Automatic gearbox

Moeks said:
Using the hand-brake is all fine and dandy if you have one, a lot of modern autos actually have electronic parking brakes though ...which are really just meant for 'parking' or stopping for long periods, they aren't quite so easy to just pull on and off as hand-brakes.
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Because pushing a button with "P" on it is far harder than pulling a leaver and when pulling away you don't even need to do anything apart from operate the foot brake.

Even the foot operated parking brake is dead easy to use at traffic lights while driving in the states.

I have always pushed the selector to neutral and used the handbrake same as a manual car. Comes from a time though when I had an Audi Auto that if left to long on drive with the car stationary would start to overheat the ATF fluid which would noticably effect the drive so I'm a bit kinder to it on all autos now, even though the current one disconnects the torque converter when stationary.
 
Very rarely use the handbrake when at lights etc but when in serious queues I do and sometime put it in park then I can watch TV :)

The handbrake on mine electronic so I flick a switch to turn it on and just accelerate to release it.
 
Usel said:
If I stop for more than 5secs then its neutral and handbrake. I do it more to stop the disc's from getting warped from the heat of the pads.
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Maybe 20+ secs, I will drop into neutral. I have warped discs before (E60) by holding on the brake.

Also, my understanding was that wear and tear on engine/box when holding at a standstill is worse that shifting from drive > neutral > drive?
 
I always leave mine in drive, sometimes I pull the handbrake on though, its easily strong enough to hold it.

While we are on the auto subject, I thought they couldn't roll back? I was on a really steep hill once and found that mine will roll back.
 
Maybe I'm missing something, but how on earth just sitting still on the brake cause the disks to warp? You aren't moving so there shouldn't be any extra heat build up?
If they get hot hear I'm baffled how they don't explode into a fiery hellfire every time you slow down from 30!

The only time I drove an auto I ended up leaving it in Drive, the one time I put it into Park and putting the handbrake I had forgotten I'd done it by the time the lights went green again. Quickly dropped it into drive and drove off with the handbrake on :p
(stupid american auto car....)

In my car I'll hold it on the break for short periods or if the road is levelish, otherwise its handbrake time.
 
dilated said:
Maybe 20+ secs, I will drop into neutral. I have warped discs before (E60) by holding on the brake.

Also, my understanding was that wear and tear on engine/box when holding at a standstill is worse that shifting from drive > neutral > drive?
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Shifting in and out of neutral wears out the clutch bands, leaving it in drive just circulates the trans fluid round the system. Every auto I've had, has had a cooler to stop the fluid from overheating.
 
bullit in head said:
I'm suprised no one has mentioned burning the retina's off the driver behind, as you sit there with your foot on the pedal..


3 the first point in my post ,I hate it when I have to look at others brake lights when I know they've stopped, so I try not to do the same to the person behind.


bullit
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Don't stare at the lights then, problem solved. ;)

Mine is always in Drive unless there is an exceptionally long stop.
 
PinkFloyd said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but how on earth just sitting still on the brake cause the disks to warp? You aren't moving so there shouldn't be any extra heat build up?
If they get hot hear I'm baffled how they don't explode into a fiery hellfire every time you slow down from 30!
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From my understanding, it's due to them being hot and then the brake pads being pressed against just one spot, changing the shape slightly of that small area, leading to the noticeable wobble when braking from then on.
 
Theres a technical misunderstanding here.

Discs dont warp. The pad leaves an imprint on the disc face which causes the judder.

Solution is to stay back a bit and creep on the brake.
 
Nick1881 said:
I always leave mine in drive, sometimes I pull the handbrake on though, its easily strong enough to hold it.

While we are on the auto subject, I thought they couldn't roll back? I was on a really steep hill once and found that mine will roll back.
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There's a limit to how much the car can be held back - being the amount of tourque tranferred through the torque converter with the engine at idle speed. At some level of hill steepness there simply wont be enough torque available to hold the car without needing more throttle from the engine, so it'll roll back.
 
In UAE where I drive - every car is automatic and everyone I see puts footbrake on at lights.

My Tiguan has a function called "auto hold"... when you stop it auto brakes the car so you can take foot off brake till you press accellerate again. For this function the car does not hand brake but uses normal brake - so I can persume that "D" mode and brake does not harm the car.
 
I always use the footbrake when stopped at traffic lights too. Any longer and I will put into neutral and apply the handbrake. I believe there will be greater wear on the brake pads as a result but as others have said, putting it in neutral every time isn't great either.
 
I just hold it on the brake, was taught to do it this way both on my original driving lessons and during pass plus. Not having to mess about with the gearstick/handbrake when stopping for a short duration is one of the advantages of an auto.
 
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