Neutral on stop?

[rclangelan]

Am I the only one who puts my vehicle in neutral when I come to a stop for a period of time, such as a traffic light? I feel like this takes all the load off of the drivetrain, as the whole truck trys to pull away if left in drive.

I have always driven maual trannys, and would do the same thing, instead of stomping the clutch the whole time I'm stopped. This TE is my first automatic.

Just wondering if others do this as well.

 

[philsey]

Yeah, I do it too - mostly to keep it from creeping.

Does it have a negative effect on anything? Can't imagine what it would be ... don't care actually.

 

[eus090474]

I only do that in bad weather, it seems to help with sliding.

 

[TrailHawk]

I do it, and for the same reasons... I only drove manuals before the 4runner too.

 

[westwind77]

I only do that in bad weather, it seems to help with sliding.

There IS a difference if you 'normally' stop with it in D vs in N. You can feel the 4R sill wanting to push through your brakes in D vs how is slows down in N. I have done it a few times to play around, but don't do it on a regular basis.

 

[gsrthomas]

I doubt it has a negative affect.

When I traveled overseas on vacation such as Taiwan or Beijing. The taxi drivers at both places always put it in "N" when at a complete stop. These guys do this everyday and at every intersection.

Go ahead a do it.

 

[youkefei]

I doubt it has a negative affect.

When I traveled overseas on vacation such as Taiwan or Beijing. The taxi drivers at both places always put it in "N" when at a complete stop. These guys do this everyday and at every intersection.

Go ahead a do it.

I used to live in Beijing and I believe 95% of the taxis are manual.

 

[rclangelan]

My assumption is that sitting in neutral (instead of drive) will increase drivetrain and brakepad longevity, but to what marginal amount, I do knot know.

I'm sure it's just as acceptable to leave it in drive, just thinking out loud.

 

[alc9020]

I only do it if and when I have to come to a quick stop right after excellerating. Although, braking on a downhill the 4runner does downshift to help decelerate so not sure if shifting into N will have a negative affect.

 

[gsrthomas]

I used to live in Beijing and I believe 95% of the taxis are manual.

That is true.

Whenever they were driven in auto they did this.

In Taiwan there were more autos then manuals.

 

[1000MPH]

I do it when it's a long light. Especially when the engine's cold and the revs are +1000

 

[nismojason]

I guess im the only one that has ever heard this is bad for the tranny? They have obviously designed our truck (and most other cars on the road) to come to frequent stops while in drive. However they probably didnt foucs that much attention to constantly shifting to N.

I dont have any facts to back this up, but the I have heard other people say and would thing logic would say dont constantly shift back and forth.

Jason

 

[rclangelan]

@ nismojason

I have not heard this, but would be interested to see something proving one way or another more beneficial.

But, I'm not talking about shifting to N to stop. I'm talking shifting to N when you're sitting still for a period of time longer than a few seconds.

 

[M1911]

Yeah, I do it too - mostly to keep it from creeping.

I do it in my '03 V8 for the same reason. I've got about 100k miles on it now. No tranny problems so far.

 

[Will733]

Let me google that for you

The first site to pop up says it's not a good idea, and I highly doubt that the brake pads are really being used much when you are at a complete stop since there is nothing moving to cause any wear.

I'd just leave it in D when driving and only use nuetral when it's required.

 

[DaveS]

Only two situations I shift it into neutral if stopping for a while

1 - After hard braking (and only if I am on a level surface) - I want those pads off the rotors to limit the risk of warping the rotors if I can
2 - Super cold and the engine has not warmed up yet - rather let it idle at higher revs and get the engine warmed up faster than hold it in D.

 

[rclangelan]

Let me google that for you

The first site to pop up says it's not a good idea, and I highly doubt that the brake pads are really being used much when you are at a complete stop since there is nothing moving to cause any wear.

I'd just leave it in D when driving and only use nuetral when it's required.

That was the first time I've seen the "Let me google that for you." Cool! I definitely learned something new there.

Thanks!

 

[myk1013]

Funny this thread popped up.

Had the T4R for about 3 weeks now and I was telling my GF to put the gear in "N" when at a long stoplight. (it's her car)...

So we were doing errands the other day and I was driving, placed it in N at a stoplight. My phone rang and answered it (only her cell is synced with the bluetooth, not mine). Light turned green and car in front moves along... I stepped on the gas and she heard it rev up, without the car moving forward.....she wasn't too pleased. Gave me that "look". Yeah, she babies her truck.

 

[rclangelan]

Yeah, I think we've all done that before... automatic, or maual.

And we all know "the look." But I've also dished out my own look a few times as well.