Also because if you can say you can say you spot every pothole on the road, then you're not looking ahead of you and paying to much attention to the road quality, you're taught not to stare down at the road because obviously you shouldn't be.
@@edwardtye4119 Fair, but make sure you don't end up having your foot on the brake as you're going over the pothole because your wheels won't be able to absorb the impact as well and you might end up with a broken wheel, tyre or suspension part
Yeah, cars are double edged swords all around. Drive a car slow, especially with GDI engines like mine, carbon buildups occurs. oil contaminents don't vaporize fully, both can cause engine damage through knock, but drive fast, you help to eliminate these issues, however now you are putting strain on the engine, heat builds up, sensors can be destroyed, and a whole host of other issues. As far as what I have seen though, on my GDI engine, it is much better to drive it harder than not. I had knocking on 2 cyclinders, replaced everything related to that, it ended up being carbon buildup. I drove the car slow and in a year it came back. Did the clean again, the mechanic at Mazda suggested I push this thing to 4000rpms at least when I am driving. Said the Skyactiv can't just take it, but prefers it. Ever since then I am driving my car hard and fast and haven't had any knock this past year. It feels better than ever honestly. Of course to me hitting 4000rpms between shifts feels fast, to some people anything below redline is grandma driving, so obviously this depends on the person. It FEELS like im destroying the engine. I think my Prius decade of driving skewed my perception of what fast means.
Yes, I can't fucking make it go away somehow. I'm annoying myself everyday with this. I have been told not to but I must be missing something, what's the real matter with the ''foot on the clutch'' thing ?
May depend on the car, but my car has a great footrest to the left of the clutch that feels way, way more comfortable. The clutch requires me to extend my leg in a way that is fine, but not comfortable at all outside of quick movements. I just naturally did the right things, but it was because of modern design. Same thing with the gear shifter. I have a perfectly placed arm rest that literally won't let you touch the shifter if you are resting on it. Arm rest is way more comfortable though and holding my hand out, resting on the shifter in one position, becomes tiring. Porsche and Mazda have this design. Hell, in many Porches the shifter is so far up its wildly uncomfortable to rest on it outside of switching gears.
Some do that. Years ago, soon after I bought a second hand car (an old VW Polo), and it seemed to me that the previous owner had done that, because there was a lot of worn out noise on account of it. I ended up dismantling the transmission ( simpler in those days, some might say), and acquired a replacement roller bearing that operates the clutch via a cable from the clutch pedal. It was fine after that, so the old roller bearing was kind of worn out on account of excessive use.
@@r.a.c.douceur766 I can send my dad to yell at you every time you do it :) That's how I stopped it, although I was a fresh driver, so he scared the habit out of me more easily. Jokes aside, at least why I was doing it is because I was anxious and not very experienced to react quickly if I needed to shift/brake etc. so I was constantly "on the look". Think about it, maybe that's it, maybe you just need a little bit more confidence and then you'll rest your foot on the left side and know you can react instantly if needed.
On the parking topic - Put the handbrake on first, then put the car in a gear... no wear on the transmission, as the brake took the weight first. Leaving it in gear is just an insurance policy. Volkswagen actually say in their car manuals to leave the car in gear in that fashion, every time the car is parked. I've seen multiple videos of electronic handbrakes suddenly failing while a car is parked, and the car running away. It really is best to leave it in gear, longs you do handbrake first.
I don't actually really need to put my car in gear when parking, my handbrake works well and I don't park at inclines, but I've made it a habit just to be safe and in case I drive other cars. then, about a month ago, I was driving my sister's 1989 Mercedes 190E. absolutely lovely car, but the handbrake is faulty. It barely works to keep the car rolling but easily defeated at tiny inclines. Out of habit one time I parked outside a shop, put it in gear and when I went to drive off I pressed in the clutch to start the car without pressing the brake and I immediately started rolling back. scared the shit out of me. so yeah, also remember to push in your foot brake when you disengage the gear and handbrake
@@mooferoo Yep, learned the hard way a long time ago. I was depending only on the handbreak, until my car moved downhill and crashed into a wall while I was at home.
@@mooferoo I am just surprised we don't have better technology regarding this for manuals. I thought for sure my 2018 Mazda 3 manual with all the tech I could ever want would have a secure, reliable hand break, but nope. It just straight up does it like they did in the 80s pretty much. I have seen the handbreak fail twice. Once in a grocer and once at a Sushi restraunt. Either way, I always keep it in 1st now while its parked. I also have no idea why anyone would not put the parking break first. It seems like the natural move is lock it in place, then secure it. You pretty much have to put the parking break on while the car is on in neutral, then turn it off and throw it in first for backup. Unless people prefer to turn the car off before securing the brake, but that seems really weird to do.
@@Mr.Manson That's why I also always turn my wheels towards the curb, so even if both handbrake and the transmission somehow fail to keep the car in place, at least it won't go straight forwards gaining momentum until it crashes into a parked car/a person etc. but it will just roll a few meters to the side into the nearest wall with far less potential energy (or not even roll at all if you're against a high curb). Not saying it's perfect, but it's literally "let's avoid killing someone or making a huge damage if multiple things fail".
