so i was driving down the highway and i tried to put my car in neutral cuz i was going down a hill and was going coast. no big deal right? but i accidently went too far and threw it into reverse. now my car wont back up and makes a grinding sound. btw its a 91 accord lx. how ****ed am I? is this fixable?

 

Ouch, bet that made a loud noise. My guess is you probably grinded reverse gear off. A new transmission is more than likely in order.

 

I'm saying...sounds like new trans is in store for that ride..

 

umm yeah I will never attempt to put it in neutral for that reason...

 

Yup, replacement transmission for sure; you can probably find a good used one in a bone yard for a couple of hundred dollars.

Regarding neutral and coasting; don't waste your time doing that. Why?

• It is illegal in most states.
• The engine actually uses more fuel than if you coast in gear due to the fact that the fuel injectors are required to inject fuel when the engine is idling (when you're in neutral), however, the fuel injectors are shut off when you're coasting down hill in gear because the momentum of the car keeps the engine turning.

 

Yet another reason not to try and "hypermile" cars to improve mileage. Save a penny, spend a grand.