what's the use of "N" in a AT?

**oj88** · January 16th, 2016 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by Ry_Tower

Hmm I guess they seem to think more gas consumption and more load to the brakes is okay. But I'll stick to what I think is best.

You'll just have to balance it. While stopping for several seconds, it should be ok to leave it in D. But if the stop is going to be longer than a few minutes (or if you've been stationary for more than a while already), putting it in N would allow you to relax your foot. With the brake lights off as well, the driver behind you would be thankful.

Shifting it between N and D too frequently will theoretically add wear to the shifter linkages, as well as some added wear to the pertinent clutch (with the engaging and dis-engaging). Clutches don't wear out when they're either fully engaged or fully dis-engaged. It's when they first make contact in which a little bit of slip happens, is when clutches wear a bit of their friction material. So the idea is to keep the shifts to a practical minimum.

**newtocar** · January 16th, 2016 08:24 PM

^ it is always the operator's preference what to follow. If you look at the comments of TGP feature column (shifting to neutral ....) some disagree to TGP's reply.
Anyway, we own our vehicle, so we do what we believe right for it.

**timo07** · January 16th, 2016 09:30 PM

What about CVTs? Does it make sense to switch to neutral on traffic light stops?

**WallyWest** · January 17th, 2016 09:44 AM

After reading that argument that it's ok to keep it at D, I gave it a try this morning. My vehicle would slowly creep forward with the handbrake engaged. Handbrake issues or not, N na lang talaga ako for safety.

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**jick.cejoco** · January 17th, 2016 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by WallyWest

After reading that argument that it's ok to keep it at D, I gave it a try this morning. My vehicle would slowly creep forward with the handbrake engaged. Handbrake issues or not, N na lang talaga ako for safety.

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Free country, your car. But leaving it in D range prevents shift shock from N to D.

**timo07** · January 17th, 2016 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by jick.cejoco

Free country, your car. But leaving it in D range prevents shift shock from N to D.

I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is shift shock but the transmission jerking is more pronounced from D to N than N to D. In fact, N to D is quite smooth and jerking is almost non-existent. Without stepping on the brakes or gas pedals, I can shift from N to D and the car will just start to move slowly on its own. 2015 Altis CVT.

**oj88** · January 18th, 2016 12:19 AM

It may seem weird but a bit of shift-shock is actually good for the A/T's longevity. If an A/T transitions to a gear with little or no shift-shock, it may mean that the clutches spends more time rubbing before they actually bite.

Hondas in general have a very 'grabby' A/T. That's why they require a specific ATF... not to mention that their A/T is not of traditional design as it does not use a single planetary gear set. In fact, it shares a lot of its design from a traditional M/T.

But more to the point, a lot of people think that the smoother the shift, the better. That's not always the case. Some would swear by the non-Honda ATF that they use, stating that the shifts have gone smoother than what they were experiencing with OEM fluids. Little do they know that the little stunt they did may have increased the wear on their clutch packs.

**playplugg** · January 18th, 2016 01:15 AM

Neutral..

MT or AT...

pag traffic at full stop. pareho ang procedure, ilagay agad sa N. para iwas strain sa transmission at iwas disgrasya

(accidental release ng clutch kung anong gear ang engaged, or SUA kuno dahil naka D)

Inclined and Steep parking... bago ilagay sa P, galing sa D or R, ilagay muna sa N.. angat ang handbrake, then release the brake pedal...saka ilagay sa P...

para hindi magkaroon ng hard-shift from P going to R or D...