Why is Neutral Gear Represented as N?
1 Answers
Neutral gear is fully referred to as "Neutral" in English, abbreviated as "N" gear. Temporarily parking and shifting into this gear stops the vehicle's movement without interrupting the power. The N gear is a state where the vehicle's gearshift lever is not placed in any forward or reverse gear, completely separating the transmission from the engine, which is known as neutral. For manual transmissions, the neutral position is in the middle, while for automatic transmissions, it is marked with an "N". Placing the gearshift lever in neutral causes the driving wheels to lose their driving force, breaking the power connection between the engine and the driving wheels, allowing the car to coast forward on its own inertia. Therefore, the neutral gear can be used when waiting at long traffic lights. When parking on an uphill slope, it is also necessary to first shift into N gear, then engage the handbrake, and then shift into P gear. This way, the P gear does not bear excessive pressure because engaging the handbrake first provides some braking force, making it more stable when shifting into P gear without overloading the gear hook. Prolonged excessive pressure can cause deformation and damage.