Neutral Or Direct When At Stop?

[Airfan]

Hey guys,

How do you drive your CVT gearboxes? When you stop for let say more than 5-10 sec (traffic lights) do you switch to neutral or parking or you hold the brakes all the time?

I personally switch to N because I think it is safer and doesn't stress the gearbox/clutch so much and I don't like to keep the brake pedal depressed all the time.

[Seth1]

I also put the transmission into N...also only put it into Park without the Handbrake when on a dead flat surface!

[Heidfirst]

if you hold on the brakes all the time then especially at night you will be blinding the person behind you ...

[Whitewagon]

if you hold on the brakes all the time then especially at night you will be blinding the person behind you ...

That's one of the big problems with the Avensis CVT and the EPB, awkward to operate and no auto release. If it had auto release I would use the EPB more but for short stops it's just too much hassle. It would help if the switch was down on the centre console within easy reach. I tend to use N if the car is on the level and therefore won't roll, if it's on an incline it's either EPB or footbrake depending on how long I think I'm going to be stationary dark or not.

[Wiz201]

You mean Drive, not Direct? I think it was a recommendation from Honest John to put CVTs into neutral when sitting at traffic lights although if its not for more than a minute then I just held it on the brake when I used to drive a Jazz with CVT. It had a handbrake so more often than not it was quicker to just pop the handbrake on so at least I didn't dazzle anyone behind me with the brake lights.

[Druid Boy]

I'm pretty sure the police drivers handbook prescribes into neutral and handbrake on whenever stationary for more than a few seconds. Can't find my book to check though.....bear with me.

[Cyker]

As my driving instructor used to say, "If a pause turns to a wait, use the handbrake! (+Neutral)"

I personally would like to murder everyone who sits stationary for more than a few seconds with their foot on the foot-brake, esp. at this time of year. I often wait behind such people with my eyes closed because I can still see the $&"$@# brakelights through my eyelids!!

Unfortunately, this would mean I'd have to kill about 90% of drivers but hey, it'd reduce traffic and congestion!

(Today while waiting at a large complex junction, I did quite a thorough look around (6-way lights on clockwise rotation so is a looong wait!) and only me and 4 other people did not have their brake lights on while waiting for the lights to change! 4 people out of 50+ cars!!! GRAAAAA!!!!!)

[Airfan]

You mean Drive, not Direct? I think it was a recommendation from Honest John to put CVTs into neutral when sitting at traffic lights although if its not for more than a minute then I just held it on the brake when I used to drive a Jazz with CVT. It had a handbrake so more often than not it was quicker to just pop the handbrake on so at least I didn't dazzle anyone behind me with the brake lights.

The English is not my native language and the automatic transmissions are not very often around here so please excuse my mistake in the topic - I didn't know it is Drive. Thanks for the clarification.

I had the chance to drive brand new Audi A4 2.0 TDI Multitronic and they had one nice thing - when you stop and you hold the brake pedal depressed for let say more than a second automatic brake is applied and there is no need to use the parking brake or switch to neutral or parking. In the moment you touch the throttle the brake is automatically released. I guess the transmission automatically has been switched between N and D in the meantime. It is very useful and it is something I miss in the Avensis.

[Seth1]

As my driving instructor used to say, "If a pause turns to a wait, use the handbrake! (+Neutral)"

I personally would like to murder everyone who sits stationary for more than a few seconds with their foot on the foot-brake, esp. at this time of year. I often wait behind such people with my eyes closed because I can still see the $&"$@# brakelights through my eyelids!!

Unfortunately, this would mean I'd have to kill about 90% of drivers but hey, it'd reduce traffic and congestion!

(Today while waiting at a large complex junction, I did quite a thorough look around (6-way lights on clockwise rotation so is a looong wait!) and only me and 4 other people did not have their brake lights on while waiting for the lights to change! 4 people out of 50+ cars!!! GRAAAAA!!!!!)

I think that all the "sitting with your foot on the brake" scenario could be avoided by manufacturers de-teching the handbrake and going back to the conventional one!....lets face it the Electronic one is a pain in the ar$e...and is just begging to go wrong at a massive cost to fix!

[revband]

"EPB" !!!!!!!!. Not wanted, not reliable, expensive to fit, What are the makers thinking about?, get rid of them ASAP please.

[Wiz201]

You mean Drive, not Direct? I think it was a recommendation from Honest John to put CVTs into neutral when sitting at traffic lights although if its not for more than a minute then I just held it on the brake when I used to drive a Jazz with CVT. It had a handbrake so more often than not it was quicker to just pop the handbrake on so at least I didn't dazzle anyone behind me with the brake lights.

The English is not my native language and the automatic transmissions are not very often around here so please excuse my mistake in the topic - I didn't know it is Drive. Thanks for the clarification.

I had the chance to drive brand new Audi A4 2.0 TDI Multitronic and they had one nice thing - when you stop and you hold the brake pedal depressed for let say more than a second automatic brake is applied and there is no need to use the parking brake or switch to neutral or parking. In the moment you touch the throttle the brake is automatically released. I guess the transmission automatically has been switched between N and D in the meantime. It is very useful and it is something I miss in the Avensis.

No worries mate, just wanted to make sure we were meaning the same thing. The VW DSG auto box also does that auto brake which is very useful, but the CVT does creep forward even on hills so I sometimes just control it with the accelerator pedal too. I'll be lost when I go back to my MMT box that has no hill assist.