Is it bad driving a car in neutral?

Question

I have a manual car & when I'm driving down a steep hill I place the gear into neutral to save on my unleaded petrol.

Is this bad for my car?

Answer 1

You still use a little petrol to prevent the engine from stalling, however yes it does save petrol. Only problem is that the engine becomes disengaged from the steering so to speak, and you have less control over it. Also have to be careful of your speed as it can pick up quickly, and being in neutral you aren't making use of any engine braking.

Answer 2

here my 2 cent worth

if u shut off engine sorry but not smart

if some one or some thing cut u off  no braking power no steering control.

if engine is running but put in in neutral why do that

u got cluch pedal  hold it down do the same thing  leave it in gear that way u got braking power if u need it release it

drive 2 hour a day  clutch braking power save lot's of deer and damage on my truck    LOL

Answer 3

Freewheeling is generally a bad idea.It might save marginal amounts of petrol but you probably use mre than you have saved powering back up again when you slip back into gear.Also you have far less control over the vehicle whilst in neutral AND it puts a lot of strain on the brakes , steering & running gear which is normally counteracted by the traction of the engine whilst in gear.Overall you are much better off reducing speed and driving in a lower gear.  

Answer 4

no, but it's bad for you if you crash due to having no control

xx

Answer 5

You're mad: Your brakes will overheat if you use them to maintain speed, and being in neutral uses no less fuel than being in gear - any fuel injected engine shuts off excess fuel on overrun. You may use a fractional amount less - something like a gallon saving over 1000 miles of doing this.

Having no engine braking also makes the car harder to control, so you're more likely to be involved in, or cause, an accident.

Answer 6

It is bad for the car as well as the passengers

It's very easy to loose control of a car going downhill in neutral. Gears act as a break which prevent you from speeding or loosing control of the car when going downhill.

when you drive in neutral you need to use the breaks very frequently ( some people keep brakes slightly pressed all the time when going downhill) which causes the brake pads to over heat and loose braking power which can have severe consequences while going downhill.

When you drive downhill in a gear other than neutral it still consumes more or less the same fuel as neutral because the engine makes very little effort to actually carry the weight downhill.

I dont think a few extra pennies are worth the risk.

Answer 7

Its not bad for the car but it is both dangerous and illegal to do this.

Answer 8

No, it's not dangerous as long as the engine is running you'll have power steering and brakes. Be aware that if you're coasting downhill, the car will pick up speed. It would only be dangerous if you were't paying attention. It's really no different than driving with the cruise control on.

Answer 9

No it`s not bad for the car BUT you will only be saving about a teaspoon of fuel. Is it really worth it ?

Answer 10

You'll be fine as long as you don't push on the gas and slam it into drive.  Doing a neutral drop can cause damage to the transmission.  

Answer 11

It's called coasting. It would be safer to put it in a gear but hold your clutch foot down, because then if something unexpected happens you just need to lift your foot up to be back in gear.

You won't save much petrol and driving instructors tell you not to do it as you don't get as much control while it's happening.

It's slightly unsafe but it's not actually bad for your car.

Answer 12

yes its easy to lose control of the car just put it in 3rd and roll!

Answer 13

These people are crazy. What does a car being in neutral have anything to do with not being able to control the vehicle. That has nothing to do with steering issues. Ive driven manuals my whole and never had an issue with my car being out of control while in neutral. doesnt make any sense. And one guy said use low gear. wtf? Higher RPMs means higher fuel usage. why would u down shift to save gas.

Answer 14

Whatever petrol you might be saving (it's nearly immeasurable) will be spent on more frequest brake jobs.

Best thing to do is to go down a hill in low gear.  This saves fuel and brakes.

Answer 15

It's not bad for it but you have less control of the car doing so!

Answer 16

no, theres no gear in so your rolling like a go-cart. good idea

Answer 17

In the UK I think it's illegal to coast, ie in neutral.

Answer 18

Not at all, just be careful of your speed!

Answer 19

my bf does that too???? he says it saves petrol???

Answer 20

Yes. It's bad for the front end when you hit a tree because you burned up the brakes.

Answer 21

It shouldn't hurt it. I do the same with mine when going through the mountains of Alabama when on the drive to Atlanta.

Answer 22

It doesn't hurt the car, but it could hurt you. It's very dangerous because you don't have much control of the car and could cause an accident. You're best to go down a gear or two, it gives you more control of the car and going down a hill doesn't use a whole lot of fuel anyway, because gravity helps the car move..

Answer 23

no thats what i do

Answer 24

It's not bad for the car but it is dangerous because you have no control if something should happen

Answer 25

you are not "driving", you are coasting.

Yes, its against the highway code, bad for your brakes, and if your car is less that 10 years old you will actually be using MORE petrol becasue if you go down on engine braking there will be be a fuel cut-off

I don't know why some people are saying "yes it saves petrol". This is simply not true on anything other than the most basic of cars.

"fuel cut-off during engine braking" - ask your dealer about it.

Answer 26

Not bad for car, but could be bad for you, as you have no traction, and it could cause you to loose control of the car.

Answer 27

when you are in neutral you actually have no control over the vehicle. it also is unlikely to save any more petrol than simply taking your foot off the accelerator. It is a bad practice to be in neutral at any time the vehicle is moving. the gears are there for a reason.

Answer 28

I think it's OK for a short time, but I believe that there's no oil being pumped around the system, so you shouldn't do this too often.