I imagine that because you're in a higher gear, lurching or drag on the drivetrain isn't as much of an issue. Also, you still have power to everything else, so oil is still circulating, for one thing.

The usual disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic and I'm open to being set straight!

 

Have to admit I bit the bait BIG TIME!

 

I meant "coasting" as in taking your foot off the accelerator while in gear, not in neutral.

 

Hypermiling?

Honda Fit Stealth mode?

Being super quiet sneaking home after a late night out with the boys?

Force of habit? ...after letting the boat "coast" into the dock for many years figuring the same applies to land vehicles.

<shrug> ...I give up. <waiting for the real answer>

 

To answer people's burning questions:

Why would you do this?

You start developing little shortcuts to get out of the car and to the next place faster. When you're rolling into your parking spot, you can already roll up the windows, put away the sunglasses, unbuckle your seat belt, have the key out of the ignition, etc by the time you come to a stop.

Why do you need to save those few seconds?

I dunno. Same reason why some people don't come to a complete stop at a stop sign? jaywalk? don't return shopping carts to the corral?

Why do I need to do this?

I don't. I've only done it about 3 times with the AT. It's not like I kept on doing it, lol!

Then why are you asking about it? Just stop doing it.

I like to understand how things work, instead of merely taking a "rule" at face value.

 

just fyi, "behooves" does not mean what you think it means.

 

That's a good point. That probably explains the absence of lurching at higher gears.

As for the oil circulating, I only have the engine shut off for 1 second before the car stops, so that's probably not a factor.

Thanks for your replies doctorz. They did help explain some of it.

 

You still haven't mentioned your driving experience. How long have you been driving? A reference point to help put your questions into perspective perhaps.

 

Is this a late April Fool's Day thread?

 

Uh...I'll forgive you because you say you are new to automatic transmissions. BUT an automatic transmission is not a manual transmission. You've been given explanations....but I'd just say...just drive it into your garage and shift into park and turn off the vehicle...that's pretty much the way you drive an automatic.

If coasting and having a disengageble transmission was a priority? You should of bought a manual...

 

Has to be..

I've heard of Christmas in July, but never Aprils fools in July. I Must be getting old.

 

Actually, it's a little better to keep the foot on brake, set parking brake, THEN shift into park. That way the parking brake is what's holding the car in place, not the drivetratin, avoiding that little lurch an auto car does when just putting it in park and releasing the brake.

 

That's a bit odd. Usuallly people shift into Park then pull up the emergency brake. I do the same with cars with a manual transmission. Once I come to a complete stop to park (with my foot on the brake pedal and clutch in), I shift into 1st, pull up the e-brake, then turn off the car. To each his own I guess.

 

That's exactly how I do it in a manual too, but auto is a little different. Really the technique I quoted versus the other is six of one, half dozen of the other, but the way I suggested forces you to make sure the brake is doing all the holding, since you feel the need to give a good yank in gear, instead of PARK, the pulling the parking brake, but maybe not hard enough, so when you release the brake pedal, you still get that lurch. That's the way my mechanic has always suggested.

Actually I'm always surprised when I drive someone else's auto tran and they never use a parking brake! They seem to think PARK is all you need, and the parking brake is just for hills. If only they'd RTFM!

 

People who don't use the e-brake in AT cars are weird.

 

I didn't believe you, but here it is:

Still, I'm disinclined to set the parking brake on level ground (yes, I'm weird). On even a slight incline I do as you and TFM suggest. More than a slight incline I might even angle the wheels appropriately.

On MT cars I've had I always set the brake in case someone popped it out of gear. People that don't park their MT cars in gear concern me. Maybe I need to rethink auto transmission cars...

 

Hey, if the manual and a mechanic say to do something to prolong the life of my car and it's associated workings, I do it as I drive my cars until they die. Plus I'd rather spend my $ on fun stuff for the car, instead of fixing something that I can have a hand in preventing.

 

...

I don't use the parking brake in ATs and I don't leave my MT in gear most of the time. And I don't need to because most of the time I park on level surfaces... and if I can help it, in a spot where car prefers to rest. So the parking brake/gear isn't all that needed.

As for the OP... I have tried doing something similar... shutting off the engine while rolling to a stop, but the difference is that i always do it in neutral (AT ot MT). Ultimately... it's not worth it. Between the needed concentration of making sure you're not damaging the car... the concentration of what else is out there that you might have to avoid. Pretty hard trying to avoid a surprise with stiff steering.

 

If it helps you, I've been driving 18 years, owned 7 different MT cars. I had only driven AT for rental cars until now.

I guess AT drivers just want to get from point A to point B, so there's really no need to understand how the car works.

I never said it was a priority. I only got the AT because the wife doesn't want to drive MT anymore.

 

When I park on an incline, I shift to Neutral while pressing on the brake pedal, engage my Parking Brake, release brake pedal and let car settle and then shift to park.