990s Japanese). On newer electronically controlled gearboxes, it'll most likely shift into neutral on it's own if you're stopped for more than a few seconds anyway.

 

[cecotto479]

I always leave it in Drive. That way the oil pump is working. In many older boxes, it is not engaged in Neutral or Park.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Leave it in D, it's how they are designed to be used. You won't do any harm, but constantly changing the shifter could.

Holding it on the brakes does not wear anything or overheat anything. The only time you could ever have a problem would be if you used the brakes very heavily to come to a stop from a high speed, in which case you'd not want to have your foot on the brakes without moving whatever box your car has. This is not ordinary driving though! Sitting in traffic should always be done in D.

 

[daleyd]

My wife's recently got an auto (it's the vw one, a dsg type not a trad auto) but if on an incline I'd be inclined (groan) to either hold it on the brakes or drop into n, as I would think that to just hold station would involve some slippage?

Her car has a nifty "auto hold" feature that engages the brakes as soon as you stop ( not the handbrake, it just seems to up the pressure on the foot brake circuit) and as soon as you press slightly on the accelerator it releases.

 

[dannyp]

traditional torque converter auto. i just leave them in drive. if i'm stoped long enough to take it out of drive i'm also turning the enigne off.

dsg boxes are a computer controlled manual box so holding them on a hill slipping the clutch is not good

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I always leave in drive but hold with footbrake. I learn with a MKII Golf 1.8 auto that if the engine stalls then the car instantly rolls backwards !
My Smart Fortwo hold the brakes on for something like 5 seconds if you have been stationary with footbrake applied. Still find it strange but the idea is you can take you foot off the brake pedal and press accelerator before brakes stop holding.

Paul H

 

[Bill Edwards]

Torque converters are designed to slip. There are millions of them in use in automatic cars, tractors, loading shovels etc and the idea behind them is that you can't burn them out as you can with a normal clutch, unless you do something really daft. To damage them you must get them very hot which can only be done by having loads of revs on causing a huge amount of slippage for a long time - so don't tie your auto cars to a tree, put it in D then place a brick on the accelerator then go for a coffee break.

Using the foot brake to keep the car stationery while the transmission is in D is the correct procedure, unless the car is built with an automatic holding feature in which case use that.
The transmission is designed to be left to slip while idling, but the shifter is not designed for constant changing like in a manual. Don't try to drive autos like manuals.

 

[Robotstar5]

Using the foot brake to keep the car stationery while the transmission is in D is the correct procedure, unless the car is built with an automatic holding feature in which case use that.
The transmission is designed to be left to slip while idling, but the shifter is not designed for constant changing like in a manual. Don't try to drive autos like manuals.

Looks like I'm going to have to get used to keeping my foot on the brake and annoy the driver behind I hate staring at a bright hi-level brake light on the car in front!.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I hate staring at a bright hi-level brake light on the car in front!.

Reminds me about the time we went to drive-in-movie (in UK - free event sponsored by Coca Cola). You listen to soundtrack via a spare FM radio channel. Of course for a lot of people's car that means having ignition switched on and the one in front of me kept touching brake pedal. In the end I had to go ask them to stop as the hi level light blinded us.

Paul H

 

[ajlelectronics]

I am astounded at all this talk of leaving it in drive all the time. When stopping at traffic lights etc (rather than just a few moments), you should put the car into neutral. Not only for the safety aspect, but also the fuel cost of the extra drag on the engine. I would think that advice otherwise would result in a driving test failure. Many, if not all automatics have no gate between drive and neutral, to make it easy to just flick betwen them.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Looks like I'm going to have to get used to keeping my foot on the brake and annoy the driver behind

A vast amount of drivers don't use the handbrake when stopped in manual cars anyway.

I am astounded at all this talk of leaving it in drive all the time. When stopping at traffic lights etc (rather than just a few moments), you should put the car into neutral. Not only for the safety aspect, but also the fuel cost of the extra drag on the engine. I would think that advice otherwise would result in a driving test failure. Many, if not all automatics have no gate between drive and neutral, to make it easy to just flick betwen them.

They're designed to be in D, it is that simple. The idea is that when you want to go you press the accelerator, when you want to stop you press the brake. You don't drive it like a manual. As I say, you're likely to cause wear by constantly shifting between D and N as they are not designed for this type of use. The fuel cost will not be significant these days, car manufactures are quite capable of designing vehicles to be economical on fuel while being driven in the correct way. Perhaps an '80's vehicle would see worse economy, but things have moved on.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I'm sorry, but that is just plainly ridiculous. I run automatics myself and I think I am aware of how they work. I am also aware of what is good practice when stationary. The reason you suggest is to prevent wear on the selector? Unless it's made of chocolate, I think that the mechanism would be as strong if not stronger than a manual selector.

 

[scotty-stoke]

The correct procedure during a driving test is leave it in drive and apply the handbrake, you will not hurt an auto by holding on a incline using the throttle they are designed to work like that, obviously if you know your going to be stationary for 5 or 10 minutes then put it in park

 

[Bill Edwards]

They are simply not designed to be shifted into drive, neutral, drive etc. They are designed to go from P to D for the length of a journey, then back to P when parked. The selector is not something that is supposed to see much use. Furthermore, it is silly to constantly engage gears for absolutely no reason as you do when switching from N to D. Leaving it in the correct setting is better than constantly engaging anything. Why put extra wear and tear on the control valves? When shifted there is normally a slight jerk - often not felt as the brakes prevent the vehicle from moving - why have this unnecessary pressure and repeated clutch slippage imposed on the system when it can be left at harmless rest as the engineers designed?

It is entirely up to you how you treat your vehicle, I'm not bothered if you want to place extra wear and strain on your transmission. However, it is not the correct way to operate them.

 

[rich r]

As I posted above and others have posted - the Owner's Handbooks says leave in Drive, unless stopping for a few minutes. The current driving test standard is to leave in Drive unless stopped for a few minutes. And modern electronically controlled automatic gearboxes will open the valves and switch to neutral internally if the brakes (foot or hand) are applied and the selector is in drive after a few seconds. On my Subaru Legacy you can hear the engine note change slightly as the gearbox switches out of Drive shortly after stopping and the torque converter becomes free on the gearbox side. Then it reengages Drive as soon as you release the brakes.

Just double checked in my 2004 Vauxhall Vectra Owner's Handbook - leave in drive. Only use Park when actually stopped and intend to turn the engine off, so parked or stuck in a serious tailback. So unless Vauxhall, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota (the only handbooks I have available at the moment) are wrong about their gearboxes, there is no need to take it out of Drive when stopped at junctions or traffic lights.

On 1980s and earlier all hydraulic gearboxes then yes, I grant you it is often worth switching to Neutral to reduce the load on the torque converter when stopped. But for anything manufactured in the last 25 years it's simply not necessary.

 

[zzr1200]

Leave it in drive, apply the handbrake, you do more damage to the clutch packs by de-pressurising and re-pressurising them, increasing slippage/wear and heat.

They were are designed for lazy people who didn't want to stir a clutch/gearbox.


If you put a vehicle in neutral each time you stop, you should have brought a vehicle fitted with a manual box...

 

[Robotstar5]

If you put a vehicle in neutral each time you stop, you should have brought a vehicle fitted with a manual box...

I've just got to overcome 30+ years of driving manuals

Also it's keyless entry/starting and I'm still scrabbling round the steering column trying to take the key out.