Traffic and red lights

KM69MZX

KM69MZX

New member
Had my F-Type 5 or 6 weeks now and think it's a fantastic bit of kit. But it's my first automatic and I'd like to know how I should be driving in stop/start traffic or at red lights.

Does everyone just leave it in D and keep your foot on the brake ? Or is it easier on the drivetrain to put it in neutral when stationary ? Or no difference ?

Edit: Has anyone found anything in the driver's manual about this ?
 
I never leave it in D when stationary. Always push the selector to N as reach a stop.
 
I leave it in D (or S) and apply the EPB so my brake lights don't dazzle the following car at night. No problems in 6 years so far!
 
I've read posts from people who think that moving in and out of N puts more strain on the box than leaving it in D or S. No idea if they're right, but could be plausible.
 
scm said:
I've read posts from people who think that moving in and out of N puts more strain on the box than leaving it in D or S. No idea if they're right, but could be plausible.
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It's interesting you say that scm as I can feel / hear the change from D or S to N. That's really what prompted my question.

Has anyone found anything in the driver's manual ?
 
scm said:
I leave it in D (or S) and apply the EPB so my brake lights don't dazzle the following car at night. No problems in 6 years so far!
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Same here and no issue.
I also agree on the undue strain on the box of in an out of drive and I also avoid any embarrassment of attempting to pull away in neutral
 
I stop in D and leave it there with my foot on the brake. I've done that since I started driving autos in 2009.
 
Yep, stop in D and leave foot on brake. The boxes are designed for this, it's a torque converter so is happy milling over for a bit and not moving - I'd say they probably aren't designed to do a million changes from D to N and back again.

If I was sat for anything longer than a long red light, I'd put it in park though.
 
I find modern brake lights are very bright, so it's a courtesy to the following car to not dazzle them at night by using the EPB. It only takes a second to apply, and it releases when you touch the throttle so no big deal to do The Right Thing.
 
Ok, this is what it says in the manual:

Screenshot_20240605-195221_Dolphin.jpg

So for anything longer than a brief stop it should be Neutral or Park.
 
If I'm in a queue of stationary traffic then into neutral and handbrake on. If you're stationary, in gear with your foot on the brake and something piles into the back of you or a car behind then the impact will see your foot coming off the pedal and the car moving/lurching forward
 
Kev said:
If I'm in a queue of stationary traffic then into neutral and handbrake on. If you're stationary, in gear with your foot on the brake and something piles into the back of you or a car behind then the impact will see your foot coming off the pedal and the car moving/lurching forward
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+1
Also, if in Park and a rear end collision occurs, AFAIK this can damage the gearbox.
 
KM69MZX said:
So for anything longer than a brief stop it should be Neutral or Park.
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There's a bit of a difference between "prolonged period" and "brief stop".
 
Kev said:
If I'm in a queue of stationary traffic then into neutral and handbrake on. If you're stationary, in gear with your foot on the brake and something piles into the back of you or a car behind then the impact will see your foot coming off the pedal and the car moving/lurching forward
Click to expand...

I mean... if a car piles into the back of me I don't think lurching forward because my foot came off the brake is much of a concern :lol:

+1 for leaving my foot on the brake at a set of lights unless it's a known one with a particularly long change. As someone else pointed out, it's a torque converter auto so it's designed for it and will happily sit there like for any light change time.
The above excerpt from the manual is definitely a general driving safety warning rather than a wear and tear warning. It's probably in the same warning square that asks you to please keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle when moving.
 
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