Put DSG into neutral at the lights?

[golfandtiguan]

My view on this:
If you're going to be lazy, and take your foot off the brake and use the handbrake - put the box in N or P (P is arguably better)

Otherwise, leave foot on the brake, and box in D/S - it's just like sitting at the lights with the car in 1st, and clutch in (as is required to get a manual car licence too )

[Diesel_vert]

In a slight variation to this thread - what about putting the DSG in neutral while coasting down hill to save fuel. I used to do it in my manual XR5 but ave never had the guts to do it in the RS.

A modern car actually uses no fuel if you leave it in gear while coasting.

Shifting it into neutral means that the engine must inject some fuel to prevent it from stalling.

Obviously I'm worried about wrecking something in the DSG, but then again, it is essentially an electronically controlled manual gearbox...

A manual is best if you want complete freedom of choice in terms of operation.

With any automatic transmission, it's best to accept it's limitations (whatever they may be) and just use it as the makers intended.

[wai]

FWIW.....When riding a motorcycle during a rider assessment and you stop at a set of traffic lights and engage neutral and release clutch lever....FAIL.

Well, I put this to the RTA back in 2001, and they replied in an e-mail to me which said this:

"An applicant would not be failed for putting the car in neutral when stopped
for a period of time. Care would have to be taken that he did not put the
car in neutral before it had stopped, that the vehicle was properly secured
when stopped and that he had the car ready to move off when the lights
turned etc."

This was not the opinion of just one RTA officer, but it was referred to a number before the response was e-mailed to me.

So, basically, if you have stopped, then putting it into neutral is OK, just don't dead-stick to a stop. What is taken as "properly secured" is that the parking brake (handbrake) has been applied. You also have to be ready to move off when the lights change.

On the DSG, the control system is that if there is no speed detected and the foot brake is applied, then both clutches are disengaged. As soon as the foot brake is released, then the clutch controlling first gear (or reverse if you are going to reverse) will start to engage after a preset time. This time is roughly 1/4 sec for forward, and 1 sec for reverse.

Putting a car in neutral should do absolutely nothing to the syncro hubs. They only start working as you try and engage a gear and the speed differential is the same no matter whether the transmission is in gear with the clutch applied or in neutral. With the transmission in neutral they do nothing.

[dArK5HaD0w]

With other cars I've driven, I can slip from drive to neutral, and vice versa, while coasting.
However with the octavia, i need to have the foot brake engaged to go from neutral back to drive.
Don't know how that will affect the ability to coast in neutral.

[spud75]

"An applicant would not be failed for putting the car in neutral when stopped
for a period of time. Care would have to be taken that he did not put the
car in neutral before it had stopped, that the vehicle was properly secured
when stopped and that he had the car ready to move off when the lights
turned etc."

For safety sake, i really hope most drivers (if not all) leave their car in gear with clutch depressed or in D/S, for an auto box, whilst stationary in traffic/at lights/at intersection etc.

Referring to the previous comment about motorbikes and always being in gear, I have had a car come barreling up behind me, failing to notice that the lights were red (it was a close set of two lights, the first was green, the second that I was at was red), I had to move forward and to the side into the intersection whilst the screech of brakes and smoke from the car behind indicated the driver was attempting to stop but way too late. The car eventually pulled up, 1m over the white line in the intersection, and well past where I originally was. I was well out of the way at this stage......fortunately.

Now, if you have your car in N/P and hand brake on, your brain has to process..... oh S**t that car insn't going to stop, I have to move, now press accelerator, oh I am in N, must move gear lever, oh park brake on, must move that too. We process quickly, but if all that takes 1 sec, do you know how far a car traveling at 60km/h travels in 1 sec?

You are also throwing in, that the release park brake and move to D/S is not automatic/reflex, as you dont do it you stop, it adds time (even part of a second) to actually do the action.

I really hope no one has to use the get out of jail card, as I have had to, but for just in case, the possible wear and tear on the DSG or possible wear and tear on a manual becomes irrelevant if it saves being hit by another vehicle.

I just sold my Audi A4 manual, 150000km on the clock, still on original clutch and gear box, and still going strong.

My question, is how much wear and tear do you think you are going to save?

[Transporter]

Yes, when auto or DSG, leave it in the gear, but when manual, always shift to neutral and the foot off the clutch pedal. I do that for 35 years and never felt that I was in danger. To leave foot on the depressed clutch pedal and the car ready to go fast forward could be worst if you need to make that split second decision, you wouldn't be able to process if you could actually move into the intersection (cars still there) to prevent the car behind yo to hit you.

The clutch should last 250,000km or more when used properly, for normal driving anyway, and in most 4 cylinder cars.

[Guest001]

Nothing worse than sitting behind a dipstick at the lights who is asleep and has car in neutral and the handbrake on.

Oh dear its green It wont go Whats up Oh dear its not in gear Still wont go Oh dear forgot the handbrake.

