In a car with an automatic transmission, you start creeping forward as soon as you lift your foot off the brake. When you’re in Drive, but standing still with the brakes stopping the car, how does the engine avoid wearing down the first gear?
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The gear itself doesn’t wear at all from static force, since it’s just pieces of metal meshing with each other but not moving. They can wear a bit from turning under power, though this is pretty negligible in vehicle transmissions that are working properly.
I think you’re thinking of clutches. Manual transmission cars use clutches which physically slip to start from a stop. If you left one partially engaged while braked at a full stop, it would indeed wear very fast, so don’t do that. Automatic transmission cars use torque converters, which as described in the other posts is a fluid coupling instead of a mechanical slippage, so it doesn’t wear significantly from exerting force while the car is held at a stop by the brakes.
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