Coasting in Neutral Doesn’t Actually Save Gas

It’s not your imagination: gas prices have steadily risen this summer. While they are (thankfully) still much lower than they were in the summer of 2022 , when gas approached $5 a gallon, it makes sense to save fuel when you can. And while there are many ways to do this , coasting in neutral is not one of them.

What is fuel economy?

Before we move on to driving in neutral, let’s talk about fuel economy.

The way we drive affects our car’s fuel economy , or how far a car can go on a given amount of fuel. For example, according to the Kelley Blue Book , the faster you drive, the more gas you consume—even in the most economical cars.

Similarly, all the stops and starts associated with driving in the city (rather than on the highway) force your engine to work harder and make you burn fuel faster.

This is why many people have become accustomed to conservative driving : for example, avoiding patterns such as unnecessary and rapid acceleration followed by hard braking.

Why coasting in neutral doesn’t save gas

In an attempt to ride conservatively, some people prefer to coast in neutral rather than gear when going downhill, thinking it saves gas. But whether your car is mechanical or automatic, it is not.

Here’s how Chris Rosales of The Drive explains it :

Modern vehicles cut off the fuel supply when coasting in gear. When you crumple in neutral, the [ECU] has to inject fuel and burn it to keep the engine idling. When you coast in gear, the car’s momentum causes the engine to spin, not the fuel in the tank.

What about old cars? Some models that are over 30 years old can use less fuel idling in neutral than in gear , Rosales said, but that really depends on the car.

Driving in neutral is also unsafe.

Mike Allen explains in Popular Mechanics that in addition to using more fuel, coasting in neutral is also unsafe. Let’s say you encounter an unexpected danger on the road: in order to avoid it, you need to know how to use the accelerator. “Cars don’t handle well in neutral during tight turns when the engine isn’t connected to the transmission,” he notes.

Conclusion: coasting in gear is actually more economical than driving in neutral, which also proves to be unsafe.