Stroock639

one of my favorite features on a car... of course the european market E55s had this but over here we never got it lol

even the camry has brake hold now which is awesome, just the XLE model though i think

Stroock639

you're probably doing more stress to the car by continually going in and out of neutral, there's no issue with keeping it in drive that's what torque converters are for... it has the job of moving the entire car so just sitting at a light puts virtually no stress at all on it, however what you should not do is use the gas pedal to keep the car from rolling back instead of just holding the brakes

if anything you can get a car with an auto engine stop and then there's really no stress on the drivetrain when you're at a long light... i understand where you're coming from since i always try to take every measure possible to give my cars the best chance of lasting as long as possible, but yea just leave it in drive and fuggedaboutit

Stroock639

this is why i'll slowly inch forward (as you also do) if i've just had to come to an abrupt stop from a decent speed and or just had to brake decently hard after going down a long hill

generally i always just try to avoid having to brake hard in the first place lol... if one has to brake hard that generally means the speed was too much

Toys4RJill

I think putting your transmission into D, to P, then to D then P or N so many times per day is gonna be worse for your car than just sitting on the brakes

oilburner1

the common cause for warped rotors (or pulsating brakes that feel like warped rotors) on street cars are unevenly torqued wheels. Next is brake pad build up from cold brakes not hot ones. If you do get pulsing brakes it can usually be fixed by properly torquing the wheel, spraying the rotors with brake cleaner to remove the build up, and then performing several hard stops. And by hard I mean you have to do about 3-5 emergency stops from 80-90mph in a row.

Wilson2000

There are some good ideas here, but I don't agree with all of it. Yes, properly torqued wheels is of upmost importance and improper torquing can result in warped rotors.

In 50+ years of doing brake jobs, I've only seen a small fraction with "build up," so I don't see it as a major cause of "pulsating brakes," I see it as more of a symptom of other brake issues. Rotor warpage can contribute to, and even result in, build up. Doing 3-5 emergency stops from 80-90 mph, however, is not worth the wear and tear on the drive-train/tires, or the risk in tickets/accidents, in an effort to fix build up or pulsating brakes. Instead, I would turn or replace the rotors, use good quality pads, and go through a reasonable break-in/bed-in procedure.

Could coming to a long, hard stop and sitting at a long red light not only cause heat to be concentrated in one spot on the rotor, but also contribute to "build up?" Maybe. Just thinking out loud here. After all, one of the causes of build up occurs when pads overheat and the pad material breaks down and bonds to the rotor.

Dmaxdmax

I was actually thinking of the transmission and hydraulic system rather than the brakes themselves.

Is transmission better off in 1st or neutral?

is the hydraulic system better off under pressure?

Vladi

One thing that annoys me at red light is the sea of super-bright brake lights that makes my eyes hurt. To this day I don't know if its the law or manufacturer's lack of involvement but how hard it is to dim the all three brake lights once the car has been stationary for more than let's say 8 seconds? It's obvious you are not moving cause no one in front of you is moving, there is still middle brake light on which tells driver behind that you are holding the brake so there is no confusion.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

so you want to reduce long distance visibility for a stopped car? What if its raining and foggy outside? Its not obvious for someone driving up to a stopped car. Terrible idea

tex2670

excellent point

oilburner1

this is like asking should I stop using the extra rinse feature on my washing machine because it wears the machine out faster. By the time whatever random OCD things you do to try and protect a car that was already properly designed and engineered in the first place actually matter, the car will be a rusted apart piece of junk that you won't want to keep anyway. I'm sure there is someone peeling the seat protector off of some 80's car that they installed from day 1.

signdetres

The Mercedes S-Class does exactly this as a courtesy to vehicles stopped behind it, so that feature is out there, just incredibly rare. I think the 2014 W222 S-Class introduced this feature. I'm not sure if its spread to other models in their lineup but I would imagine it has by now.

tex2670

How it is "obvious" that a car that stationary for 8 seconds isn't moving? What if you are the second car to come upon that stopped car on a desolate road? What if it's raining, snowing or foggy? If it was "obvious" then there'd be very few rear-end collisions.

If you are adamant about this, then why are Euro cars allowed to have the rear fog light on constantly when it's not foggy? That's the intensity of a brake light, even when the brakes are off.

Dmaxdmax

It isn’t like that at all. I use extra rinse as needed, clearly the sitting at a light situation isn't about relative utility.

Why do guys think I’m OCD? I like thought experiments.

RXSF

I remember something going on with the brake lights in that vehicle, but I dont think its as them dimming after coming to a stop. I think it was part of Pre safe where if it sensed a rear collision, it would flash the brake lights. This feature didn't make it to the US because of regulation.