Also, when you engage your parking break, it holds the weight of your car, so if you put your car in gear or just release the clutch after the engine's turned off, you're not giving it any wear and tear, but you're giving yourself that peace of mind of knowing that it's not going to roll backwards if handbrake was to fail.
Absolutely, in case the parking brake fails and the car rolls down the road totalling or damaging other's properties... can be more expensive than a new transmission or Transmission rebuild.
this is exactly why i do it too. however, it should be mentioned that you HAVE to pull the ebrake first. if you first put it in gear and then pull the ebrake, the forces are still resting on the transmission. so always ebrake first (get rid of any potential energy still stored in the car) and then put the car in gear before exiting. you will have no "wiggle" as he calls it and can sleep soundly knowing that your car won't roll if you suffer a handbrake failure.
Ever since my Manual suddenly made a loud snapping noise in a parking lot, then I turned around and saw it rolling backwards (I unlocked the car and jumped in right before it hit someones vehicle) coming off an incline, I have not once forgot to put the gear into 1st as a backup. The only scary thing is I deliver on the side for extra cash (and really just to drive, its great) and dropping things off at peoples houses with my car running with just the parking break engaged gives me great anxiety. I also turn the wheel as far as it can and leave the door partially open so I can quickly get to it if something were to happen.
Worked at a garage and was told by head mechanic that there was never a time he saw wear from resting hand on the gear stick. I've seen many clutches prematurely worn because drivers were riding them though 😫
Same for not using the parking brake lmao, my Buick had 215k miles and 24 years and the transmission was still fine after never using the parking brake
Agree with all of this minus the last part about not leaving your car in gear when parked. As others in the comments have noted, if you apply the handbrake first, turn the engine off, release the footbrake so the car's weight is taken up by the handbrake, then put it in gear, it shouldn't cause any issues. Putting the car in gear this way is just a redundancy against the car rolling off in the event the handbrake fails.
2:53 - To be fair, for 99% of drivers it's not intentional, if you're drivng on unfamiliar roads especially at night often you're not going to see them until the last moment your headlights show them and at that point depending on the road width and traffic in the other direction your choices in avoiding it may be limited.
What infuriates me are people taking the same damn road 5 days a week for work and still taking the same big potholes full speed with their new recent cars, people have no respect for their stuff that is disgusting. A friend of mine ordered the Swift Sport Fresh from factory and was already taking big big speed bumps at 50kmh and he said: "its new bro it is made for that"😂😂😂 hate people
I'm not sure about this but I have noticed that leaving the car in gear when parked, there *might* be no issue at all if: - You put it in park and release the brake pedal and only after you put it in first This way you might notice the car "rest" already on the parking brake When you go to put it in gear, it doesn't actually rest and stress on the gear because the parking brake is already holding it To try and debug this, I tried removing the parking brake and I noticed the car goes a little bit forward smoothly before the gear "clicks in" and finally stops it In conclusion, if you put the gear first and only after you engage the parking brake, there is a good chance that it's still resting on the gear and not fully on the brake But if you engage the brake first, let it rest fully on the brake, and only then put it in gear, you should be good because it's not resting on the gear
That's 98% correct, however, there's the question of time. You put your parking brake on, and the car seems to rest on it, not moving anywhere. But, if the incline is steep enough and/or the brake is worn enough, it might still slowly roll over time, eventually increasing the load on the gear. You might not notice this when you're parking, you'd have to sit there possibly for hours, but that might indeed happen. Ergo, steep inclines - put something under your wheels.
In my country the potholes are all around You, You will dodge some and fall into others , whilst dodging,You even have to go into the other lane, and sometimes You will still fall in
Very true. This guy has a point in good daylight that it's easy to avoid potholes, but if you're driving down a country road which you don't know with no street lights, then it's very easy to drive into a pothole.
I think with the leaving in gear point, it depends how you do it I do tend to leave in gear and I’m in a manual, but I pull the handbrake, release foot brake, turn engine off, then release the clutch so in theory there shouldn’t be any load in the transmission unless it did actually start to roll
Yeah, exactly. This seems like the natural way to do it. I want to secure the car while its still on considering I am now preparing to take my foot off the break pedal. You kind of have to put on the parking break, and then turn off the car, and then put it in gear. You could obviously do this all backwards, but it would take a very strange way of thinking to consider this.
Re: leaving the car in gear. As long as you stop the car compeletely before turning it off and leaving in gear, you're going to be fine. SAABs even have a safety feature, where you can't take out the key without leaving it in reverse.
Great video mate. I agree with most of your tips except the one of leaving the manual transmission on first gear when parked, that one I do not think you are right, I do not think it harms the transmission in anyway. I have not seen any transmission damaged by this in my over 35 years of driving experience.
This guy is the type of guy that people are nice to when they meet them at a Christmas Party, but prefer to avoid interaction with for the rest of 364 days each year.
Pull up to where you are parking, shift into neutral, apply the parking break, release the foot break slowly and allow the parking break to hold the car, then put the car in the gear for the situation. stops the transition taking the weight of the car and you have the insurance just in case. Is what I used to do, (I park on a pretty steep hill). I stopped doing this because one day someone smashed into my car and because it was in gear, my transition got wrecked. Really annoys me because I was taught to do this by my driving instructor. since then, I don't leave it in gear.
