Auto box and neutral

1. As with all automatics, one cannot start engine or change to [D]rive or [R]everse without pressing on brake paddle - this is a standard safety measure (however it can be change to [N]eutral only without pressing brake when in D or R mode). So it's a mute point putting car in reverse while driving forward at any given speed. Unless one wants to be creative and see if this can rip the gear box.

2. Cruising on neutral is possible but not advised as it may not engage to back to Drive mode if attempted, that's range rover specs, (all other 23 brands I've owned in my life were all capable to go back and forth D to N to D - only this sequence). With Evoque the only way to go back to D from N while driving is to stop, dial back to [P]ark mode and then back to [D].

Off note if one tried to open drivers door on high speed, the gear automatically goes back to Park mode and may cause gear box failure. This was advised by one of the LR manager.

Last but not lease, if evoque is out of battery, there is no way to put car in neutral.

thx

(17-02-2013 03:44am)invoke Wrote:  Off note if one tried to open drivers door on high speed, the gear automatically goes back to Park mode and may cause gear box failure. This was advised by one of the LR manager.

I opened the drivers door when driving at high speed yesterday... Thought my door was open, by the sound of the wind noise. Sometimes the 'right door open' warning light does not light up in the console.
I only opened it a little and slammed it shut quickly.. The car was still in gear.. I presume that the gear only goes into park mode if its opened too wide, and thus would cause the gear box failure..
Thanks for this info... Will now wait to open/shut doors when the car comes to a stand still.

(17-02-2013 03:44am)invoke Wrote:  1. As with all automatics, one cannot start engine or change to [D]rive or [R]everse without pressing on brake paddle - this is a standard safety measure (however it can be change to [N]eutral only without pressing brake when in D or R mode). So it's a mute point putting car in reverse while driving forward at any given speed. Unless one wants to be creative and see if this can rip the gear box.

2. Cruising on neutral is possible but not advised as it may not engage to back to Drive mode if attempted, that's range rover specs, (all other 23 brands I've owned in my life were all capable to go back and forth D to N to D - only this sequence). With Evoque the only way to go back to D from N while driving is to stop, dial back to [P]ark mode and then back to [D].

Off note if one tried to open drivers door on high speed, the gear automatically goes back to Park mode and may cause gear box failure. This was advised by one of the LR manager.

Last but not lease, if evoque is out of battery, there is no way to put car in neutral.

thx

1)
Actually you can. If the car is traveling faster than 10 km/h, the rotary selector can move freely anywhere between D-N-R, however if an opposite direction gear mode is selected (R when driving forward or D when driving backwards), it will not engage and clutch is released (just like in neutral) unless the speed falls below 5 km/h.

2)
At 10 km/h or less, if you turn the knob from D to N, it will be locked at N after 2 seconds but you can always return the selector back to D anytime by depressing the brake pedal to unlock (just a light touch on the pedal will do).

Off note)
That is not true, the only time the gear automatically goes to P is when the engine is shut down and the selector is at any position other than N, the rotary selector immediately returns to P and retracts. If the selector is at N when the engine stops, the car will wait 10 minutes before returning to P and retracts. This 10 minutes delay allows for a drive-through car washes and the likes. If the car is locked with the selector at N, it will immediately return to P and retracts, the 10 minutes delay is disregarded.

Last but not least)
Of course there is a way. There is a small lever to manually select the gear between P or N. This knob is located on the GSM (Gear Shift Module) which is above the gear box. However, you'll need to remove the air cleaner box to access the GSM.

(17-02-2013 07:40am)jitenc Wrote:  I opened the drivers door when driving at high speed yesterday... Thought my door was open, by the sound of the wind noise. Sometimes the 'right door open' warning light does not light up in the console.
I only opened it a little and slammed it shut quickly.. The car was still in gear.. I presume that the gear only goes into park mode if its opened too wide, and thus would cause the gear box failure..
Thanks for this info... Will now wait to open/shut doors when the car comes to a stand still.

t:At very high speed it will probably not be possible to close the door at all.

