Neutral to drive coast, is it bad for newer auto trans

[UFO]

Originally Posted by 2.Slow

Thanks for the help. You make good points for getting to the highest overdrive as quickly as possible. Since getting the scangauge, I've noticed there is a tremendous jump in FE when making it into the 3rd and 4th gear.

Do you tend to speed up to these faster than the preferred 1.5-2gph since the gain in mpg is so substantial?

I will typically accelerate briskly but not so fast that my rpms exceed 2500 (I have a diesel); you might consider staying under 3000, but I haven't much experience with VW gas engine efficiency. But in traffic I accelerate slower than the car in front of me because that 5-7 second gap is the space I need to coast or engine break during speed variations.

[LeanBurn]

Interesting descriptions for AT feedback. On my 09 Corolla it needs to be engaged in D so that it can engage DFCO (deceleration fuel cut-off). From highway/normal city running speeds all the way down until ~20kms/hr (15mph) once you lift the throttle...it reads zero, then at this lower speed point mentioned I can actually feel it start feeding fuel to the engine again and see that reflected on the gauges. If I put it into N it continues to consume fuel at near 1000rpm the entire time. The dash fuel consumption readout and scan-gauge II confirm this.

This DFCO is very handy in the winter as well as it acts like gearing down in a manual transmission setup and feels a lot like engine braking.

Considering this built-in feature I have no desire to turn off the engine to coast down either and my understanding of AT is that it needs to have ATF pumped through it to provide cooling and correct operation. Lastly, I would want to have full driving functionality to be safe, I feel that engine off removes this functionality.

[sheepdog 44]

I meant no offense. When i said wasting time with a cast iron tub on wheels, I was talking about myself.

[UFO]

@Leanburn -- I use DFCO (what I referred to as "engine braking") when I have to slow down, but it saves more fuel to coast with the engine on when you won't have as much momentum to regain.

Make no mistake, DFCO sacrifices momentum, using it to keep the engine turning without fuel.