In your scenario, I would rather have insurance deal with my transmission in that event. Rather than having my car roll away and hit somebody else’s or damage my car. The event parking brakes fail is fairly high percentage, and “it won’t happen” is what every person says. Until they watch the car roll away and smash something
@@Augie..yeah you must be really silly or live in a place with low insurance. Bro really said he wants insurance to deal with transmission 😂. Mate they’ll tell you to do one, and even if they do, in some magical world, cover it, then you’ll have a great time paying those nastily high premiums
In my country it's mandatory to put a car into gear when parking. The only wear that this can cause is stretching of the dual-mass clutch. There's a way to avoid this problem and it is to pull the parking brake before you release the normal brake and engage the clutch. That way, the clutch will be engaged but not twisted all the time.
11:36 this is actually fine to do (with proper rev match). The problem is doing it when you're driving too fast for 3rd gear, that's when you risk a money shift.
Regarding leaving it in gear whilst parked. Regardless of whether you do this or not, you should put your foot on the clutch when you start the engine anyway, as reduces wear on the starter motor and battery (many manufacturers have also recommended this for as long as I can remember). My driving instructor taught me this in the late 90s and is just habit for me. In fact, the last couple of manual cars I've owned wouldn't let me start unless I pressed the clutch. So starting in gear shouldn't really be a thing these days.
When leaving your car in gear, it's not the gears grinding that stops the car from moving, it's gravity trying to compress/decompress the cylinders while the valves are closed. I leave my car just in gear, unless it's a steep hill. That way I don't have to worry about the handbrake freezing/rusting shut. (ofc it's not an issue with modern electronic parking brakes). Also, I choose the gear in which direction the car is more likely to roll (even slightly, when settling after releasing the brake) so the engine doesn't turn backwards but that's probably unnecessary.
People cant avoid potholes because they are so close to the car in front that they cant see what's down the road. They have barley any vision to see other vehicles let alone a pothole.
theres one pothole near my area thats right at the top of a crest on a hilly road and its quite a bad one too. very cruel spot that got me pretty badly my first time driving on it
Re. your last point: the transmission is only under load when the handbrake cable snaps. It's a "Plan B" in case your handbrake fails. The way I do it is: handbrake on, off the footbrake (car sags forwards or backwards as the handbrake takes the strain), then put it in gear. This way, 100% of the weight of the car is resting on the handbrake, and the gearbox is taking 0% of the weight. This is basically the same as waiting in gear at a traffic light (obviously another bad idea, but it's just an example). This doesn't wear out your gearbox any faster unless your handbrake snaps.
Definitely. I also always, as my father taught me, stop the engine in neutral then put it into gear. I think this is the safest option. I also put my hand on the stick while it is in gear, while many people recommend against it, I don't think it causes any problems.
@@scartyz762 It depends on how you hold the stick (hehe). If you are just putting force straight down it with no sideways force, there is a low chance of any excessive wear happening. If you are actively pulling or pushing it further into gear, that is when you risk bending the selector forks.
I usually agree with almost everything, but I am big leave it in gear guy. The compression of engine and the way everything works if you for example stop, put on handbrake, release foot brake, put car in neutral and leave it if for second than engage gear will give you so much safety in case your handbrake is bad or fails suddenly. I actually had it happen once when I did not put it in reverse on slope, and I was shocked I did not as I 99% time do.... had the handbrake cable failure and car went infront of my eyes down the hill, managed to run into and stop it just before it would crash another car..... My take on it is if you really stop normally let it settle in neutral, than engage you are absolutely fine no damage will really be done. EDIT : This "settle" I mention means not to stop, put it in gear and then release the clutch to jerk the transmision and make it bite, but first to stop, neutral, handbrake, release everything if car jiggles it will safely stop then put in gear.
I do agree with your statement of avoiding potholes, however there are a select few cities where it is literally impossible to avoid, there's potholes on both sides of the road and actually everywhere and 0 way to avoid them without going into on coming traffic, thankfully I moved 😭
Here in Austria the road infrastructure budget was decoupled from road tax income because road tax brought in so much money the government wanted to use it elsewhere instead of you know... lowering road tax. A Golf with the 1.5 TSI costs 348 euros per year, a Polo GTI with the 200-ish hp 2.0 TSI costs 1160 euros per year and your M2 costs 3516 euros per year.
The potholes in my town are genuinely awful. They've been filled and ran down so many times that they span right across the width of the road now. I saw less potholes doing 300miles through wales than I do in 3 miles around my town 😄
When i was learning to drive the standard always was put in gear and then handbrake, this was what i had to do on the driving exam. My father never uses the handbrake - only first gear, and he has never had transmission problems for 350k miles already. As long as you drive a reliable car, and not a BMW or Volkswagen from the new models (i may sound harsh but those are the facts), you shouldn’t have a problem.
Been driving since 1994.. ( all manuals) Majority of my cars were 7-12 years old. Always rest my hand on the gear stick , never had any problems and I know I never will!
