Is it safe to drive in neutral?

Question

when im going down a hill the car goes faster.. when its in neutral.. but i want to know if its safe or if it can damage the car. also if you press the gas when driving in neutral does gas get used? even though like its not going to accelerate

Answer 1

It is not safe but also illegal in many states, otherwise known as "coasting".

Answer 2

"They" don't recommend it.

The most likely thing that could happen from driving in neutral is that you forget whether you are in neutral or not and  step on the gas and blow your engine up before you realize what you are doing.  With nothing to keep the engine from going too fast, it could over-speed before you realize that your car isn't speeding up, and the loud noise is from your foot on the gas pedal in neutral...

Gas is used all the time the engine is on, and turning it off while you are moving down the road is for extreme emergency only.

Answer 3

Driving in neutral won't damage anything (assuming a manual transmission), but it isn't very safe as you can't be entirely sure that you will be able to get the car back into gear exactly when you need to.

Answer 4

As long as you do not press the accelerator while shifting from Neutral to Drive it will not cause any damage to the transmission. However, Yes if you press the accelerator while in Neutral the engine still accelerates and burns gas, the transmission isn't engaged though. Therefore, the power from the engine is not transfered to the wheels to make you go. Hope I could help!

Answer 5

In some states it is against the law to drive in neutral.  If you were in a sudden emergency situation you could increase the risk of an accident; thus the law.

Also, if you're on the highway and go into neutral, the motor may be turning at a different speed than the wheels/transmis. causing extreme wear and tear when you clunk back into drive.  

Another also, many modern cars require you to put your foot on the break to shift out of N or D.  so watch for that when you're traveling fast.

And certainly you are using gasoline to spin the motor faster regardless of being in drive or neutral.

The transmission slows the car down if it is gear when you are going down a hill.  

Safety first,

m.

Answer 6

It should be fine no matter what transmission you are using.

Answer 7

It won't damage the car, but is not reccommended and engine stays at idle, so you will be using very little fuel.

Answer 8

NO, completely UNSAFE!!! Using gravity to propel your vehicle is extremely dangerous.  You don't have as much control of the car, if the brakes failed when doing so, your vehicle can "run away" and become impossible to stop killing you or someone else in the absolute worst case.  You can take your car out of gear and shift back into gear in a standard transmission, some newer automatic transmissions will downshift only  and shift into neutral at a complete stop.

And, YES, you use fuel every time you depress the gas pedal regardless of load on the transmission.  Hope this helps and drive safe.

Answer 9

It's against the law in most states. Yes it could be dangerous going up hill.

Answer 10

haha yes it uses gas!