26 Responses to “Is It Okay To Constantly Shift Into Neutral And Let Your Car Coast In Order To Save Gas?”

1. Mark F says:

   November 3, 2009 at 6:49 pm

   Automatic transmissions will sort of disconnect when you coast anyway. The car still goes fast but the engine slows down. About the same as you are trying to do yourself but not exactly the same. The problem with doing what you do is that in a sudden emergency you will make a mistake with the shift, either not putting it back in drive or accidentally putting it into reverse or park. Then you step on the gas and red-line the engine. Its a good way to accidentally ruin you tranny. Insurance won’t cover it. Just let the car do it on it’s own.
2. tigerrrr says:

   November 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm

   No, it is not effective.
   1. It is dangerous since you have no control over the driveline while it is in neutral.
   2. It doesn’t save fuel.
   When the transmission is in neutral the engine returns to idle. In order to stay running the fuel injectors have to START FIRING in order to maintain idle speed.
   If you were coasting with the transmission in gear the engine speed would drop to idle eventually but would be kept up for a longer period by the transmission. While the engine is running above idle with 0 throttle the injectors would close, thus using less fuel.
   In other words putting the transmission in neutral causes the injectors to stay open longer, thus using more gas.
3. Marvelous Marv says:

   November 3, 2009 at 7:45 pm

   It could be dangerous, if you need to accelerate quickly.
   You could mess up your transmission since it is an automatic and not a stick(Manual). Once in “Drive” you should leave it in “Drive” unless completely stopped.
   And when your stopped shifting into “Neutral” won’t save you gas. The RPM’s is what eats your gas and when you not moving the RPM’s are very low in “Neutral” or “Drive”.
   Good Luck.
4. Nobody_H says:

   November 3, 2009 at 8:08 pm

   you won’t save much if any gas doing that. You burn the most gas accelerating, so if you can keep the car at a steady speed it will be the most efficient. I’m assuming you get the car up to some speed then shift into neutral and coast until the speed drops, then accelerate again.
   Also, make sure your tires are properly inflated.
5. Droogs says:

   November 3, 2009 at 9:07 pm

   You are probably saving a small amount, I’m no mechanic, but I would say that it’s not something the vehicle is “made” to do so it will probably tear something up down the road (oops, pun! sorry)
   anyway…I would not take the risk in breaking my vehicle, maybe think about biking or walking when the time and distance allows you too… I live 5 miles from my work place and I bike there one day a week and walk one day. I’ve saved a ton doing that.
6. mreed72 says:

   November 3, 2009 at 9:18 pm

   Hypermilers do this to save money. I think its a false economy though. It wont hurt your car to put it in neutral and let it coast to slow down, unless you accidentally push the shifter too far and it goes ito reverse. Then youll be spending a couple grand or more on repairs. I wouldnt do it.
7. Hey there yall says:

   November 3, 2009 at 9:40 pm

   I do this on my vehicle sometimes but i dont know if it hurts the transmission or not. It does help your gas mileage. i have a truck with a MPG meter and when i do this it will go up to 50mpg and higher.. I have been trying to get out of a habit of doing it just until i find out for sure what it would really hurt.
8. SPEEDY says:

   November 3, 2009 at 10:22 pm

   there is nothing wrong with coasting your car, if you weant to coast your car i recommend either turning off your engine when you are going down a hill but then you waste petrol turning it back on, but the best way is putting your foot in clutch and just leaving it, doesn’t mess up transmission
9. Jay says:

   November 3, 2009 at 10:22 pm

   Yes!!! For sure its okay… It WILL NOT mess up anything. Just dont push on the gas peddle and make sure you are going down hill or something, because you wont stay at the name rate you are going… I do it all the time and it wont do any harm for your car, or gas …
10. Anne says:

    November 3, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    As long as the engine is running your going to use fuel. Shifting an automatic into neutral while driving isn’t really going to save on gas, and it will cause more wear on the transmission to shift out of gear and into neutral and back again.
11. aylatroy says:

    November 3, 2009 at 11:10 pm

    I don’t know bout the gas saving part, but if your car is an automatic, and your doing all that shifting while driving it could effect your TRANSMISSION. I think those are way more expensive than gas… I shift going down hill on icy roads only when needed. Good luck.
12. Ruby says:

    November 3, 2009 at 11:18 pm

    if you put the car on neutral the car is going to slow down the best way to save gas is to put it on cruise control, and no is not going to damage the transmission but you’re not saving gas like that.
13. mendo says:

    November 3, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    you are much better off, using cruise control rather than coasting… since cruise control is a built in feature in a lot of cars, and helps reduce gas coasts, by reducing the accelerating/decelerating factor…
14. sonnycor says:

    November 4, 2009 at 12:34 am

    No it isn’t. A car uses less/no petrol when slowing down in gear. You will save if you knock it in to neutral at traffic lights and intersections where you have to wait.
15. Dad's found yer scoo'er says:

    November 4, 2009 at 1:22 am

    My boyfriend does it all the time. Just make sure that you have your hand on the shift so if you need to move quickly you can change it back into drive.
16. Danielle K says:

    November 4, 2009 at 1:39 am

    it’s okay on flat roads, but i wouldn’t do it on hilly roads; slight downhill is alright as well. but when the car shifts gears on it’s own, lots of gas is wasted.
17. jigga wigga says:

    November 4, 2009 at 2:09 am

    i do that all the time when going down hills to save petrol.
    as petrol is too dear and any way to save some of it then i will do it.
18. mickbrac says:

    November 4, 2009 at 2:34 am

    I do that all the time. My stepdad does it too and he’s a mechanic, so I’m pretty sure it’s ok. He wouldn’t do it if it was bad for the car.
19. Katie says:

    November 4, 2009 at 3:12 am

    Not good for your car and can be dangerous as some cars will lose control fast. Not an option to be considered.
    Gas prices hurting your wallet?
    http://www.waterpetrolcar.com
20. hjzmoi c says:

    November 4, 2009 at 3:37 am

    You can’t ruin your transmission, but I’m not sure how effective it is.
21. Tim G says:

    November 4, 2009 at 4:23 am

    not a great idea please dont’ continue to do this unless you want to take the gas money saved and spend it on repairs.
22. marcelle says:

    November 4, 2009 at 4:42 am

    it sounds sort of dangerous? I dont think you would ruin your car but it seems like it could lead to troubles thats for sure….
23. Michael > says:

    November 4, 2009 at 5:24 am

    i dont think its vary safe taking out of gear i dont think it will hurt the engine but its bad practice
24. steplift says:

    November 4, 2009 at 6:07 am

    You’ll mess up the transmission for sure.
25. Fredrick Douglas III says:

    November 4, 2009 at 6:52 am

    If you have a standard tranny
26. earlofsn says:

    November 4, 2009 at 7:47 am

    NOT SURE ABOUT THIS

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