Shifting to neutral to avoid engine braking

There is no engine braking unless you shift to B. You're over thinking it; just drive the car and let the computer take care of the details.

 

I find it pretty easy to lightly touch the gas, with the aim of dispelling regen braking. Stick at it, you'll be doing it without thinking.

I rarely find the regen braking getting in my way, anyway. Mainly if I'm doing something like trying to coast to red light, and find I'm slowing too soon. Then I'll just touch the gas; you can see the little blip of regen disappear on the HSD bar.

 

I personally avoid N at all times, but that is not what you asked.

No gears change between D and N, in N no electricity is sent to or received from the motors, so the engine has nothing to push against.
It certainly does not wear out the transmission, the only reason I hear of folks changing the shifter is vanity, not excessive wear.

I encourage you to not spend any time in N as N does not charge the big battery. By avoiding the free regen electricity during slowing, you condemn the engine to generating electricity using gasoline.

 

Just leave in "D" and call it a day!!

 

Primus,
Yes, you can shift to N and get the same effect as gliding without having to worry about pedal placement. There is a guy on here name Bob Wilson who uses this technique and has been for years. He has not worn out his shifter but he has netted numerous 1000 mile tanks. YMMV.

The Gen 1 does not beep at you but won't shift into reverse at speed.

 

gen II does not have the his gauge either, it is very helpful.

 

yup.

 

I don't know about the vulnerabilities of shifting the Gen 1 into P at speed, I never tried it. lol

As for the scenario above, you can do that all day long with the Gen 1. You have to remember, they don't understand you because the Gen II glides way better than the Gen I. The Gen I is hard to get into a glide so neutral is a viable option. Just remember, if you shift to N at 55, the ICE will still be spinning (no fuel use but resistance associated with crank and cam etc) due to rpm restrictions on MG1 (the ICE must spin above 42mph to protect MG1). Despite all of that, you will not cause any problems for the car and there is no problem with doing that.

 

there is no 'safety feature' to shifting into Park at speed. the pawl would shear off inside the transaxle and truly jam up, possibly exploding gears. are you serious? Put it into Park at speed? just remember push the brakes hard enough and the brakes STOP the car, even a Prius.

 

Is the 'c' or Gen1 different on this than the modern Liftback?

I've hit Park and Reverse numerous times at highway speed on both my GenIII Liftbacks. No problem, it immediately defaults to a self-protective Neutral with a double beep warning. This is actually faster than trying to deliberately shift to Neutral. I practice it just to be ready for the mythical 'Sudden Unintended Acceleration' -- something I have experienced in an older car.

 

i meant no disrespect. coincidentally, i got my c one base without cruise control especially because i did not want the unintended accelleration problems i read about. but i had a friend who did put a Passat into park at speed,,, eventually it caught and locked the wheels. not good.
and as times goes on, my "c" seems to be more inspired by Prius than actual Prius. we shall c

 

Unfortunately, the absence of cruise control won't protect you from most actual and potential causes of unintended acceleration.