[jnewberg02]

I have an 05 mazda tribute 6 cyl awd. If I coast in neutral, the rpm's stay at whatever rpm they would be if I was actually in drive. If I roll over a hill, the rpm's will go higher. It appears to actually be in neutral, and pressing the gas pedal does absolutely nothing to the wheels.

Is this normal for these cars? If so, it would seem bad for gas mileage, as coasting down mountains is a great gas saver.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[LX302]

Not sure of your question.
When you say you roll over a hill, are you in drive or neutral? Do you mean to say that your in drive and when you approach a hill, it feels like it's in neutral, coming out of gear?

 

[jnewberg02]

Thanks for the reply! Let me try to clarify. I will be in neutral trying to roll down a hill, and the rpm's will actually rise as the vehicle picks up speed. The rpm's seem to correlate exactly with the rpm's the engine would be at if it were in drive.

Does that help?

 

[rehctelf]

Not a mechanic of course but I wonder if the locking torque converter in the Escape would cause this. It may not dis-engage shifting from drive to neutral while the vehicle is in motion. I've never tried this myself, rolling country side around here but certainly not hilly.

 

[jnewberg02]

I'm not a mechanic either, but it is definitely in neutral while coasting. The gas pedal has no effect on the wheels and revs freely. I guess it's a possibly the torque converter has something to do with it though.

 

[LX302]

OK, that's clears it up. So no real problem that your having. I know coasting in neutral was standard practice at one time going down hills, but I feel there is no real benefit from doing so. Your not really saving money on gas and using up your brake parts more to slow down vs using the drivetrain to lower your speeds.
My only concern with doing what your doing, is if you need to avoid something while traveling down the hill and you can't hit the gas quickly because your in neutral.