If you rest it on the 2nd, 4th or 6th gear it’ll be fine as you’re pulling it into the gear. In 1, 4, 5 you will pull it into neutral from the gear and that will increase the wear. It won’t break instantly, but it will increase the wear
@@stanislavblinov8454 But if you use both handbrake and put it in gear then the gearbox is not under load because the brake is holding the car but in case the brake fails it'll prevent it from moving I don't know if something would be wrong in this method so please tell me if I'm wrong
@@macncheese9235 It may not prevent it from moving either. I think these are two separate issues to consider: - load and wear - safety To solve the former, one should never rely on leaving the car in gear and use the brake instead. As far as the latter goes, if you're worried about the car moving on its own, put something under its wheels - problem solved. We shouldn't even be talking about using the gearbox as an "emergency" to hold the car in case the brake fails. It is not designed for that purpose, and should not be used for that purpose.
These are good suggestions but I can’t help feeling like you are the kind of person who will freak out if someone mildly bumps your rear bumper on accident and scratches the paint
My instructor taught me to downshift to 2nd and use the clutch to slow the car down on approach to roundabouts. Wouldn't dream of it in my own car. Use the brakes for their intended usage, rev match the down shift and away you go. I always park in gear, had it drummed into me by older brother . If I forget to put the handbrake on or the cable snaps (17 plate fiesta that still has a manual handbrake), it won't roll.
I don't use the clutch to slow down, when I'm approaching a stop or slower speed limit I rev match to lower gears and just let the car roll itself out. zero fuel usage aside from the little rev match blip and no wear on the brakes
Yeah that’s poor instruction. Not just bad technique but also not every roundabout is the same, even if it is the same the situation will be different and may require a different approach speed. A mark of a poor instructor is when they teach things to be routine.
Yes. This is the correct way to apply engine braking through sequential downshifting. It does require some practice, however, and personally I find a single downshift e.g 5th to 3rd usually adequate when approaching large roundabouts with light traffic. @Killbayne
Amazing video as usual 🙌🏼 I truly believe it's gonna be people like you with videos like these leading big changes in how people drive, cause the standards today are shocking
I agree with most of this apart from one gripe. I believe its perfectly fine to leave your manual car in gear when on hills. First off let me preface by saying I always pull up my handbreak, let off the break to fully load the handbreak and then let off the clutch, but even if I didn't your transmission deals with far greater loads while accelerating the car than it does just having the static weight on it, so the wear you would get from leaving it in gear is a drop in the ocean. I also think its just good principle to check and make sure your car is in nutral and start it with the clutch in, you will learn pretty quickly on your first few mistakes, I for sure have😂
I disagree with 14:28 - Leaving car in gear when parked This is good practice regardless of new or old vehicles, and it does not cause issues down the line. Been doing it for years.
Nice topic. Why most people don't or can't read the road is mainly because they're too busy with their cellphones or other gizmos (i see or read on a daily basis about people crashing on a perfectly straight road, on their own). About the parking I agree to leave it in neutral in your garage or driveway. On a public road (especially if it's not flat) I personally prefer to engage the hand brake first and then put it in gear, so all of the weight is on the brake.
Well if you use the handbrake first and then put it into gear there actually isnt any force on the gear itself, because the brakes are already holding the car.
YES pull the HANDBRAKE, put it in GEAR (1st or reverse). The order should be neutral, handbrake, gear. If you pull the handbrake (parking brake) first, and put all the tension on the brakes, even if you put it in gear after that, as long as the handbrake is up, the transmission wont suffer, there won't be any tension on it. So if your car rolls slightly after applying the handbrake, let it to that, let it settle on the brake and then put it in gear "just in case"
I know you say "I have never had a handbrake cable snap on me", but also, I've never broken a transmission because I left it in gear, after pulling the handbrake. So to each their own I guess 🤷🏾♂️
Re leaving a car in gear when parking, I was taught - and I think it's good practice - to put the car in gear (generally 1st gear) when parking on a steep hill. Doing this AFTER applying the parking brake, as some commenters have suggested, would seem to be best practice for the reasons given. Also, in this circumstance, again I was taught (in the US) that it's best to turn the front wheels so that if the car rolls back or forward as the case may be, the tires will come in contact with the curb, providing an additional margin of safety. As for accidentally starting the car while in gear, for safety's sake I was taught to always check that the transmission is in neutral before turning on the ignition, as well as to depress the clutch to put less strain on the starter motor. Apparently, in the UK, this last practice at least (according to my son) is not taught by driving instructors, and I suppose there's a question as to whether the reduced strain on the starter motor is worth the increased wear on the clutch mechanism by keeping the clutch depressed while starting the engine. Engine braking as you note is simply the consequence of ceasing to depress the accelerator and in no way involves using the clutch to perform any braking action. However, engine braking could involve progressively downshifting through several gears. In this case, the gearshift should be effected so as to ensure the engine RPMs are at the appropriately (high) level for the road speed in the new gear, and then to immediately let off the accelerator allowing engine braking to take effect. Otherwise, the tips you offered seem sensible to me, especially concerning driving through standing water and avoiding potholes when possible.
