OK to coast downhill in Neutral?

[rawlus®]

nice of them to think of that now. it's only been on the market for a decade.

[PerryA]

Check local laws. When I was originally licensed in Ohio back in the dark ages, coasting was not legal.

Should you be involved in an accident (even if it's not your fault) you could have some serious difficulties with law enforcement and insurance if you were violating a law when the accident occurred.

I support the concerns already expressed over potential damage to the transmission, control (or lack thereof), brake wear and potential brake fade/failure due to overheating, etc.

Past experience may not be a true predictor here. The Smart transmission isn't like any transmission I've driven before. The vehicle's highly integrated electronic controls and, for lack of a better description, artificial intelligence or fuzzy logic are also unconventional. Your Smart could have a nervous breakdown trying to analyze your actions and integrate the behaviour into its memory.

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

nice of them to think of that now. it's only been on the market for a decade.

Wonder if that was something they put in only for the US manual, or were they just plan uncertain about the behaviour of the tranny in the 451's (which of course - have not been on the market for a decade)

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by PerryA

Check local laws. When I was originally licensed in Ohio back in the dark ages, coasting was not legal.

Should you be involved in an accident (even if it's not your fault) you could have some serious difficulties with law enforcement and insurance if you were violating a law when the accident occurred.

I support the concerns already expressed over potential damage to the transmission, control (or lack thereof), brake wear and potential brake fade/failure due to overheating, etc.

Past experience may not be a true predictor here. The Smart transmission isn't like any transmission I've driven before. The vehicle's highly integrated electronic controls and, for lack of a better description, artificial intelligence or fuzzy logic are also unconventional. Your Smart could have a nervous breakdown trying to analyze your actions and integrate the behaviour into its memory.

I belive the accepted term for the computer is that it is adaptive, it is 90's tech. Good thing we don't need a man with a red flag to walk in front of the cars anymore so we don't scare the horses.
karl

[bananawho]

Coasting doesn't seem as free in the Smart.
On the I-10, descending from AZ to CA, my Chrysler Sebring automatic always picked up some free accelleration in neutral. My smart, in neutral, decelerates.
Things that make you go hmmmmm.
Aerodynamic drag?

[retiltxet]

It's illegal and it's stupid. Why in gods name would you even want to do so?

The computer is not turning off the fuel injectors... The engine will just go to idle....

[jetfuel]

...newbie here and trying to catch up on the reading and this issue just got my attention due to the fact that is was brought up in another site....
when was the last time you had to accelerate to avoid an incident compared to hit the brakes..
one thing to remember when coasting in neutral gear down hill is to rev your engine a little before putting it in gear to avoid a lower than required ratio..ask me how I know

jetfuel

[SuperGeek]

I tried this once... only once... after reading others here having success. How, exactly, do you spell conniption? Because that's about what my Smart had. Downhill @ 40, into neutral... coast to 50, now going uphill... put it in "D" and give it a little gas... whoa, buddy.... I thought I was about to buy a new transmission. I felt a few jerks, as though it shifted into 3rd (too low, shoulda been 5th at those RPMs) and said "abort!"... ESP warning triangle flashed, and recovered in a few seconds. Drove normally after that, but about 10 people around me had seen the car just nosedive suddenly.

Lesson learned... not gonna do that again without knowing exactly what's allowed.

[jetfuel]

jejejeje...that was the issue...you put it in D and then gas ....no no no ...gas first then D...rev the engine and it will engage in the proper ratio...

jetfuel

[unicycle]

I drive fairly slowly, typically ranging from 52-67 mph. On steep downhills, I leave the car in gear and let it glide back from 67 to 52 (for example, or from 65 to 50, etc). Then I speed back up and repeat. I do this hundreds of times a day. But most of the time, my hills are pretty shallow, so I put the car into N -- it decelerates less that way.

I don't have any problems with the car jerking terribly or shutting off or exploding ... I guess you have to know the right moment for the shift and have to use your gas pedal correctly, tho at this point I'm not sure what that means. I don't think you always need to use it at all, unlike Jetfuel's advice. I think that I gen'ly don't, but I'm usually shifting from N to D at about 50 mph, so that might be important to know.

As usu, I'll point out that I drive at odd times and don't inhibit the flow of traffic.