Automatic Gearbox - Best Advice Sitting in Traffic

PJZ2196

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To all you guys with experience driving Mercedes with Auto (Tiptronic) Gearboxes.

When sitting in traffic, or at the lights, which of the following is best......?

Option [a] Select Neutral when stationary to prevent any unneccesary wear on the torque converter and then select Drive and wait until it engages just before taking off again.

Option Stay in Drive when stationary and hold the car on the brake pedal, allowing a faster smoother getaway when you are ready to move again.

I have heard conflicting advice about this. A Mercedes technician told me that keeping it in DRIVE and holding the car on the brake pedal heats the gearbox and wears the torque converter. Other Mercedes owners have said they asked the same question and were told by different MB technicians that the gearbox is delibrately designed to stay in DRIVE and be held on the brake and this facilitates a better take off.

What are your opinions guys???
 

turbopete

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unless im going to be stationary for a long time, i leave it in drive.
 

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If stationary for a short time then I leave it in Drive but if its a long wait then Neutral.
 

PeterCLK

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The owners manual says leave it in drive if it's for a short time.
However, if it's dark then your brake lights will probably annoy the person behind.
 
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PJZ2196

PJZ2196

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I certainly agree with the brake lights being annoying. I noticed myself blinded by a c-class one night especially the led strip on the lip of the boot-lid. Since then I have noticed other drivers behind me wincing at me for the same reason.
 
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I stay in Drive. That's one of the points of having an auto.
 

television

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Wasn't there a thread on 'How to drive an auto' on here a while back?
6 pages of sage advice :D

That was a very long thread.

In the last 49 years I have only had auto's, I have never taken the car out of D yet,,it just wears everything out in the drive chain.

If the brake lights in front are bright,,look at something else instead
 

matthewm1965

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I always leave it in Drive, but at night time use the parking brake to hold it, purely as a courtesy to the driver behind. There is nothing worse on a wet dark night than being dazzled by the driver in front sat with their foot on the bakes.

This habit also keeps the parking brake freed up and stops it seizing due to lack of use.

Matt
 

whitenemesis

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I always leave it in Drive, but at night time use the parking brake to hold it, purely as a courtesy to the driver behind. There is nothing worse on a wet dark night than being dazzled by the driver in front sat with their foot on the bakes.

This habit also keeps the parking brake freed up and stops it seizing due to lack of use.

Matt

One could always use it when, erm, parking?
 

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With brake hold on the newer models you find you never take it out of Drive unless your going backwards or getting out. I never used to use the parking brake until I had a house with a drive on the slant, now I use it all the time when parking.
 
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whitenemesis

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With brake hold on the newer models you find you never take it out of park unless your going backwards or getting out. I never used to use the parking brake until I had a house with a drive on the slant, now I use it all the time when parking.

Hi Blobcat did you mean Drive?
 

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Its no good Blobcat is loosing his drive when parked
 

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But is is true though,if the bake lights are too bright in front, if you do not stop quite as close, and do not look at them, once the brake lights in front go out, you can just release you own foot brake and just move off as you would be in D anyway. In towns I use the Traffic lights, to sum up the road ahead, and anything else of interest. Also I can also be sitting in town traffic for any unknown length of time. If everyone went to P every time they stopped it would take much longer while the ones in front were looking for D and releasing the parking brake,
 

Alex M Grieve

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If everyone went to P every time they stopped it would take much longer while the ones in front were looking for D and releasing the parking brake,

Sadly Malcolm, it does take them much longer to find the gear and release the parking brake, both auto and manual drivers. Why does the sudden appearance of a green traffic light, in a predictable sequence which we can all recite, come as such a complete F***ing surprise to most motorists?

In the UK the lights sequence pauses for, let us say 20 seconds on green. For the reason above this lets between 3 and 5 motorists through.

In continental Europe, the sequence is much slower, so the traffic queue gets a much better chance to get going and 12-15 vehicles will get through, often clearing the queue.

Why can't we have a similar situation in the UK, whereby the traffic flow can be improved by simply observing human nature of this sort, and allowing for it?

We might also try "turning left on a red" when there is no traffic coming, and flashing amber in all directions at a junction controlled by lights, off peak and at night. They work elsewhere and save us spending so much of our lives at red lights, watching fresh air.

We have very congested roads, and these are some of the possible remedies which we have not even heard suggested by the experts.
 

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Interesting point Alex on the traffic light change times,, in Germany and Holland so much longer than us
 

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I like the Spanish lights on the way into the small towns and villages, if you get down to the speed limit they don't go red, if you don't they turn red and you have to stop.
I think there is something similar in Denmark on crossroads.
 

matthewm1965

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There was an interesting situation around here last week when the traffic lights failed at a normally bad congestion junction. For that particular rush hour, the traffic flowed so much better with the lights not working.
 


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