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Old 08-18-2016, 01:02 PM   #6 (permalink)
elhigh
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Location: SE USA - East Tennessee
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Josie - '87 Toyota Pickup
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I have coasted in neutral in many different automatics and never suffered a moment's trouble. There are tradeoffs to consider however:

1) You can't coast with the engine off. Most automatics won't take that as the front of the tranny has to be turning to maintain internal lubrication. There are a few exceptions but I won't go into that here, just accept it as a general rule and you can research for yourself if you're one of the exceptions. I would simply assume that you aren't.

2) The usual neutral coasting illegality issue. Since I'm not required to host a tattletale spy gadget that constantly updates cops on what gear I'm in, I don't worry about this one.

3) The usual overshooting-into-reverse argument. Having actually done this at 40 mph and getting a bruise in the chest from the seatbelt, I don't consider this a negligible risk. I was also shocked that a) the tranny permitted the shift at such a high forward speed, modern ones probably won't do it and b) the car took it and shrugged it off. No damage. I was amazed. That was also a Corolla - a 1982 Corolla.

4) The usual six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other argument. You would get a longer glide in neutral, but simply coasting in gear may allow the engine controls to deactivate the fuel injectors while you're decelerating. You could have more time at minimal injector duty while the engine idles, or a shorter period where the engine burns no fuel at all. This one is a tossup, really.
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