When to and not to use Neutral on an Auto

[ice745]

I got into the habit of going in Neutral during turns and sometimes if I want to cruise for a bit without the trans slowing down the car. However, someone told me that shifting from neutral back to drive should only be done at a complete stop, because it can warp the gears. I tried to find this info online to verify, and I read that it is designed to only be done at 'idle'. So should I only shift from Neutral to drive at Idle RPM speed, or does the car itself also have to be at a complete stop?

should've just gotten a manual, autos seem way too restricting and boring; everytime you want to do something you can't without worrying about blowing up the transmission.

[curtis73]

Anytime you shift between gears on an auto you give it a bit of wear. Although considering the billions of shifts it gives in its lifetime I can't see why it would cause any more aging than a plain old downshift when you apply more throttle.

Long periods of neutral coasting can accelerate wear since the pump is only providing a very minimal pressure, but short coasts won't do a bit of damage.

You can tell that person that warping the gears is not really something that happens. But you could get some mileage out of that. Tell them that I said it could damage the muffler bearings.

[kcg795]

I've coasted in Neutral down hills a couple times. It seems like it makes a little sense to blip the throttle before putting it back in drive though. If my engine normally does 2400 RPMS at 60 MPH in Drive and I'm doing 60 downhill in Neutral, then I blip the throttle to around 2400 right before I put it back in drive. It seems to me that this would decrease wear, but I could be wrong.

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by ice745

I got into the habit of going in Neutral during turns

This is incrediably bad practice, not because of any wear or damage you might do to the gearbox, but because its a fantastic way to lose controll of the car.
By putting the car in neutral you instally remove one of the three types of controll you have over the car, and very suddenly alter the weight transfer across the car.

[ice745]

Thanks everyone, and Curtis, I was trying to look at my local shop to see if they have Muffler Bearings in case they go, they said they have them, but they're like $500, I can't afford that! Do you know anywhere I can get them cheaper!?!? lol jkjk. I think I'm just gonna try to stop myself from using neutral, I mostly do it stopped at a redlight, cuz the 5SFE engine shakes a lot at stops in drive. I've read that its a common problem with that engine because of the off-center position of the cylinders, but I think it may be a sign of the Muffler Bearings going, I need to get the performance kind.