I can see both sides to this. It can be unsafe for example if you are coasting and you need to tap the gas to speed up a little bit to get away from a moronic driver who isn't paying attention. Natural instinct has you hitting the gas, but if your car isn't in gear, then you can't go nowhere. On the other hand, if there isn't anyone around, then it wouldn't be a problem. You just have to be careful and make sure you are covering your brake pedal in case something happens.

And as to the fuel savings of coasting vs. leaving it in gear, I think it does save a little bit of gas. It won't give you large savings, but it will save you something. I can see the argument that if you don't put your foot down on the gas, you aren't using any. However, a small amount of fuel is still needed to keep the engine running. Now if your RPM's is higher, that would mean you'd need to spit out more small minute shots of fuel rather than dumping a load when you put your foot down on the gas.
If you are lets say coasting in gear and you are doing lets say 2700RPM vs. doing 900RPM while in neutral, then your engine is doing 3x more work if you are in gear than in neutral. That's 3x more than idling. So it's basically idling 3 mins at 2700RPM for example vs. 1 min in neutral. Eventually you'll run out of gas if you idle for a long period of time, so if you idle at a higher RPM, you should be eating up more fuel, just not noticeably more unless you do this consistently.

 

i coast to stop lights and into parking spots all the time. when im at a red light i also put mine into neutral but i still hold the brake so no one is the wiser and everything works fine. typically when i coast as soon as my foot leaves the gas i hover it over the brake anyway just in case so im not worried about it or nervous. i think its perfectly fine but thats my opinion and my driving style.

 

I like the sound of my exhaust so much I rarely coast I don't think coasting is "unsafe" in the correct conditions.

 

yea i'd say its safe to coast in neutral. i don't see how it would harm the motor

 

If I had a nice exhaust, I would rarely coast also!

 

coasting is about as dangerous as using cruise control...

 

this is kind of a strange discussion for me, as i have coasted as part of driving stick ever since i learned how to. i DO sometimes forget to put it in gear, resulting in a nice "vroom" and a little embarrassment. i could see that being a problem for some drivers while turning left at a light for instance...

insofar as driving on the highway, i always thought the coasting laws were an part of the engine braking laws in big cities made to keep semi drivers from doing it (since it's freaking loud and they're right by the houses)

i have done it so much while driving i never even thought it would be illegal... the one thing i am wondering is this, how would they be able to prove you were coasting if you hit someone?? it's pretty easy for the shifter to pop out of gear when it's engaged... it wouldn't seem unlikely that the impact from a crash could jostle the shifter into neutral... or that you could have done it after the crash... the manslaughter reasoning just seems like bs to me... i always park in neutral (i know, i know, everyone has their own way...) and i have put it in neutral after every accident i have ever been in (2 to be exact)... the usual chain of events is me getting hit, me swearing real loud and hitting the steering wheel, droping it in neutral, pulling the brake and quickly jumping out side to speak (or yell) with the driver. it has never come into question with the police before...

 

If there is any pressure on the gears in the tranny you will not be able to bump it into neutral. Try this,,,take your car up a steep hill, now try with all your might to pull it out of gear while holding the gas on to get you up the hill,,bet ya can't do it. Same for goin down hill, with the weight of the car against the gears you will not be able to pull it out. So unless you hit the shifter at just a the right moment when there is no pressure on the gears during your accident it will not pop outta gear. Not saying it CAN'T or NEVER will happen but it's not as easy as you make it out to be.
The manslughter thing would only apply if they determined that you were in neutral and it was the reason for the accident. There would be a few clues like a mangled mess of a car at the bottom of a steep hill with obvious signs of brake fade from overheating etc etc,,,
The problem with this thread is it jsut deals with "coasting" with no respect to what kind of coasting your doing,,,,the little coast to the stop light or off the off-ramp or into the driveway is harmless,,,but take it to the extream and coast down a steep mountain road and it's different story(stupid and definatly DANGEROUS). Get into an accident and if they prove you were coasting and it was part of the cause and you will be cited if it's against the law in your state. People love to argue on the net so here we are ,,,Happy Holidays to all

 

This discussion comes up now and then on many car forums.

It is totally safe to coast in neutral in a car like ours. However the bigger the vehicle, the less safe it is.

 

For me, the way i think of it is its all about control. u control a car by:
1)steering
2)braking
3)accelerating

u lose 1/3 of a car's control if coasting out of gear, in my view

 

your just wrong if you think it's OK to go to the top of a mountain road say, 7000 feet, and coast all the way down,,,in ANY car,,again the problem is blanket statements and no specific info,,,it's not TOTALLY ok to coast,,but you can do it sometimes , if you use common sense IMHO
BTW,,for those that think you CAN coast down a long hill do you also recommend staying in drive and not shifting down to 1st or 2nd in a auto tranny,,,,,of course not,,same logic applies to MT

 

well, living in chicago, i seldom have the opportunity to coast down 7000 ft. worth of mountain... though i will keep that in mind

i guess i could go in the middle on the whole discussion. though the dangerous scenarios seem to be a moot point since the instances people seem to be describing are times when one would think common sense should take hold, at that point i would think that only god could help those types... sorta like the people you know who accelerate while approaching a yellow light (or gunning it from the right turn lane when it turns green)... it's just stupid.

[edit: i really think the level of danger involved has quite a bit to do with the topography of the areas you typically drive, since i live in the great plains, i would think the reason i have never heard much of the discussion would be because so few drivers i know have actually driven mountain roads (fewer still in a 5 speed)]

 

I said that it's SAFE, not "right" or "wrong". We drive little economy cars that weigh relatively little.

 

weigh relatively little compared to what? it'll still pick up speed and fly down a hill easily... and a 2500 pound chunk of metal can still cause quite of bit of damage on impact at speed with most things.

I never coast in neutral, I depress the clutch once speed gets low enough and hold it (stops, lights, exiting a parking lot into traffic). I may switch to neutral at the stop if it's going to be a lengthy one (train perhaps), but then I'll also put on the e-brake and relax. I always get a chuckle out of the folks who drive auto and have it in gear while holding their brake pedal for 5-10min while a train goes by.

 

you said,,,
"Totally safe",,,and that worries me,,,
But then again ,,,as stated above,,,,, I live in a hilly, mountanoues area. I smell hot brakes all the time,,,even from little econo cars,,, (not mine thou )

 

Actually, just yesterday my friend accidentally bumped the gear lever hard while it was in 5th and it popped into neutral!! Needless to say I was kind of surprised. I must have been at the exact right speed where there was no pressure on the transmission.

 

OH NOES!! NOW YOUR CAR IS GOING 2 BLOW U becausa you were in neutral!!!!!!11111

 

Yeah haha I was just like "wtf?" and put it back and kept going. Didn't hear any grinding or anything, I was just surprised it could pop out of gear so easily.

 

It is very easy for the shifter to pop out in to neutral. Heck, it is even easier to put it back in.

As long as you rev match the gear that you are in (or want to shift to) the shifter can move in and out with ease. I used to drive my old pickup truck without the clutch because I was too poor to get it fixed. It was a real pain in the ass at stop lights.

 

i coast every chance i get...i strongly feel that the main reason that a mt gets better mileage than an at is cause of all the chances you get to get "free miles" out of coasting...now to all you "engine brakers", i used to slow down at lights like you did till i had a buddy of mine laugh at me one day for driving like that....i asked what he was laughing at and he said "its cheaper to replace brake pads than it will be to replace the clutch and everything else you wear out from driving like that", which is true if you think about it.