What is the purpose of the neutral gear in a car?
3 Answers
Neutral gear is used for temporary stops, equivalent to the neutral gear in a manual transmission. Therefore, it is positioned adjacent to the (D) drive gear, making it convenient for brief stops such as waiting at traffic lights or temporary parking. Shifting back to (D) drive gear is quick and time-saving. More details are as follows: 1. The necessity of neutral gear: All cars, including electric vehicles, have a neutral gear, and its role should not be underestimated. Why has the neutral gear persisted in cars for over a century of automotive industry development? This indicates that the neutral gear plays a significant role in vehicles. 2. The necessity of the clutch: Automatic transmission cars do not require a clutch, offering easy control and convenience for drivers, especially popular among beginners and female drivers. Those who have driven automatic transmission cars know that the automatic transmission has four functional gears: P, R, N, and D, which stand for Park (or Parking gear), Reverse gear, Neutral gear, and Drive gear, respectively.
I've been driving manual transmission cars for over a decade, and neutral gear is the position that lets the engine take a breather when parked. During long red lights, I'm used to shifting to neutral and pulling the handbrake, so my right foot doesn't have to keep pressing the brake pedal, preventing ankle fatigue. Also, you must shift to neutral when towing, otherwise dragging the drive wheels could damage the transmission gears. In summer traffic jams, shifting to neutral noticeably reduces engine vibration, making the car cooler inside. Car wash conveyor belts also require shifting to neutral to let the car be pulled along. But never coast in neutral downhill—it's not only dangerous, but modern fuel-injected cars don't save fuel this way and it wears out the brake pads.
During driving lessons, the instructor repeatedly emphasized the usefulness of neutral gear. When temporarily stopping, such as answering a phone call or waiting for someone, shifting to neutral is much more comfortable than holding down the clutch, especially noticeable in manual transmission cars. Once, I forgot to shift to neutral before starting the car, and it lurched forward, almost hitting a wall! Since then, I've developed the habit of checking for neutral before starting. A mechanic once mentioned that automatic transmission cars must be in neutral when towing, otherwise the transmission could be damaged, which made me extra cautious during every rescue. Although neutral gear is rarely used in automatic cars nowadays, mastering the basics is truly important.
