Eli5 Why do cars move at all when in drive without the accelerator being used. I’m not talking cruise control.
In: 42
In the old days when you wanted to stop, you’d press in the clutch or shift to neutral.
When automatic transmissions were invented they needed an automatic way to stop without shifting.
The torque converter was invented to fill this need. It’s basically a slip coupling between the engine and transmission. This way the engine can always spin, even if you’re in drive and the car is stopped.
The consequence is that it always pushes the car forward a little, but you can easily overcome it with the brakes.
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