Oh dear whats everyone blowing their horns for.

[wai]

Nothing worse than sitting behind a dipstick at the lights who is asleep and has car in neutral and the handbrake on.

Oh dear its green It wont go Whats up Oh dear its not in gear Still wont go Oh dear forgot the handbrake.

Oh dear whats everyone blowing their horns for.

That's why when driving not only do you need to look for what your lights indicate, you should also be getting cues from what the other traffic is doing and "get yourself into gear" in anticipation of your lights going green.

[wai]

On the subject of manual gearboxes, if you sit with the clutch pedal depressed you are putting high and unnecessary loads on the clutch throw out bearing. The bearings are not designed to be held with a load on them all the time.

In the case of a car coming barrelling up behind you, it is a case of do you launch forward to prevent being hit up the rear and into the cross traffic where you are more likely to hit someone else. or do you do something else?

Well, tap your foot brake to flash your brake lights, or even put your hazard warning lights on.

This is why it is important to keep an eye on ALL traffic. You may have to try and drive out, but it should not necessarily be the first option.

[Guest001]

That's why when driving not only do you need to look for what your lights indicate, you should also be getting cues from what the other traffic is doing and "get yourself into gear" in anticipation of your lights going green.

I do I do I was taught many years ago to "Watch the road" a long way ahead so that I could be prepared for what "Might" happen.

Driving heavy vehicles you have to to keep your options open to avoid the idiots.

[vRS Carl]

I don't put mine in neutral. The mechatronics unit disengages the clutches and has 1st selected when you come to a complete standstill. As soon as you release your foot off the brake the same switch that tells the car you have depressed the brake pedal to move the DSG from Park, tells the mechatronics that you have released the brake and to engage the clutch. This is why there is a slight hesitation before the car starts to creep forwards after releasing the brake.

To the other post about putting a DSG in neutral whilst coasting downhill, DON'T, you have to press the brake again to get it to move back to D. Although you can get away with a light tap if you do this in an emergency you could forget and press too hard, causing an accident or yourself head butting the steering wheel.

Carl

[blutopless2]

For safety sake, i really hope most drivers (if not all) leave their car in gear with clutch depressed or in D/S, for an auto box, whilst stationary in traffic/at lights/at intersection etc.

Referring to the previous comment about motorbikes and always being in gear, I have had a car come barreling up behind me, failing to notice that the lights were red (it was a close set of two lights, the first was green, the second that I was at was red), I had to move forward and to the side into the intersection whilst the screech of brakes and smoke from the car behind indicated the driver was attempting to stop but way too late. The car eventually pulled up, 1m over the white line in the intersection, and well past where I originally was. I was well out of the way at this stage......fortunately.

Now, if you have your car in N/P and hand brake on, your brain has to process..... oh S**t that car insn't going to stop, I have to move, now press accelerator, oh I am in N, must move gear lever, oh park brake on, must move that too. We process quickly, but if all that takes 1 sec, do you know how far a car traveling at 60km/h travels in 1 sec?

You could also look at it from another point of view though... sitting with it in gear and your foot on the clutch leaves you vulnerable to something happening that causes you to inadvertently drop the clutch and propel the car forward potentially into other traffic.

[Gigitt]

Put DSG into neutral at the lights?

I'm pretty sure I read in somewhere NOT to flick the DSG from N into D while car is moving. Something to do with stress on the clutches when engaging - bit like dropping a clutch. I also read that doing the old style N rev and drop into D like in slush boxes in definitely DSG destroying.

My take on stopping and putting DSG into N at rest is that the hydrolics are not engaged keeping the clutches ready to engage. As soon as you select D/S or R the hydrolics select gear and then engage the clutches so that they are held a fraction off from engagement.

I don't see an issue with resting in N and do it quite often.

[zei20t]

I'm pretty sure I read in somewhere NOT to flick the DSG from N into D while car is moving. Something to do with stress on the clutches when engaging - bit like dropping a clutch. I also read that doing the old style N rev and drop into D like in slush boxes in definitely DSG destroying.

which is probably why the DSG6 has launch control

[wai]

I'm pretty sure I read in somewhere NOT to flick the DSG from N into D while car is moving.

Not only that, but it is an INSTANT fail if you did this in a driving test. This is known as "dead sticking", and it does not matter whether it is a manual or automatic or DSG. When coasting in neutral (does not matter for how long), you are not deemed to have full control of the vehicle.

There is a reason not to put it in N at the lights.

When you come to a stop and the foot on the foot brake, both clutches are disengaged. When you put it in N and then into drive, even with the foot on the foot brake, there is a momentary engaging and disengaging of the clutches.

Basically, there is no reason to put a DSG into N at lights as a matter of course. Yes, you may have to do it from time to time for a whole range of other reasons, but you are not going to extend the life of the clutches.