Driving in traffic / Waiting at lights

[C.B]

There are some roadworks on my commute to work at the moment, and this got me thinking about how to drive the car in heavy stop start traffic or indeed when queuing at a set of lights for a long period of time (the roadworks are on a 4 light system)

I would like to know what people do and also what is the official line from Lexus?

My only other previous auto had a automatic handbrake which I could engage, leave in drive, and then would release automatically when I pressed the accelerator. However footbrake on the F is clearly more old fashioned than that.

Do people put their car in neutral and apply the handbrake if sitting for any length of time? I recall my driving instructor saying 'handbrake neutral' every time we came to a stop all those years ago so I guess this is the correct approach, I just find the brake a bit of a faff to release.

Am I doing the car any harm sitting holding it on the brake whilst in Drive? It certainly feels like it wants to be moving doing this and potentially putting unnecessary strain on a component somewhere either brakes or drivetrain.

[NemesisUK]

3 minutes ago, C.B said:

Am I doing the car any harm sitting holding it on the brake whilst in Drive?

You are doing no harm whatsoever.

I always left the car in D at lights, holding with the brakes. Only slipping into neutral if the wait was obviously going to be long.

Now, in my hybrid I wouldn't come out of D no matter how long a wait may be.

[Texas]

Don't shoot me I'm only the messenger....

http://www.policeuk.com/forum/index.php?/topic/18000-sitting-in-traffic-with-brake-lights/

paul m.

[Big Rat]

Always footbrake for me and in neutral, and where a view is possible of the opposing traffic lights watch them change, so I’m ready to move off.... simples really bit like me......

🐀

[mrfunex]

A modern auto will suffer no harm whatsoever sitting in D with the footbrake on. Changing to N and back will cause wear, but to such a small amount to be negligible. 

I normally hold the car on the footbrake in D unless the wait is really long, then I’ll put it in Park. 

In hybrids, it’s possible to flatten the Battery with the car in Neutral, and isn’t advised. An old Merc of mine had a brake-hold feature which was handy. After you’d come to a stop, you jabbed the brake pedal which kept the brake applied and stopped the brake lights shining. Really good idea for sitting at traffic lights! 

[Toothy]

Brief stops, I keep it in drive.
Anything longer than say 30 seconds, I move it to neutral. Mostly then I don't need to be on the brakes at all, unless its a hill. I will often put the handbrake on then too.
I get annoyed by brake lights glaring at me, especially in the dark. So am conscious of the driver behind having to look at mine.

Will always leave my brake lights on until someone pulls up behind me though, I like to make sure they know I'm there and waiting. Prevents a dozy driver going up the back of me, or thinking the car is parked up and trying to go around. Both have happened to me before.

[MNMJ]

52 minutes ago, Big Rat said:

Always footbrake for me and in neutral, and where a view is possible of the opposing traffic lights watch them change, so I’m ready to move off.... simples really bit like me......

Me too

[rich1068]

I like to flick mine into reverse just to keep the person behind on their toes.

[Texas]

32 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

I like to flick mine into reverse just to keep the person behind on their toes.

Don't forget to flick it back.........

[Guest]

Sitting in D will use a bit more fuel as you're driving the fluid in the torque converter. Slipping in and out of neutral will potentially mean more wear on the clutches over time but they can easily cope with that gentle use sat at idle.

I personally wouldn't go into park for 2 reasons. 1, you have to pass via reverse and 2, it unlocks the doors (if factory set to do so).

[rich1068]

17 minutes ago, Texas said:

Don't forget to flick it back.........

Will I remember or will I forget? Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows. A little bit of excitement on the morning commute.

Leave it in D, it's fine.

Winter tyres work well if you rely on your car in bad weather.

Using V-Power is largely an affectation. 

[NemesisUK]

1 hour ago, Comedian said:

Sitting in D will use a bit more fuel as you're driving the fluid in the torque converter.

How does shifting to N or P change that?

[Toothy]

I would have thought sitting in D would be better for fuel? Drops the idle RPM.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

How does shifting to N or P change that?