Always put your car in Gear & use hand brake when you are stopping the engine! No transmission issues (from a car built in 1986 that I drove last 4 years ago. No issues because of this). This way you are "blocking" all 4 wheels. Always put in 1st (even down the hill. It does not matter as you are "locking" the gears in place so the wheels are connected to the engine which is not running - full "engine brake") For an Automatic: Always use P(ark) mode and hand brake.
Hello Mick! Yes, I have this handbrake issue, and yeah, I know this isn't that right to stop the car and put it in 1st gear instead of neutral, but I've had a case when my car (it's Focus 1 2004) started getting down by hill straight to the road. I got in it and hit the brakes. Now I prefer to put it in gear when I park on the hills just to avoid this. Usually it's much better to find a place not on the hillside and use handbrake, of course
I always leave the vehicle in gear and handbrake on when parking. Maybe third gear on the flat as there is a spring on the selector that can wear over time of left in first or reverse. I have had handbrake cables break in the past and happened quite recently on one of our cars although the cables usually break when we are applying the handbrake. Also what can happen with cars with rear disc brakes, as the brakes cool down everything contracts and can slacken off the handbrake. We do own older cars with a manual handbrake. I am not a fan of electric handbrakes. More to go wrong. Great video as always. 😊
Great advices as always, maybe I would've specified to look out for cars in the opposite direction when avoiding potholes and water. I know it sounds obvious but people are not generally that smart.
Years ago, my cable snapped whilst I was paying for fuel. At the till, i looked out in horror as my car rolled into a pump and then into the main road. Luckily, no harm done, but im always parked in gear now! It still makes me cringe.
very instructive ❤ thank you. i have a question about speed bumps: i see people taking speed bumps by driving over to one side of them as far as possible, so that one side of their car is driving over the highest part of the bump, and the other side of the car is either on the very low side of the bump, or even on the flat road. this has always seemed a bad idea to me. i drive directly over them, trying to keep my car centred over the hump. what's the right way to take a speed bump?
Fantastic question! Might make a video with this as a core part. The reason it different cars have different amount of ground clearance - some are ''lower'' than others. So in a normal car - yes you can go directly over. In a lower car you will probably scrape if you do that, so you adjust yourself to either side. If you have a -really- low car then you have to go over diagonally and very slowly.
Thanks for the video! Quite educational. I'm doing driving lessons and smoothness/finesse is what stood out for me in the video. Gotta replace excessive fear with better skills to feel confident driving on local busy roads with very poor visibility due to bad narrow roads and mfs who park everywhere possible to hide visibility for checking oncoming cars at stop. Won't give up, I quite like driving, even on such frustrating situations and teacher says I'm gonna be a good driver (he's very impatient tho and I am more afraid at lesson and repeat mistakes)
11:32 oops…. Not gonna do that anymore. Been wondering about that recently. Still fairly new to driving stick. Thanks for clarifying! Hopefully my clutch isn’t too cooked
96' A3 1.8T driver, My dad has been driving said car 15 years before it was passed down to me, and has always used 1-st gear to keep the car from rolling without pulling up the handbrake when parked. Over years this has resulted in 1-st gear having an extremely worn out synchro and possibly teeth(It also whines), practically preventing me from engaging 1-st gear 80% of the time, at a stoplight. Unless I revmatch both the engine and the transmission, I more or less don't have 1-st gear most of the time, having many situations in which I have to take off in 2-nd gear at stoplights, because 1-st gear won't go in no matter how many times I press and depress the clutch engage other gears (typicall 2-nd and then push it into 1-st) in order to rotate the gears in a way that they will mesh. And this is just from years of using the gearbox, as a handbrake, instead of the actual handbrake. Please never use your manual, or automatic transmission as parking brak without pulling up the actual handbrake unless you are absolutely certain that the car will roll back on an extremely steep hill even with the parking brake absolutely all the way up.
1. Pull your handbrake 2. Release brake pedal 3. Stop the engine 4. Put in gear 5. Release clutch No harm to transmission because your car is held by handbrake
I have an electronic e-break, which I hate. I used to leave the car in neutral, but one day I had a battery issue. The voltage must've been a tad low after a short drive, and the quick flick on the e-break switch that I had gotten used to didn't register, but I didn't notice because the break always just worked before so I wasn't paying attention. I went in to the store to get some groceries and when I came back out, the car had rolled into a lamp post near where I parked. Now I leave it in gear every time.
Clutch braking from normal shifts doesn't wear the clutch, as long as your not dumping into insane revs. For instance you are going to take a 90 degree right turn you down shrift, the braking there is from a normal down shift, that will not cause any damage. Clutch + Breaks will not cause wear. Using the clutch only to stop will accelerate the wear, but nothing you would notice in short time. Destroying your clutch comes from partial engagement, and acceleration. Or dumping a clutching into high revs. I have exclusively drove manuals for as long as I have been driving, and have +160k on clutches.
I very often put my car in gear after i park it but im using e-brake first, so it takes whole mass of the car or at least big part of it. But i dont think that this habit is harmful because while accelerating quickly your transmission probably have to withstand more stress and wear than mass of the car alone
So for the handbrake problem, mechanically if you allow the car to settle on the handbrake and once all the weight has been placed there, if you put the car into first there will be no force on the transmission keeping it in place. There's also so much torque in first that even if you are on a hill you don't need to put it in reverse.
