Is it a good idea to Shift an automatic gear car to neutral while in speed (say exiting freeway) ?

Question

I have '05 Honda (automatic) which I usually shift (drop) to neutral for e.g. while exiting freeway and get back to Drive whenever I want, my understanding is this can save some fuel. Will this damage the engine ? Experts please clarify.

Answer 1

The best way to maximize your fuel is to use the cruise control for driving at consistent speeds on the highway.

Answer 2

Bad idea, as someone mentioned missing neutral and getting into reverse.

Answer 3

There's really no point in it. If you did actually save gas, it would be such a small amount, it's not worth risking the possible damage it could do. Yes, gas is expensive. But transmission repairs are a whole lot more.

As for it being illegal, think about it. How could they possibly enforce a law like that?

Answer 4

what you save on fuel you will pay out in tranny repairs

Answer 5

This practice does not save any fuel at all, in a fuel injected car the fuel is controlled by the computer. It has already determined that you are slowing down and cuts the fuel back to what it would be in an idle situation, the same as when you place the car in neutral. Why the engine seems like it is running faster is because the trans is keeping the engine spinning at a higher rate of speed to make the transition from fast to slow without stressing either the engine or the trans . It also has a lot to do with centrifugal force. It will not damage the engine in any way but depending when you decide to shift back to drive it could cause the clutches to engage to hard and burn the clutches up prematurely.

Answer 6

Not a good idea because you are putting all of the energy needed to slow the vehicle on the brakes...If anything, shift your transmission to a lower gear to 1) help you slow down and 2) depending on how many gears you have, it will act as a 'governor' to help you keep from speeding and stalling out.

(I road tested a guy driving a vehicle with a 6-speed automatic and it kept dying on him because he had it in (D)...I suggested he drop it down a notch and it worked like a charm...He passed too.)

Answer 7

I doubt it will hurt the engine but coasting is often illegal. Idling is said to cause unnecessary wear and tear in general.

Answer 8

Leaving it IN gear will save the brakes, as the engine helps you slow down.

Your method saves so little gas, you probably couldn't measure it.

Answer 9

No, but you'll find problem controlling car speed later...

Answer 10

It is a bad idea and it is illegal to do so, reason is that while in neutral you do not have complete control of the vehicle like if you needed to step on the gas and move very quickly you would not remember at that time that the vehicle was in neutral....

Answer 11

No, that is a very bad idea, you would be coasting and that is not a good idea. The very small amount of fuel that you think you would save would not be worth the chance of risking an accident. If you get into an accident and the police find out you were in neutral, you will be cited. Dumb idea, don't do it.

Answer 12

It probably wont hurt until you accidentally go threw neutral and get reverse will moving 70 mph. Its a bad habit to get into. That's why it is called an automatic put it in drive and let it do its job. If you must shift sell it and get a standard transmission.

Answer 13

I probably won't damage your engine, but would transmition. My instruction manual explicitly says: "Do not shift while driving!".

I do not beleive that it would save gas either.