Traffic lights (etc) best practice - Auto Hold or N?

In this scenario I'd suggest putting foot on brake, select reverse, then press down the "handbrake" switch to disengage the parking brake. Then you can control the reversing with the brake pedal rather than the accelerator. (I'm imagining you're wanting to reverse slightly downhill to allow you space to pull out from the car parked in front).

Actually, when thinking about it, I would guess your parking brake light (on the actual switch) still light up red when you put it in reverse, as long as you are on an incline. Then you need to press the parking brake switch to turn it off (after reverse is selected), then you can reverse without a bang.

Auto hold every time, its not as if you have a clutch to burn out !

In all my life I cannot recall even once being annoyed by the brake lights of a car which was in front of me at traffic lights.

Baldytone said:

I always use auto hold, I live on a slight hill, when I stop I engage park using tho centre button on gear selector, when I drive off I put in reverse and the car stays still until I put pressure on the accelerator then it jumps back alarmingly, what am I doing wrong?

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Probably just a bit of brake binding

Rolfe said:

In all my life I cannot recall even once being annoyed by the brake lights of a car which was in front of me at traffic lights.

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I was mulling this over earlier, this thread popped in to mind for some reason.

I generally use auto-hold day and night (guessing this always illuminates the brake lights?), not because I'm not courteous, though I've never been bothered by anybody's brake lights, ever, so it just doesn't occur to use the 'finger brake' at night. Maybe we should take a poll

It's interesting to learn that some folk might be annoyed by them, everyday's a schoolday

I've never been bothered by brake lights either, which is why that doesn't bother me. The MG4 does not have particularly bright or big brake lights and the big one is the rear light bar that comes on with the side lights (on a Trophy).

richlove said:

I was mulling this over earlier, this thread popped in to mind for some reason.

I generally use auto-hold day and night (guessing this always illuminates the brake lights?), not because I'm not courteous, though I've never been bothered by anybody's brake lights, ever, so it just doesn't occur to use the 'finger brake' at night. Maybe we should take a poll

It's interesting to learn that some folk might be annoyed by them, everyday's a schoolday

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If you’re on a motorcycle in the rain with a wet visor then brake lights are very dazzling when waiting behind a car. Does not bother me too much in the car. But I use the hand brake at traffic lights.

Rolfe said:

In all my life I cannot recall even once being annoyed by the brake lights of a car which was in front of me at traffic lights.

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I can, some of those Mercs with far too bright brake lights that are like fog lights.

Bricktop X PWR said:

If it's daylight I use Autohold.
If it's night time I use the handbrake but leave it in D.
Saves burning your brake lights into the following driver's retinas.

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my brake lights don't come on in auto hold

Kayged said:

my brake lights don't come on in auto hold

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ZS?

dsr said:

ZS?

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Mine is the ZS Exclusive mk1 and when the auto hold is on the car remains stationary and the brake lights go out when I remove my foot from the brake pedal. The auto hold does not seem to work on my wife's ZS Trophy LR, the car creeps forward when she removes her foot from the brake. Not sure if that is because she hasn't got it set up right or not as she won't let me touch any of the controls as they are all set up exactly how she wants them lol.

Burgo said:

Anyone got a take on best practice when stopping at the likes of traffic lights? We just press the brake until Auto Hold comes on (or if using One Pedal Driving let it come on automatically). I'm not sure, though, if best practice isn't to shift into N though. The manual, as ever, seems ambiguous - see extracts below.

The Gear Shift Control section says: "N Neutral Select this gear when the vehicle is stationary (for example, waiting for traffic lights)."

The Auto Hold section says: "If the vehicle is required to stop frequently for long periods while driving (such as wait at the traffic lights, stop on a slope or stop and go with traffic), the Auto Hold function can assist you in stabilising the vehicle, enabling you to remove your foot from the brake pedal when the vehicle is stationary and the Auto Hold active."

Any thoughts, anyone?

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Keeping in mind switching to N doesn't provide any braking effect or lock up the drivetrain, you would have to also apply the electronic parking brake to remain stationary safely.

Some things to keep in mind are
- cars with electronic 'gear' selectors can behave unpredictably when shifting quickly between different modes and back again, which will eventually happen, e.g. when a traffic light changes to green just at the moment you selected P or N, if you immediately select D it might not engage, potentially leading to a breif moment of confusion and a delay
- even a minor bump when stationary in P has a real risk of causing damage to the drivetrain since it is locked up and so takes a shock force (with or without a brake applied)

I would suggest leave it in D with either auto-hold or apply the electronic parking break, depending on your preference. Worth also noting that if you keep stationary in D using just a light application of the foot brake but not enough to activate auto-hold, then creep mode will still be engaged (indicated by a power output above 0%) and you'll be needlessly wasting some energy/range (albeit only minor).

As a aside, using N when stationary was essential on some robotised manuals (dual-clutch, DCT, DSG, etc.) as when stopped in D they would be engaged at the biting point ready to pull away, and so it wouldn't take long to cremate the multiple clutches they used, which is usually an expensive repair!

Burgo said:

Anyone got a take on best practice when stopping at the likes of traffic lights? We just press the brake until Auto Hold comes on (or if using One Pedal Driving let it come on automatically). I'm not sure, though, if best practice isn't to shift into N though. The manual, as ever, seems ambiguous - see extracts below.

The Gear Shift Control section says: "N Neutral Select this gear when the vehicle is stationary (for example, waiting for traffic lights)."

The Auto Hold section says: "If the vehicle is required to stop frequently for long periods while driving (such as wait at the traffic lights, stop on a slope or stop and go with traffic), the Auto Hold function can assist you in stabilising the vehicle, enabling you to remove your foot from the brake pedal when the vehicle is stationary and the Auto Hold active."

Any thoughts, anyone?

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I have never bothered moving into neutral - either with my EV or when driving a fossil fuel automatic. Auto hold works nicely and allows a smarter getaway .