P on Traffic Lights?

[Mercedezzz]

Hi,

Do you Press Parking "P" at the traffic lights?
Or
You keep the breaks on and wait for green light?

Its automatic gear box, wonder whats more healthy for the car
Thank you!!

 

[Jtvgray]

I use the ‘hold’ function

 

[mercmancdi]

If in heavy traffic jam sitting long I would use P but in normal traffic I just give brake pedals we had dab / push to select hold

 

[RonFleet]

I use the hold function and put it into neutral to save the torque converter. If the wait is going to longish, I use neutral or P and put on the parking brake so as not to blind the person behind me.

 

[saff]

For long wait apply parking brake and select N, for me.

 

[D-18]

Ah, the 'hold' function - a feature I still miss from my W211.

The ZF gearbox in my XF goes into neutral automatically if you are sitting with your foot on the brake - drive re-engages immediately when you lift pressure off the brake pedal.

That said, I don't usually sit with my brake lights blinding the guy behind - especially at night, so may sometimes select 'N'. I never use 'P' as a minor bump from someone behind could cause a fair bit of damage to the parking pawl in the gearbox.

 

[markjay]

There have been a few threads about this... regarding potential wear to the TC, the gear selector mechanism, and the brake discs.

This is one answer:

- The TC won't wear by the transmission being left in D, because its an hydraulic device and there's no 'metal-to-metal' contact.
- The transmission won't wear by being left in D because it's 'protected' by the hydraulic TC.
- The gear selector mechanism will wear if the gear is frequently shifted from D to P and back (e.g. in city traffic).
- The brake discs might suffer heat damage if the calipers are allowed to hold the disc in the same position for lengthy periods of time (e.g. when stopped in traffic light) with minimal heat dissipation.

So the best practice appears to be as follows: when stopped in traffic light, leave the gear in D, apply the parking brake, and release the foot brake. This will also eliminate the potential issue of the brake lights dazzling the driver behind.

Personally I don't bother with the parking brake, what I do is stop while leaving a gap from the car in front of me, leave the car in D and then crawl an inch or two forward every now and then to change the position where the calipers hold the discs.

Said that, this is an age-old discussion. Modern cars will have stop/start, and electronic parking brakes, which may throw a spanner in the works as far as the old-school tactics go.

Re HOLD, this is a convenience feature, but in terms of wear, HOLD is no different to simply depressing the foot break.

 

[Srdl]

I stop, keep my foot on the brake and the auto stop/start cuts the engine which then fires back into life as I release the brake pedal. If I use the hold function, the same thing happens but the engine starts when I press the accelerator.

(that’s bound to generate some discussion )

 

[whitenemesis]

I think this post on the mechanics stackexchange forum is possibly the definitive answer. A good clear explanation as to what happens inside the autobox when shifting to and from N
(Basically, more wear to the box internals when left in N)

Use of Neutral Gear in Automatic Transmission

 

[renault12ts]

I use the hold function and put it into neutral to save the torque converter. If the wait is going to longish, I use neutral or P and put on the parking brake so as not to blind the person behind me.

How does it save the torque converter?

 

[renault12ts]

I stop and hold with my foot on the brake...I don't worry about blinding those behind...it's red light.

 

[190]

On any regular commute we all know the lights that take forever to change and those that change quickly so there is no fixed answer to this.

With the poor earthing on the series 1 W204 light cluster which can cause things to melt I avoid excessive use of the brake lights at a stop as the problem can only be caused by the brake lights which draw 3 or 4 times the current of the tail lights. This issue seems more common with the W204 in the US which might say something about their habits at a stop light.

With some brake lights now so bright, I think holding them on for an extended period is discourteous to the driver behind which is another reason I wouldn't do it at night.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I stop and hold with my foot on the brake...I don't worry about blinding those behind...it's red light.

Exactly. I've never been bothered by brake lights on the car ahead of me.

 

[markjay]

I stop and hold with my foot on the brake...I don't worry about blinding those behind...it's red light.

This is something I didn't think about in the past.

I have never had an issue with staring into the brake lights (or rear fog lights) of the car ahead of me. So I didn't think that other drivers would.

However, after reading members' comments in previous threads saying that they are blineded by the brake lights on the car in front, I now accept that some people are affected in this way, something that I did not take into account previously.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

This is something I didn't think about in the past.

I have never had an issue with staring into the brake lights (or rear fog lights) of the car ahead of me. So I didn't think that other drivers would.

However, after reading members' comments in previous threads saying that they are blineded by the brake lights on the car in front, I now accept that some people are affected in this way, something that I did not take into account previously.

They must have a problem with their eyes if brake lights blind them or like most people, they are parked up the @r$e of the car ahead.

I don't stare into the brake lights ahead of me, I'm always watching what is happening around me (situational awareness).

Always leave a good gap from the car ahead (rule of thumb is to be able to see where the wheels of the car ahead touch the road - I usually leave a bigger gap and then close up a little once the traffic behind me has stopped) and my foot on the brake (or set 'hold') - if I need to, I have some space ahead to move into and can do so quickly!

 

[Tramper]

They must have a problem with their eyes if brake lights blind them or like most people, they are parked up the @r$e of the car ahead.

I don't stare into the brake lights ahead of me, I'm always watching what is happening around me (situational awareness).

Always leave a good gap from the car ahead (rule of thumb is to be able to see where the wheels of the car ahead touch the road - I usually leave a bigger gap and then close up a little once the traffic behind me has stopped) and my foot on the brake (or set 'hold') - if I need to, I have some space ahead to move into and can do so quickly!

I take it you don’t drive in London very much something will always fill a gap.

 

[AJA]

I stop, keep my foot on the brake and the auto stop/start cuts the engine which then fires back into life as I release the brake pedal. If I use the hold function, the same thing happens but the engine starts when I press the accelerator.

(that’s bound to generate some discussion )

+1

 

[Deleted member 113659]

This is something I didn't think about in the past.

I have never had an issue with staring into the brake lights (or rear fog lights) of the car ahead of me. So I didn't think that other drivers would.

However, after reading members' comments in previous threads saying that they are blineded by the brake lights on the car in front, I now accept that some people are affected in this way, something that I did not take into account previously.

yeah, I’m one of those people unfortunately. I wear glasses for driving and at nighttime, even though I don’t look at the brake lights themselves they really dazzle me, to such a degree that I put the sun visor down until the car in front pulls away. I guess I’ve just got extremely sensitive eyes, or maybe a bigger underlying problem.

To save me dazzling the driver behind (in case they have same issue as me) I pop it in P when in traffic after dark. I’ve done this for so long now it’s just second nature and no inconvenience at all.

I’m thinking this is more of an issue (for people like me) due to super bright LED rear lights and a third LED brake light as they are more commonplace on today’s vehicles compared to the candlelight’s of yesteryear.

 

[mersum1es]

'Neutral on stop' is related to ancient type of auto gear boxes... especially USA

 

[Atavus]

I just sit with the brakes on, like most others I see. Might try the hold function and see what I think.