I drive a2005 Mazda 3 automatic transmission and I started and drove for about 2miles at 30mph in neutral, (by accident) it was making a really loud noise and no power, noise kept getting louder I thought I was losing the transmission or driveline or something so I pulled over stopped and discovered I was driving in neutral when I put it in drive it performed as usual. Question is did I do potential damage to my car and what should I be on the alert for?
Very obviously, you were not in neutral, because a car in neutral won’t move. It sounds like you were in first gear, and the transmission was not shifting up to second. Read your owner’s manual about the operation choices you can make as the operator that might have led to the non-shifting. Also, look carefully to see if the indicator for your gear shift is giving the appearance of being in neutral when it isn’t. So, the question is…how many different positions of the gear shift will allow the car to move forward…and what is each position used for? That is why I suggest reading the manual.
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,and I doubt if you did any damage. You were just hearing the engine at high RPM, and the engine probably has a mechanism to limit the RPM to prevent engine damage.
Driving in neutral is also known as “coasting.” You might maintain 30mph for 2 miles going downhill but not on level pavement. I’m inclined to more-or-less agree with @oldnotdeadyet that you were probably just in a lower gear than usual. There was likely no harm done. Assuming it’s an automatic, your Mazda 3 has a 4 speed transmission. It could have been in second gear. There could be a problem with the linkage between the shift lever and the transmission. A good independent transmission shop can tell you more.