"N" Gear

[wec12]

Would it be better to gas milage if I switch to N when waiting for the green light to come on at the intersection? Would it do something bad to transmission? Thanks.

[c_huynh32]

Auto or manual?

If auto, it won't save anything really, ... bad for transmission? ... no it's not, just change your fluids frequiently then you should be fine.

[arabianobsession]

Well, here's the thing. While you're idling at a stop light, your RPM's are so low that it's kind of useless to drop it into Neutral. I've seen people do it down hills, or when they're coasting to a light, but not idling at a light.

Another issue is that sometimes you forget you put it in Neutral, and when you go to take off, you just rev your car really high and you don't go anywhere.

[Zembonez]

Let your car handle the efficiency. You can't improve on what the computer is doing by manually tricking it. In fact, all of that switching from D to N is probably not going to do your trans any good.

[PhatRoyale]

I wouldn't.

Just in case you find yourself having to get out of harms way in a hurry.

Fuel economy benefit is debatable and negligible at best.

[LeanBurn]

Like others have said, the answer is no. It will actually yield worse fuel economy. DFCO (decelerate fuel cut off) will not activate while in "N". You can check this for yourself by watching your instant fuel consumption readout on your dash. Don't switch to "N" down hills slowing to an intersection either, it will hurt your fuel economy. Let the computer do its job.

In addition switching gears from N to D constantly activating different pump areas in the auto trans leads to accelerated wear.