Help!!!!!!! I Cant Drive My Car!

[scionsincy]

Ok, well that was a bit of an exagerration, i know how to drive, but ive never driven a manual. and i just got a 2007 scion tc with manual and whenever we put it in first gear it constantly jerks or stalls. they said thats normal and my grandpa who drives manual said i can just always use 2nd gear and not even worry about using 1st. i was wondering if anyone else had this problem with first gear? and what it is i can do so i wont stall when im first in line at lights?

[aluengas]

Don't start in second.

Try Idling the car at a lil' below 1k rpm and pull the clutch out as slow as you can (with constant throttle).

Then practice doing it a lil' faster. Don't worry about the whiny person behind you, you have the right to take as much time as you need. Its easier when on a downhill grade too.

If your going uphill: Brake>InitiateParkingBrake>ReleaseRegBrake>Initiat e1stGearProcedure until you "feel it pulling against the parking brake" then release the parking brake. You should have your right hand on the parking brake 100% of the time on this one (untill you have started moving).

Good luck and practice in a parking lot if you get nervous.

[bwood87]

Starting in second is not advisable, it wears out your clutch faster. You stall because you pull the clutch out too fast and you jerk because you pull off the gas then press it again quickly. You need to ease the clutch out slower and keep the revs higher not higher than 3k though. As you start getting used to this don't be alarmed by some wheel chirping or quick and sudden accelerating. It is a learning process and only over time will you become able to pull the clutch out quicker and with less RPM while accelerating slowly.

[TheFantasticG]

Why didn't you learn before buying the car?

[seetherage]

lol, don't sweat it.
Your lucky you start out in a Toyota car. veryyy Smooth clutch.

I started out in a 94 chevrolet corsa. (car from another country), and those are a bit**...
anyways, don't start it in second gear. Your car wasn't made for that. Practice getting off in first gear slowly then into second. It'll take you about 1 month to get completly used to it; by then you won't even notice that you are shifting (i know sounds weird right)
Good luck!

[DubJ]

Go to a parking lot. A flat one. Put it in first gear and just let the clutch out slowly. Don't use any gas. Just ease it out. This way you'll learn where the clutch plate engages thus propelling the car. Once you've got that down use some gas.

[navylife59]

Try adjusting your seat forward a couple of notches on the track. The tC has alot of dead play in the pedal before clutch engagement.

[Azn Chief]

Agreed. learn slowly and it will come to U easily. It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to learn.

[scionsincy]

thank you guys so much
i dont really have to worry about hills to much because i live in florida so all it really is is flat practice land.
thanks a million!

[Redneck4csa]

Why not start out in 2nd? Does it put that much more wear on the clutch? My 07 is my 4th car with a manual transmission. Every other car I HAD to start out in 1st. However, the way the tC is geared, at least in my opinion, 1st is too short and 2nd is just a hair too tall. I always start out in 2nd unless I'm on a hill or something. Just makes everything easier to me. And yes, I very much know how to drive manual.

[navylife59]

Starting out in a higher gear (2nd) puts more of a strain on not only the clutch/flywheel but that of the lower-end of the motor. A lower gear makes more efficient use of the engine torque. If you start out real easy, then you are burnishing the clutch and putting a glaze over the flywheel mating surface. If you try to launch too hard, then you will be straining the lower-end of the motor.

[Redneck4csa]

Ok. Thanks, Navy. I'll try to teach myself to start in 1st

[navylife59]

No problem.

[djvandal]

i always just thought it was that "modern"electronic throttle.....touchy touchy .....thats why u should just drop the clutch and launch each time

[Redneck4csa]

i always just thought it was that "modern"electronic throttle.....touchy touchy .....thats why u should just drop the clutch and launch each time

Until you either burn the clutch or snap the axle, right? lol

[djvandal]

ohhhh yea,,,thats the "fun"part of it! haha

[Redneck4csa]

ohhhh yea,,,thats the "fun"part of it! haha

Well, apparently you and I have different definitions of fun, my friend

[navylife59]

Has anyone outside of racing ever snapped an axle? If they ever did, my bet would be on the passenger side.

"I drove it like I stole it and the Police took me to jail!"