With Start-Stop technology, should I still put gear to neutral when stationary?

[SGTurbo]

Hi everyone,

I just acquired a W213 sedan. This is my first German car. All my last 3 rides had been the Toyota Altis. I was taught to put my gear to 'Neutral/Park' when stationary at traffic light so that I can protect the transmission.

For the W213, I understand that it is based on torque converter and does not have any mechanical coupling between the engine and the transmission. May I know if it is still valid to maintain the same practice of 'Neutral/Park' when stationary to minimise the wear/tear or will the 'start/stop' function perform the same task?

Thank you.

 

[Yaz]

You should not be putting your car in neutral.

All Mercedes vehicles have a hold function. Whenever you come to a stop, press your brake pedal harder till you see the hold light on your dash.

 

[SGTurbo]

You should not be putting your car in neutral.

All Mercedes vehicles have a hold function. Whenever you come to a stop, press your brake pedal harder till you see the hold light on your dash.

I understand about the Hold function. Does the torque converter disengages the transmission during the Hold?

 

[fortuner]

Hi everyone,

I just acquired a W213 sedan. This is my first German car. All my last 3 rides had been the Toyota Altis. I was taught to put my gear to 'Neutral/Park' when stationary at traffic light so that I can protect the transmission.

For the W213, I understand that it is based on torque converter and does not have any mechanical coupling between the engine and the transmission. May I know if it is still valid to maintain the same practice of 'Neutral/Park' when stationary to minimise the wear/tear or will the 'start/stop' function perform the same task?

Thank you.

No need to put in Neutral the reply above is perfect to your question

Can you say which model and spec you have ordered.

 

[Giannis]

If I understand correctly your MB comes with an automatic transmission, right?

Did you other cars had an automatic transmission as well?

 

[Eng.ahad]

I think you guys dont understand his question, he is asking whether the hold function disengages the toque convertor and thus its the same as putting the car into neutral, other wise there will be mechincal restriction and wear on long term of using the car, same as if u engage the first gear and retrict its movment through brakes.
I understand your answer perfectly but I dont have the answer for it to be honest.

PS: I also own W213 E400

 

[AndreB]

You don't need to put the car in neutral.

When the engine is idling the oil pressure in torque convertor is very low and the wear is minimal.
For example under hard acceleration the wear is much higher.

The best way to protect your transmission is to drive gently and change the oil.

 

[SGTurbo]

No need to put in Neutral the reply above is perfect to your question

Can you say which model and spec you have ordered.

I got the E200 Sedan W213. I went to read up on a couple of sites. I agree with the advice that there is no need to put to Neutral.

I wanted to understand better what happens mechanically when the car is in Hold mode. I had a discussion with my friends and there was a school of thought that putting an automatic car in Neutral mode while at the traffic lights would reduce wear and tear on the transmission. So I wanted to understand better the technical details so that I can share with my friends.

 

[SGTurbo]

I think you guys dont understand his question, he is asking whether the hold function disengages the toque convertor and thus its the same as putting the car into neutral, other wise there will be mechincal restriction and wear on long term of using the car, same as if u engage the first gear and retrict its movment through brakes.
I understand your answer perfectly but I dont have the answer for it to be honest.

PS: I also own W213 E400

Thank you! I found my answer after trawling google - 'Do torque converter cause wear and tear on transmission?'

Too difficult for me to explain here. Would need a couple of good pictures and diagrams. But my conclusion is - better to use the Hold function and it will not cause wear and tear on the transmission because the torque converter should be designed to stop moving when the computer detects that the car is stationary. This is a new concept to me as I have not been keeping myself updated on how car transmission work since the CVT in my Honda Civic back in early 2000.

 

[SGTurbo]

You don't need to put the car in neutral.

When the engine is idling the oil pressure in torque convertor is very low and the wear is minimal.
For example under hard acceleration the wear is much higher.

The best way to protect your transmission is to drive gently and change the oil.

Thank you. I will do that as part of the maintenance regime. Good advice. I found out that the wear and tear from the transmission will result in tiny metal bits from the gear getting into the tranmissiom oil. There are actually two magnets to filter them out. So changing transmission filter based on the maintenance schedule is also important.

 

[SGTurbo]

If I understand correctly your MB comes with an automatic transmission, right?

Did you other cars had an automatic transmission as well?

Yes. My MB comes with an automatic transmission however I think the technology is different from the automatic cars that I am used to in the 2000 Honda Civic (continuous variable transmission) and 2009 Toyota Altis (i think it is also CVT.).

So this car is a step-up for me in terms of technology and I would like to find out how I can better maintain the car.

 

[SGTurbo]

Yes. My MB comes with an automatic transmission however I think the technology is different from the automatic cars that I am used to in the 2000 Honda Civic (continuous variable transmission) and 2009 Toyota Altis (i think it is also CVT.).

So this car is a step-up for me in terms of technology and I would like to find out how I can better maintain the car.

Minor edit: I switched to Toyota Collora in 2003 and then to Toyota Altis (renamed from Collora in my country) in 2006 and finally to my current Altis in 2009.