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I will say that I took my Subaru out yesterday intending to try and switch to neutral, this after hearing about this controversy, and it took a monumental act o

by rajat 17y ago

I will say that I took my Subaru out yesterday intending to try and switch to neutral, this after hearing about this controversy, and it took a monumental act of will to actually do it. I was really scared that I would shift into reverse and harm my car. Finally decided to pay heed to my fears and didn't do it until after I had tested just how much pressure it takes to do the switch while standing still with my feet on the brakes. I don't mean this to say that I defend Mr. Sikes, but the fact that reverse is just one up from neutral is kind of scary. Just how careful would you have to be to avoid doing the shift? Is there a check in the system that prohibits shifting to reverse if the car is moving forwards?

MrFoof 17y ago
Modern automatic transmissions will not switch from forward gears to reverse abruptly. They even won't engage a lower gear until your speed is low enough so the engine doesn't over-rev. Even virtually all manual transmissions have interlocks preventing an accidental shift into reverse (though this is a very difficult mistake on a 6-speed).
cheald 17y ago
I can't speak for the Prius, but my Grand Prix has a shifter with a button that I have to depress to go into any gear _except_ neutral. I can just slap at the shifter and pop it into neutral without any fear that I'd over-shift into reverse.
- baguasquirrel 17y ago
  I'm pretty sure that this feature is standard on every modern car that doesn't suck (i.e. everything we have here in the States). I've yet to drive a car that didn't have it.
deleted 17y ago
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tlrobinson 17y ago
You weren't in any danger though. If your car were stuck at full throttle you might feel differently. A few years ago my car's throttle did get stuck (not a Toyota, due to my own stupidity) and after a few seconds of shock the thing that seemed most rational to me was to pop into neutral and apply the brakes. It worked just fine. I remember hearing somewhere that cars won't let you go into reverse above a certain speed [citation needed].

by rajat 17y ago

MrFoof 17y ago

Modern automatic transmissions will not switch from forward gears to reverse abruptly. They even won't engage a lower gear until your speed is low enough so the engine doesn't over-rev. Even virtually all manual transmissions have interlocks preventing an accidental shift into reverse (though this is a very difficult mistake on a 6-speed).

cheald 17y ago

I can't speak for the Prius, but my Grand Prix has a shifter with a button that I have to depress to go into any gear _except_ neutral. I can just slap at the shifter and pop it into neutral without any fear that I'd over-shift into reverse.

baguasquirrel 17y ago
I'm pretty sure that this feature is standard on every modern car that doesn't suck (i.e. everything we have here in the States). I've yet to drive a car that didn't have it.

deleted 17y ago

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tlrobinson 17y ago

You weren't in any danger though. If your car were stuck at full throttle you might feel differently. A few years ago my car's throttle did get stuck (not a Toyota, due to my own stupidity) and after a few seconds of shock the thing that seemed most rational to me was to pop into neutral and apply the brakes. It worked just fine. I remember hearing somewhere that cars won't let you go into reverse above a certain speed [citation needed].