Leaving car in gear is probably fine as long as the handbrake is applied first before selecting a gear. Also most newer cars require the clutch to be pressed before starting so it prevents the problem of the car jumping forwards if you forget and just try to turn the key.
As for leaving the car in gear when parked, since I own two old Mercedes and it's a pain to work on the parking brake, I always leave the car in gear when parked. When I park on a level surface I don't even engage the parking brake. The way I see it, it's not just the gearbox holding the car in place - it's the whole shaft and diff. I'd rather replace the diff fluid often and change the flex discs on the shaft than having to work on the parking brake.
I went to a week long trek with a friend of mine once. I left my car in gear, handbrake down, and he did the opposite (handbrake up, car in neutral). When we came back and he pulled down his handbrake, the brakes were locked in and he couldn’t do anything about it. In the end, we had to get the car towed and change the brake discs, which was quite expensive. I’m not sure it’s the right thing but having seen this, I leave my car in gear handbrake down whenever I have to park it outside for more than a day.
Totally true for potholes, but mate driving and being mainly focused at the tarmac leads to bad surprise coming from emergency braking in front, sudden road change and other drivers around you doing sh*t, if you are on a trip and often relying on GPS navigation in a city you can never dodge most of potholes, and if you do you'd miss your turns/path 20 times..
I almost didnt buy my new little FWD 4banger cause of cv axle complaints. Low and behold just enough handbrake to park and stop that roll, is a good thing, especially for little FWD cars. My cv axles been perfect.
Gear lever: Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but in an automatic car, you can rest your hand on the gear lever all day if you want to. Water: NEVER brake when driving THROUGH water, you can warp your brake discs when they get cooled down abruptly.
4:50 after picking up my last car, a brand new 2023 BMW 1 series, i went to drive a friend home. I had maybe 400km on the clock at that point. It was raining heavily, and because there was so much water on the road, i couldn't see the standing water i was approaching at roundabout 50mph. Next thing i knew, the water splashed about 2m high in front of me and gave any electronics unfortunate enough to be cought in the crossfire a thorough bathing. No reversing aid on the rest of that trip, but luckily it dried out enough over night, so that it worked again in the morning
I always park with handbrake and 1st gear engaged. And load in not on gear as handbrake is engaged first and gear is selected. Gear will only be loaded when handbrake fails. I used to leave it in neutral but one time the car started rolling ahead as I got out of it.
4:00 I learned this tip the hard way REALLY fast. When I got my license and my car at 19 it wasn't even a week when I decided to go on a joyride on a wet day. Splashed through puddles quite a lot and ended up getting water in my engine....then it stalled in the middle of a busy intersection and I sat there like a fkin idiot for about 15-20 minutes until the car got up and running again.
I pretty much always leave the car in gear. I pull the handbrake, then go in gear, but shut off the engine before releasing the clutch. Like this, there's no pressure on the gears, as the cars weight is held by the handbrake. When I do it like this, I can literally just shift it in and out of gear without the clutch. And if the handbrake does fail, it will still catch it. But a lot of the time, none of this would even be needed, as the parking space has like a hole, where the wheels sit and the car wouldn't move even in neutral and no parking brake. But I still leave it in gear just in case
I have had a handbrake fail. That is a much bigger bill than a new transmission, trust me. Apart from anything else, your car could kill someone if it runs away. I will always leave my car in gear.
I disagree with the last point. Once you’re parked, keep the foot brake engaged before you engage the handbrake, then release foot brake and put the car in gear. Doing this will mean the weight of the car is being held by the handbrake, and if that fails then your car will roll slightly before the transmission stops it from rolling any further. So therefore under ideal circumstances your transmission will not be damaged. Additionally, leaving your car in gear without the handbrake engaged can be handy if you plan on not moving your car for an extended period of time so the handbrake doesn’t seize, however wheels chocks will probably be a better alternative. If you have an older car, leaving your car in gear should be habit. If damage to your transmission is true, at least that’s cheaper than a whole new car.
If you do it correctly, putting the transmision in gear as prevention shoudn't wear the transmision, clutch nor engine since the parking break is engaged, "supporting" the weight of the car and avoiding it to move. The clutch is always engaged unles the pedal is pressed, therefore no damage. Gears won't wear because they aren't moving. Engine won't wear because it isn't moving. And at the end of the day it's preferable a damaged gear after a snapped parking break line, than your car rolling down and hitting something or someone.
I always use hand brake, but its just habit. Do not worry with manual to leave it 1st or reverse. Sometimes it is better than hand brake. Depends on car and situation. I remember, one old car with a 1.0 L HTP engine had a problem with that, after some time the timing chain skipped teeth and goodbye engine... but never heard of it being a problem for any manual gearbox.
You should park the car, handbrake on, foot off the brake, clutch in and put it in first or reverse depending on the incline. This will not load your transmission in any way. Also you should select 1st gear for downhill and reverse for uphill and NOT the other way around. If your handbrake fails you do not want to be in revese and going the downhill as it will damage your transmission. 1st gear should hold just fine on any resonable incline.
You mentioned the parking brake idea before in another video (can’t recall which one); what is the step-by-step for parking the vehicle “appropriately?”