Neutral detaches gearbox from engine effectively as no gears are engaged. Not sure about P and how that works - but in D it's got 1st selected.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Toothy said:

I would have thought sitting in D would be better for fuel? Drops the idle RPM.

Revs drop as there is a load on the engine. Lift your foot off the brake and you roll forward without revs rising right? So you're using the same fuel as the energy required to move the car.

We could be talking small amounts but stirring fluid uses energy.

I'd wager @ColinBarber knows the proper answer to all this. 

[C.B]

I had also noticed the revs sit lower in drive than they do in neutral, I also noticed the car likes a drink when sat in traffic so this was a factor in my reasoning of maybe leaving it in D. Yet if its trying to move the car is that not using more fuel than idling even if the revs are lower.

Guess I just need to get used to using the handbrake, I have never had a foot operated one before and its just not second nature to me to release it at the moment. Ideally I would like to leave it in D as for me an auto shouldn't need user input other than reverse. But I dont think I am comfortable with the pressure this will put on the handbrake.

Anyone know what the user manual says?

[NemesisUK]

28 minutes ago, Comedian said:

Neutral detaches gearbox from engine effectively as no gears are engaged. Not sure about P and how that works - but in D it's got 1st selected.

"In an automatic transmissions N is actually the same as D in that none of the clutches are engaged except in D there is a mechanical connection to an internal transmission brake. This brake has nothing to do with your wheel brakes and it come on mechanically so the engine does not need to be running for it to work."

"The forward creep is caused by the transmissions torque converter. There is nothing slipping or wearing or heating up to any significant extent in there. It’s all done hydraulically and nothing is wearing to worry about. BUT!!!! When you are in N and the engine is turning and the wheels are stopped then for this to occur the main forward clutch is disengaged and it is SLIGHTLY SLIPPING. So the clutch plates are wearing."

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/a/18561

It's all too complicated for my little brain.... I stick it in Drive and leave it there until I park up 

 

[Spacewagon52]

15 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

"In an automatic transmissions N is actually the same as D in that none of the clutches are engaged except in D there is a mechanical connection to an internal transmission brake.

 

Did you mean P? Not D?

[C.B]

I dont think he did its copied from the other forum. Not sure thats the case with every gearbox type though. SOme gearboxes have a D and a D1 but ours doesnt

[Womble72]

4 hours ago, rich1068 said:

I like to flick mine into reverse just to keep the person behind on their toes.

 

1 hour ago, C.B said:

I dont think he did its copied from the other forum. Not sure thats the case with every gearbox type though. SOme gearboxes have a D and a D1 but ours doesnt

Don’t u mean “Race Mode”? 😂🤣😂

[Womble72]

I was told by a gearbox specialist to leave in D unless your going to be sometime, ie if lights are red on approach leave it be, if u pull up due to lights changing use N, I never select P as it unlocks the doors, I’ll try to put up a photo of the wife’s car from this Saturday which doesn’t lock and someone jumped into it to get away from others.....this is the result, hence she’s now learnt to lock the doors 🙄

[doog442]

Explained here at 7.16 in the video. 

I used to stick in N but as he summarises there's no good reason to so I just leave it in Drive.

[Linas.P]

The only good reason to put it to N or P would be - not to blind the person behind you with stop lights (but that is definitely, not worst thing you get on the roads). As other mentioned, most of the time I just keep it in D, but I know 2 traffic lights where it is like 30-45s wait and there I shift straight to P.

 

[Ala Larj]

7 hours ago, mrfunex said:

An old Merc of mine had a brake-hold feature which was handy. After you’d come to a stop, you jabbed the brake pedal which kept the brake applied and stopped the brake lights shining. Really good idea for sitting at traffic lights! 

Mine has a hold function which applies the handbrake when I come to a stop but unfortunately the brake lights stay on.

[doog442]

Its one one those things like do you set the foot/ handbrake when parked up. I appreciate its off topic but opinion is divided on that as well.