A/T transmission

**amrodin** · December 21st, 2010 01:35 AM

ask ko lang po mga master hindi ba masisira yung transmission pag D to N
lage

while the car is still running.
ginagawa ko madalas yun lalo na pag pa approsch sa hump or mag preno ako base kasi sa expirience ko mas malakas mag preno pag naka N.
anu po kaya tingin niyo mga master? tnx sa mag reply! god bless and more power

**tanatej** · December 21st, 2010 02:41 AM

I suggest you shift to N only on a full stop as from what I've read, coasting on N on an A/T car will shorten transmission life.

**batangtalyer** · December 21st, 2010 03:54 AM

tama... para tumagal pa ang life ng tranny mo. may engine breaking naman yan eh.

**ericbalajadia** · December 21st, 2010 08:16 AM

Coasting will not harm the transmission because it will just cut the fluid supply off but generally, it's considered bad practice and unnecessary to do such. Now, accidentally shifting to reverse while in drive will.
Before the prevalence of A/Ts, manual drivers often do that instead of downshifting to anticipate stalling and save on gas but in doing so, lose the engine's braking capability and control.
I'm not that aware of the brakes being stronger while in neutral; maybe it is, because there's no more forward thrust coming from the engine but if there really is a marked difference between braking in neutral and drive, then something is wrong with your brake system.

**oj88** · December 21st, 2010 10:05 AM

Frequently shifting in and out of N may add wear to the clutch packs. Just keep it in D unless you will be standing still for a significant amount of time.

Braking is perceived to be weaker in D because the car has a natural tendency to creep forward while in any forward gears (or reverse if in R).

Coasting in N is also not a good practice (it's even illegal in some countries). It wears out the brakes faster, heats them up quicker, and if you're driving a fuel-injected car, it does NOT save fuel.

**niky** · December 21st, 2010 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

Frequently shifting in and out of N may add wear to the clutch packs. Just keep it in D unless you will be standing still for a significant amount of time.

Braking is perceived to be weaker in D because the car has a natural tendency to creep forward while in any forward gears (or reverse if in R).

Coasting in N is also not a good practice (it's even illegal in some countries). It wears out the brakes faster, heats them up quicker, and if you're driving a fuel-injected car, it does NOT save fuel.

Correct: coasting in N won't turn off the fuel injectors... coasting in D will.

BUT: it won't wear out your brakes. In fact, when coasting down to a stop, you can use less brakes because of the lack of "creep".

**oj88** · December 21st, 2010 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by niky

Correct: coasting in N won't turn off the fuel injectors... coasting in D will.

BUT: it won't wear out your brakes. In fact, when coasting down to a stop, you can use less brakes because of the lack of "creep".

I agree, I just failed to make the distinction

. What you say is true with low-speed coasting (ie. <20 kph). But shifting to N while still moving at a considerable speed would bypass engine braking, forcing the brakes to take up the momentum on their own. This is amplified when coasting downhill.

**amrodin** · December 21st, 2010 10:22 PM

so mga master sa madaling salita di po mag tatagal yung tranny ko pag ganun lage ginagawa ko? tnx sa mga nag reply

**niky** · December 21st, 2010 11:05 PM

It won't destroy your transmission outright. In fact, I've yet to see a transmission destroyed from frequent shifting to "N".

BUT: There is no real reason to do this frequently. Best is to leave it in "D" until you come to a stop and switch to "N" only if you have to wait at a traffic light or in traffic for a half-minute or more.

Originally Posted by oj88

I agree, I just failed to make the distinction

. What you say is true with low-speed coasting (ie. <20 kph). But shifting to N while still moving at a considerable speed would bypass engine braking, forcing the brakes to take up the momentum on their own. This is amplified when coasting downhill.

Well... downhill, definitely a no-no, whether MT or AT. Coasting at speed... depends on the situation. I hypermile, and I sometimes neutral coast if the situation demands it. At higher speeds, you get negligible engine braking with modern transmissions, because they're set to default to the highest gear possible at highway speeds.

**ericbalajadia** · December 22nd, 2010 05:05 PM

And besides, it defeats the purpose of why the "automatic". One of the reasons for designing such transmissions is to free both hands from frequent shifting so the driver can concentrate more on steering. More and more controls are redirected to the steering wheel; shifting, radio etc.
Moreover, if you're coasting on N and suddenly have to veer away fast to avoid hitting someone or something, the seconds it would take to shift back to drive, not to mention the presence of mind to do so would be crucial.