Toyota (or other?) Hybrid- what is Neutral gear for?

scooby77

Was chatting colleague today who bought new Rav4 fortnight ago- having never driven automatic before.. Conversation turned to new car, and she asked was she doing right thing when stopped at lights etc- she puts to Neutral and applies handbrake. I now own a Camry and have extensively driven parents/ in laws chr/ Corolla Hybrids. I've rented lots automatics abroad. I've never used neutral- for short stops I just keep foot on brake in Drive, longer anticipated stops I put in Park. I've never manually applied handbrake. She then asked what point in Neutral so. I have no answer ( except maybe towing??) And Google has failed me.
So is she in fact doing the right thing? What is Neutral for?
Thanks in advance

greasepalm

Yes i dont automatics but when i drive anything at lights into neutral or park and handbrake on.
How many times do you see idiots on the hill riding their clutch waiting for lights to change,put it into neutral and use handbrake like when you did your driving test for stopping on a hill.
Yes neutral can be used for towing your car up on the tow truck when its bust.

bazz26

She should not be putting the car in neutral especially while stopped at lights, etc. Assuming the Rav4 has an electronic parking brake and auto/hill hold function once the car stops moving then the auto hold should engage even with the gearbox still in Drive. When she is ready to drive off then just touch the accelerator and the auto/hill hold should disengage allowing the car to drive off in Drive as normal. Neutral just disengages the wheels from the engine so if you press the accelerator while in neutral the engine will rev but the car will not move. You only put the car in neutral when it's been towed or you stuck in the likes of snow or mud and need to push/pull the car out.

greasepalm

What happens when you wrongly tip acl pedal and car lunges forward? oh **** i rear ended him.

Atlantic Dawn

After parting with near €40k could she not have spent 10 minutes reading the manual?

greasepalm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

After parting with near €40k could she not have spent 10 minutes reading the manual?

Not their job to read it is why cars and owners have so many issues and asked to pull bonnet pull nah never needed to:eek::eek::eek::D

scooby77

greasepalm wrote: »

What happens when you wrongly tip acl pedal and car lunges forward? oh **** i rear ended him.

Happened buddy of mine in Dubai, new to automatic. It was a police BMW. They actually let him off!

kyote00

Jaysus.....

Its very simple really....

99% of time, forget you have a left leg.
Car into "D" most of the time, occasionally when stopped at lights for a very looooooong time, put it in "P" if you really must.
Into "P" with handbrake on when parked up.

"N" is really only for towing or pushing the car (this is similar as 'coasting' in a car with clutch )

Miscreant

kyote00 wrote: »

Jaysus.....

Its very simple really....

99% of time, forget you have a left leg.
Car into "D" most of the time, occasionally when stopped at lights for a very looooooong time, put it in "P" if you really must.
Into "P" with handbrake on when parked up.

"N" is really only for towing or pushing the car (this is similar as 'coasting' in a car with clutch )

This.....

I have a Hybrid for over 6 years and have only put it in Neutral a couple of times to see what it does. At traffic lights, I either use the foot brake or put the car in Park with the handbrake on, it depends on how long I am going to be there.
Neutral is only for pushing the car or having it towed, in my mind.

Isambard

so Neutral isn't a sort of buffer between forward and reverse modes then? somewhere to position the lever rather than going straight from D to R? I know nothing about autos....

scooby77

Thanks for replies folks. So only towing or pushing really.

greasepalm

Also on automatic cars need to be stopped while selecting D to R as you dont want to bust up gearbox.

Wishbone Ash

greasepalm wrote: »

...put it into neutral and use handbrake like when you did your driving test ...

The tester won't like that! Apply the handbrake before selecting neutral.

SuperS54

Only experience on a slushbox auto here. Put it in N if likely to be stopped at traffic lights for more than 30 secs, especially if the aircon is on, leaving it in drive with foot on the brake is wasting fuel. P is for parking, not for stopping at lights. Should never tow an auto even in N.

Mooooo

On some auto 4wd neutral must be elected before engaging the 4wd system or diffs I think

Del2005

greasepalm wrote: »

Also on automatic cars need to be stopped while selecting D to R as you dont want to bust up gearbox.

Not all auto cars have gearboxes

corks finest

greasepalm wrote: »

Yes i dont automatics but when i drive anything at lights into neutral or park and handbrake on.
How many times do you see idiots on the hill riding their clutch waiting for lights to change,put it into neutral and use handbrake like when you did your driving test for stopping on a hill.
Yes neutral can be used for towing your car up on the tow truck when its bust.

Hybrids can't be towed,or push started, don't ask me why, maybe something to do with the CVT gearbox, don't know TBH

Grab All Association

I see Suzuki have manual hybrids, something Toyota (In conversation with their customer care) said couldn’t be done.

ohnonotgmail

Is N not required if you are going through a car wash?

kirving

Car washes also yes.

I'll occasionally drop mine into Park + Handbrake if I know I'll be stopped at lights for a while (at night/rain) to avoid my brake lights blinding the person behind.

tjhook

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Car washes also yes.

Does it depend on the type of carwash? Looking on the internets, it looks like maybe Neutral is needed for "conveyor"-style carwashes where the car is pulled through. Whereas Park is fine for the type more commonly found in Ireland where the car stays still and the spinning brushes move forwards and backwards around the car.

colm_mcm

Grab All Association wrote: »

I see Suzuki have manual hybrids, something Toyota (In conversation with their customer care) said couldn’t be done.

Toyota make actual hybrids though. The Suzuki one is basically a capacitor attached to the alternator.