In Piper light aircraft if the door opens (not uncommon) the lower pressure in the slipstream at creates enough suction to hold the door an inch or so from the frame, while the increased drag makes it next to impossible to open it far enough to slam with any authority - you have to try this to believe it. It is not a big deal though, just noisy and embarrassing to have to return to land to close it.

(17-02-2013 12:22pm)Bowl Wrote:  There is a small lever to manually select the gear between P or N. This knob is located on the GSM (Gear Shift Module) which is above the gear box. However, you'll need to remove the air cleaner box to access the GSM.

This is very interesting and helpful piece of information! Thank you for sharing.

Any pics how to remove air cleaner box and access this lever?

The rest I wrote is from my personal experience and info provided by LR service people. I'm not crazy enough to try such high risk maneuvers....

Thanks again !!

(17-02-2013 03:45pm)invoke Wrote:  This is very interesting and helpful piece of information! Thank you for sharing.

Any pics how to remove air cleaner box and access this lever?

The rest I wrote is from my personal experience and info provided by LR service people. I'm not crazy enough to try such high risk maneuvers....

Thanks again !!

I've look through my manuals again and I would like to correct what I've said. The lever (to switch between P and N is on the TCM (Transmission Control Module) which is under the GSM, not on the GSM as previously stated. So you'll need to remove the air cleaner box and the GSM to access this lever.

However, if your battery is not completely flat (electrical power is still available), a much easier way to put the transmission into service mode is to 1) switch on the ignition 2) hold the + shift paddle while simultaneously depressing the brake pedal continually for 10 seconds, this will allow the rotary selector to rise - then you can select N.

These info can be found on TOPIx, which I would like to share but my Dropbox is completely full, so please check it out yourself (sorry).

I have paid my $$$ to read most of the information I had to share with you guys (and to battle those clueless mechanics), but it seems your LR people who have free access to even deeper goodies don't even bother to get their facts straight.

And yes, I've tried those 'high risk' maneuvers. I guess I've earned the crazy badge? LOL

EDITED: I've found this instead, follow the link below and scroll down to page 36.
http://www.volvologistics.com/SiteCollec...ue%201.pdf

(17-02-2013 05:14pm)Bowl Wrote:  EDITED: I've found this instead, follow the link below and scroll down to page 36.
http://www.volvologistics.com/SiteCollec...ue%201.pdf

Thanks for sharing the link.... p35-40 printed and stored in glove box.

more on JLR handling and transportation.... clique ici

As there are so many variations of auto box available these days they all have their little quirks. i always recommend to Associates doing our IAM course to read their manual to see what the manufacturer recommends for optimal usage.
I am pretty certain that non of the manuals will recommend sticking it in neutral and coasting, having said that Porsche have introduced a freewheeling feature on some of its auto cars, but as soom as the driver touches the throttle or brake the drive is re engaged
As I said its best to RTFM
@boltoniam

Thanks Bowl, what's interesting is in event of flat battery replacement of the Battery says nothing about resetting the Alternator Charging System.

I've done the occasional coasting. I used it to save fuel once as we wouldn't have made it to our destination if I hadn't. It was in my ex her car and she refused to fuel before leaving on a 200km trip I used it on motorways to go downhill. If it's steep enough you don't lose speed, whereas you do because of the drag if you leave it in gear.

Another use is when approaching traffic lights. You put it in neutral to save fuel and you can make it to the lights since there is no drag. However, as said earlier, you can't put it back in D from neutral without pressing the brake pedal, if you're below a certain speed. You look a bit like a tosser if you press the brake when the lights hit green

My dealer also said it was a good idea to put it in neutral when there is a long wait to save the clutch, which seems obvious to me. This habit has a little catch as I found out last week. I was waiting at a traffic light and decided to reach for something at the passenger side. For safety reasons I selected park. Great, but when I drove off, as I selected the next gear without looking, which now was reverse instead of drive Only moved an inch or so, but still I felt silly, probably because I was.

The main argument against coasting is safety. If the car loses grip your safety systems can't correct anything.