What Does Neutral Gear Mean?
3 Answers
Neutral gear refers to the state where the vehicle's gearshift lever is not engaged in any forward or reverse gear position, completely disconnecting the transmission from the drive wheels. For manual transmissions, neutral is the middle position, while for automatic transmissions, it is marked as 'N'. Additional details: 1. The purpose of coasting in neutral is to save fuel, as the engine consumes less fuel when idling compared to running at medium or high speeds. Fuel-injected engine control systems have deceleration fuel reduction or fuel cutoff functions, eliminating the need for coasting in neutral to save fuel. 2. Coasting with the gear engaged utilizes engine braking, maintaining a power connection between the engine and drive wheels. As the engine transitions from running to idling, its speed decreases, significantly reducing the drive wheels' speed. 3. Do not turn off the engine and coast in neutral. Doing so will disable the power steering and brake booster systems, requiring greater effort for steering and braking. Additionally, turning off the engine will cause related components and some vehicle systems to stop functioning, leading to a series of potential issues.
Putting the car in neutral means shifting the gear lever to the N position, where the connection between the engine and wheels is like a kite with its string cut—power transmission is completely disconnected. With over a decade of driving experience, I mostly use neutral in just a few situations: to save some effort during long red lights or when the car is being towed. But never shift to neutral while the car is moving, especially in an automatic transmission—it can wreck your gearbox in no time! Remember to always engage the handbrake after shifting to neutral, or you risk a deadly rollback on slopes. Starting the engine in neutral is also safer to prevent any sudden lurch if it's accidentally left in gear.
Simply put, putting the car in neutral means putting the transmission in a "freewheeling" state where the gears are disengaged. Once when I was driving a manual, I tried coasting in neutral down a long slope, and the brake pads overheated, nearly causing an accident. Now I've learned my lesson—I only shift to neutral at red lights lasting over 30 seconds, and I still keep my foot on the brake. With automatic transmissions, you need to be extra careful when in N (neutral) gear. Last time I was at a car wash, I left it in N without engaging the handbrake, and the car rolled half a meter, scaring the car wash attendant. Actually, many modern cars with auto start-stop systems will shut off the engine when you press the brake pedal firmly in D (drive) mode, so there's no need to bother shifting gears.
