Quote:
Originally Posted by Markm10431
just out of curiosity, can you kill the engine while the car is in gear and moving? will the auto tranny actually shift into neutral while underway and the accelerator is depressed?
will it downshift if you go to 2 or L? (assuming they have those gears)

there are a lot of wild stories and I'm jsut curious if those things CAN be done on a car that's "normal"




I rented a new Camry a few weeks ago to go to Vegas and tested all of this out actually.

Yes, you can kill the engine ANYTIME, in any gear, and at any speed.
The transmission will shift into neutral from ANY gear, under ANY speed, even when the accelerator is depressed.
The transmission will NOT shift into a lower gear if the car is going too fast (so when I was doing 100 it would not shift into 2nd).
I also tested the brakes while doing WOT from about 80mph, stopped the car just fine twice in a row, although the second time took longer than the first.





Interesting post and why I'd never buy a rental car.

 

I agree with both of your points....

 

You know the difference between a 4WD truck and rental car? The rental car will go ANYWHERE.

 

buying a rental car is like going to a ***** house looking for a good wife.

 

^ or prison

 

LOL at the rental car responses...

As for the tests he ran, it is good proof as how there is always a way to stop a car.

These stories of runaway cars is a simple case of driver error combined with a panic situation. The most surprising story is the cop in the rental ES. A trained driver who is supposed to be ready for emergency driving and he doesn't know to put it in neutral, or to just jam on the brakes once (not pump them), simply turn the car off, ect...

 

turning the car off would probably be dangerous as the steering wheel would lock, the best thing to do is put it in neutral and stop the car then turn it off

 

Thanks for this informative thread, always told my friends to stay clear of rentals !

 

And that is why if im traveling somewhere i'd rather take public transportation or just walk

 

At speed, there are very limited shifting options. Putting the car into park or reverse while moving would be like putting the car in neutral. The computer will not allow those shifts if the car is moving. Shutting off the engine while moving forward will not engage the steering lock. IIRC, the steering lock only engages when the car is stopped and in park, and the drivers door is opened.
Yes, the car can be brought safely to a stop quite quickly, even at full throttle.

 

I knew a snot nosed 18 year old with a Z4 who thought it was great fun to be the hell out of the loaner cars. Real mature right?