The episode was the second highest-rated scripted program of the week behind The Simpsons which had received abnormally high ratings due to the NFL playoffs.

However, his stepfather Jay (Ed O'Neill) finds training wheels on the bike, set up by Manny's mother, Gloria (Sofía Vergara).

Seeing as this teaching method is a success, Luke does the same to his big sister Haley (Sarah Hyland) to get her to study, with Phil's consent.

Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) find out that they have a charming new neighbor named Barry (James Marsden) who has moved to the apartment above.

[6] In October 2010, William Keck of TV Guide reported that James Marsden would guest star on Modern Family as Cameron and Mitchell's new shirtless neighbor.

[6][8] The episode also featured a guest appearance from Jami Gertz, who played Laura, who was Phil's new client as well as the speedy driver.

[1] In its original American broadcast on January 5, 2011, "Slow Down Your Neighbors" was viewed by an estimated 11.756 million viewers and received a 4.8 rating/13% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

Club praised "Slow Down Your Neighbors" for the use of all the characters, writing "Attention to detail may be one of the factors that makes Modern Family such a solid sitcom specimen."

[13] TV Squad writer Joel Keller was positive, but noted the episode "felt a little slapstick and predictable".

[15] New York writer Rachael Maddux commented that "the show kicked off its second season's second half in such fine form".

[17] Sam Morgan of Hollywood complimented the writers for adding a "twist on a traditional sitcom story" for the Mitchell-Cameron storyline.

HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall wrote that the episode "didn't really work for me" due to the Claire-Phil storyline although he did compliment Marsden's performance.