A lot of times, when I'm coing up on a stop sign/red light, I will shift the automatic transmission in my 2007 Elantra GLS into neutral to take advantage of the 250-300rpm drop in idle as I cruise to a stop. I'll also shift into neutral if I'm on a residential road with no traffic; just get up to about 5 over the speed limit and shift into neutral to cruise along. The Elantra makes the most of its momentum!

My question: is shifting into neutral like this harmful to the automatic transmission? Am I decreasing its life expectancy? Thanks in advance for any answers. I don't want my actions to be causing problems down the road...

Chris

This post has been edited by fastmov4: May 9 2008, 01:24 PM

Hey!

Although I drive a manual 5 spd I have also put in neutral and cruised to the stop sign or red light. But I found out that with putting in neutral I've lost some control - let's say that u have to accelerate b'cause of some reason and u have to put again in gear by revving up the engine. So basically I gave myself another task to look for (for a part second I had to look at the rev-meter...away from the road).

From my experience: those 300rpm are not worth it. It's safer to have in gear. One thing less to worry about. IMO u are not doing damage to u'r transmission with driving in neutral.

btw-if u have to brake hard, the engine WILL help u a lot.


cheers,
Mark

Automatic transmissions are fluid-driven. The trans fluid in your Elantra cools, lubricates, and cleans your transmission throughout the driving process. In neutral, if I'm not mistaken, there is NO fluid circulation so you risk overheating your valve body and other transmission components. The only Elantra that benefits from shifting into neutral when coming to stops or coasting is a manual transmission Elantra, where the clutch fluid is only used to build pressure to disengage/engage the clutch.

^^^YIKES!! I did not know that. Thanks for the information. I will cease the practice immediately. I've been scared by enough overheating A/Ts not to take those kinds of chances. Thanks again!

Chris

Are you speaking from experience about this particular tranny design? I know at least some auto trannies can be shifted into neutral with no adverse affects because the tranny oil pump is driven by the engine output.

Best bet would be to contact the dealer, or a transmission shop that has actually worked on one.

Shifting into neutral may be illegal in your state.

This post has been edited by dac122: Aug 28 2008, 07:57 AM