On the subject of engine braking, you can do this in any gear. However, lower gears are more effective than higher ones. Furthermore, engine braking is further pronounced on diesel in comparison to petrol. Yes you can stop a modern car quickly. What people don't take into account is your thinking and reaction time.
I only leave my car in gear if I'm parked on a substantial hill. Leaving the front types pointed somewhat towards the curb should also help if the hand brake decided to fail.
My OG Saab 9-3 requires putting it in reverse to take the key out of the ignition, so it is by design always in gear while sitting. Not sure if all of these points are equal, definitely not clear-cut and that simple as you're stating.
May I add... Number 11: If you're driving a BMW, don't use your left turn indicator, as activating this electrical circuit that has never previously been used may have unintended consequences, up to and including a BMW driver turning right while indicating left. 🙂
Just an obvious observation - no amount of "avoiding pothole" or "stale water" is worth it if you crash into oncoming traffic while doing so. Be safe.
Sometimes you can slow down and time it right so have room to go around the pothole or water. Otherwise, I agree with you, safety first.
Also because if you can say you can say you spot every pothole on the road, then you're not looking ahead of you and paying to much attention to the road quality, you're taught not to stare down at the road because obviously you shouldn't be.
@@edwardtye4119 Fair, but make sure you don't end up having your foot on the brake as you're going over the pothole because your wheels won't be able to absorb the impact as well and you might end up with a broken wheel, tyre or suspension part
@@SourceHades Absolutely. It could also lock up the wheel if you don't have ABS/have an old ABS system.
Driving your car wears out your engine so you should avoid making a habit of it
Hah, good one :) Although, not driving your car wears out the whole car faster, so you should avoid making a habit of it either.
getting a car wears out your wallet and space in the long run so you should avoid making a habit of it. Just wanted to get on the same wagon here 😂
Yeah, cars are double edged swords all around. Drive a car slow, especially with GDI engines like mine, carbon buildups occurs. oil contaminents don't vaporize fully, both can cause engine damage through knock, but drive fast, you help to eliminate these issues, however now you are putting strain on the engine, heat builds up, sensors can be destroyed, and a whole host of other issues.
As far as what I have seen though, on my GDI engine, it is much better to drive it harder than not. I had knocking on 2 cyclinders, replaced everything related to that, it ended up being carbon buildup. I drove the car slow and in a year it came back. Did the clean again, the mechanic at Mazda suggested I push this thing to 4000rpms at least when I am driving. Said the Skyactiv can't just take it, but prefers it. Ever since then I am driving my car hard and fast and haven't had any knock this past year. It feels better than ever honestly.
Of course to me hitting 4000rpms between shifts feels fast, to some people anything below redline is grandma driving, so obviously this depends on the person. It FEELS like im destroying the engine. I think my Prius decade of driving skewed my perception of what fast means.
@@AnonymousUser27 bruhh lmao
WAIT BUT LETTING A CAR SIT IS BAD FOR IT SO YOU SHOULD NEVER STOP DRIVING IT.
Using clutch pedal as a footrest is another common bad habit people tend to make
Yes, I can't fucking make it go away somehow. I'm annoying myself everyday with this.
I have been told not to but I must be missing something, what's the real matter with the ''foot on the clutch'' thing ?
May depend on the car, but my car has a great footrest to the left of the clutch that feels way, way more comfortable. The clutch requires me to extend my leg in a way that is fine, but not comfortable at all outside of quick movements. I just naturally did the right things, but it was because of modern design. Same thing with the gear shifter. I have a perfectly placed arm rest that literally won't let you touch the shifter if you are resting on it. Arm rest is way more comfortable though and holding my hand out, resting on the shifter in one position, becomes tiring.
Porsche and Mazda have this design. Hell, in many Porches the shifter is so far up its wildly uncomfortable to rest on it outside of switching gears.
Some do that. Years ago, soon after I bought a second hand car (an old VW Polo), and it seemed to me that the previous owner had done that, because there was a lot of worn out noise on account of it. I ended up dismantling the transmission ( simpler in those days, some might say), and acquired a replacement roller bearing that operates the clutch via a cable from the clutch pedal. It was fine after that, so the old roller bearing was kind of worn out on account of excessive use.
@@r.a.c.douceur766 I can send my dad to yell at you every time you do it :) That's how I stopped it, although I was a fresh driver, so he scared the habit out of me more easily. Jokes aside, at least why I was doing it is because I was anxious and not very experienced to react quickly if I needed to shift/brake etc. so I was constantly "on the look". Think about it, maybe that's it, maybe you just need a little bit more confidence and then you'll rest your foot on the left side and know you can react instantly if needed.
On the parking topic - Put the handbrake on first, then put the car in a gear... no wear on the transmission, as the brake took the weight first. Leaving it in gear is just an insurance policy. Volkswagen actually say in their car manuals to leave the car in gear in that fashion, every time the car is parked. I've seen multiple videos of electronic handbrakes suddenly failing while a car is parked, and the car running away. It really is best to leave it in gear, longs you do handbrake first.
