Switched to neutral whilst driving at speed

[timpharrison]

This happened to me yesterday on 2020.40.3. I was driving between 30 and 40 mph and somehow switched into neutral. Took my foot of the accelerator expecting to regen brake and the car just coasted. I then noticed the “press brake pedal and shift to drive or reverse” message.

I had possibly just turned autopilot off (right stalk up) so perhaps did something wrong and shifted to neutral? Not sure it should be possible to do this at speed though.

Tim

 

[NorfolkMustard]

right-stalk-up and and let go = autosteer & TACC off
right-stalk-up and pause = neutral

You can get back into drive without stopping IIRC

 

[ajp558]

I think if you push the right stalk up and hold it there too long it will switch to neutral. I hope you manged to put it back into drive again quickly, or you came to a safe stop?

 

[timpharrison]

Thanks - managed to shift back to drive in time - just surprised me.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Have you managed to press the parking brake button on the end of that stalk?

I have ... It applies emergency brakes!

 

[ChickenDipper]

Im not sure that should even be possible!! Struggling to think of a legitimate case for it.

 

[s88ats]

Curious to know if it's possible to put it back in drive once in neutral without having to press the brake. Has anyone tried it?

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Yes and yes

 

[Adopado]

Yes and yes

.. and yes!

 

[s88ats]

I'm guessing: Hold right gear stalk down and pause?

 

[Neilio]

Im not sure that should even be possible!! Struggling to think of a legitimate case for it.

Out of spec motoring did it once. Had a downhill stretch and when he went into neutral the car held a steady speed. Good way of saving energy but in the UK I imagine the places you can use the trick are few and far between

 

[Durzel]

Last time I did this by accident the car complained about being put in gear whilst in motion (or something). Obviously in a regular car if you tried to put it the wrong gear from neutral whilst moving it would end pretty badly, but I have no idea how this works on an EV.

Is it likely to cause damage going into neutral and then drive again? Am keen to try and scrub off the crud from my brake discs on a steep hill from time to time.

 

[RichieC]

Have you managed to press the parking brake button on the end of that stalk?

I have ... It applies emergency brakes!

The first time i did this, I was intending to use the window washers .. just imagine my surprise! ;-)

But once i had discovered it, you can actually do handbrake turns in this car! (Not that i can condone such behavior)

 

[UncleCreepy]

Neutral in an EV is not quite the same as neutral in an ICE car. It won't physically disconnect the motor from the wheels, instead it just doesn't apply any power to the motor(s).
It is perfectly safe to go back to "D" while the car is still moving and it isn't necessary to press the brake pedal unless the car has stopped or is moving at very low speed.

 

[MrBadger]

Various options for changing into various 'gears' which in an ICE may cause issues.

Reverse
Push the lever all the way up and release. You can only shift into Reverse when Model 3 is stopped or moving less than 8 km/h. If moving less than 1.6 km/h, you must press the brake.

Drive
Push the lever all the way down and release. You can shift into Drive when Model 3 is stopped or moving less than 8 km/h in Reverse. If Model 3 is moving less than 1.6 km/h, you must press the brake to shift into Drive.

 

[Gasaraki]

This happened to me yesterday on 2020.40.3. I was driving between 30 and 40 mph and somehow switched into neutral. Took my foot of the accelerator expecting to regen brake and the car just coasted. I then noticed the “press brake pedal and shift to drive or reverse” message.

I had possibly just turned autopilot off (right stalk up) so perhaps did something wrong and shifted to neutral? Not sure it should be possible to do this at speed though.

Tim

You can go to N at speed IN ANY CAR.

 

[Rockster]

You can go to N at speed IN ANY CAR.

This.

I was just about to say this. I’m not sure why there’s confusion. I thought it was common knowledge.

 

[Adopado]

This.

I was just about to say this. I’m not sure why there’s confusion. I thought it was common knowledge.

I don't think there is any confusion. The OP was just surprised that it was possible to go into neutral at speed (in a software controlled electric car) when there would be no design requirement for this and could leave you without drive at a time when you needed it ... which could therefore have a safety implication in some circumstances.