I don't actually really need to put my car in gear when parking, my handbrake works well and I don't park at inclines, but I've made it a habit just to be safe and in case I drive other cars.
then, about a month ago, I was driving my sister's 1989 Mercedes 190E. absolutely lovely car, but the handbrake is faulty. It barely works to keep the car rolling but easily defeated at tiny inclines. Out of habit one time I parked outside a shop, put it in gear and when I went to drive off I pressed in the clutch to start the car without pressing the brake and I immediately started rolling back. scared the shit out of me.
so yeah, also remember to push in your foot brake when you disengage the gear and handbrake
@@Killbayne Just remember, that a handbrake can "work well" until the very sudden and unexpected moment it doesn't.
@@mooferoo Yep, learned the hard way a long time ago. I was depending only on the handbreak, until my car moved downhill and crashed into a wall while I was at home.
@@mooferoo I am just surprised we don't have better technology regarding this for manuals. I thought for sure my 2018 Mazda 3 manual with all the tech I could ever want would have a secure, reliable hand break, but nope. It just straight up does it like they did in the 80s pretty much. I have seen the handbreak fail twice. Once in a grocer and once at a Sushi restraunt.
Either way, I always keep it in 1st now while its parked. I also have no idea why anyone would not put the parking break first. It seems like the natural move is lock it in place, then secure it. You pretty much have to put the parking break on while the car is on in neutral, then turn it off and throw it in first for backup. Unless people prefer to turn the car off before securing the brake, but that seems really weird to do.
@@Mr.Manson That's why I also always turn my wheels towards the curb, so even if both handbrake and the transmission somehow fail to keep the car in place, at least it won't go straight forwards gaining momentum until it crashes into a parked car/a person etc. but it will just roll a few meters to the side into the nearest wall with far less potential energy (or not even roll at all if you're against a high curb). Not saying it's perfect, but it's literally "let's avoid killing someone or making a huge damage if multiple things fail".
Also, when you engage your parking break, it holds the weight of your car, so if you put your car in gear or just release the clutch after the engine's turned off, you're not giving it any wear and tear, but you're giving yourself that peace of mind of knowing that it's not going to roll backwards if handbrake was to fail.
this
Absolutely, in case the parking brake fails and the car rolls down the road totalling or damaging other's properties... can be more expensive than a new transmission or Transmission rebuild.
The trick is to set the parking brake first, let go off the pedal and only then engage gear/P position
this is exactly why i do it too. however, it should be mentioned that you HAVE to pull the ebrake first. if you first put it in gear and then pull the ebrake, the forces are still resting on the transmission. so always ebrake first (get rid of any potential energy still stored in the car) and then put the car in gear before exiting. you will have no "wiggle" as he calls it and can sleep soundly knowing that your car won't roll if you suffer a handbrake failure.
Ever since my Manual suddenly made a loud snapping noise in a parking lot, then I turned around and saw it rolling backwards (I unlocked the car and jumped in right before it hit someones vehicle) coming off an incline, I have not once forgot to put the gear into 1st as a backup. The only scary thing is I deliver on the side for extra cash (and really just to drive, its great) and dropping things off at peoples houses with my car running with just the parking break engaged gives me great anxiety. I also turn the wheel as far as it can and leave the door partially open so I can quickly get to it if something were to happen.
Worked at a garage and was told by head mechanic that there was never a time he saw wear from resting hand on the gear stick. I've seen many clutches prematurely worn because drivers were riding them though 😫
Same for not using the parking brake lmao, my Buick had 215k miles and 24 years and the transmission was still fine after never using the parking brake
Agree with all of this minus the last part about not leaving your car in gear when parked. As others in the comments have noted, if you apply the handbrake first, turn the engine off, release the footbrake so the car's weight is taken up by the handbrake, then put it in gear, it shouldn't cause any issues. Putting the car in gear this way is just a redundancy against the car rolling off in the event the handbrake fails.
and turn the wheels towards curb when applicable
You don’t need to in most cars it’s stupid, especially in newer cars
2:53 - To be fair, for 99% of drivers it's not intentional, if you're drivng on unfamiliar roads especially at night often you're not going to see them until the last moment your headlights show them and at that point depending on the road width and traffic in the other direction your choices in avoiding it may be limited.
I agree, his whole opinion on it is nonsensical. It also doesn't take standing water to disguise a pothole until it is too late to react.
@@PointNemo9 This guy is always having deranged takes.
Especially when Ur flat out in your shitbox
What infuriates me are people taking the same damn road 5 days a week for work and still taking the same big potholes full speed with their new recent cars, people have no respect for their stuff that is disgusting. A friend of mine ordered the Swift Sport Fresh from factory and was already taking big big speed bumps at 50kmh and he said: "its new bro it is made for that"😂😂😂 hate people
😂😂@@Undersnow243
I'm not sure about this but I have noticed that leaving the car in gear when parked, there *might* be no issue at all if:
- You put it in park and release the brake pedal and only after you put it in first
This way you might notice the car "rest" already on the parking brake
When you go to put it in gear, it doesn't actually rest and stress on the gear because the parking brake is already holding it
To try and debug this, I tried removing the parking brake and I noticed the car goes a little bit forward smoothly before the gear "clicks in" and finally stops it
In conclusion, if you put the gear first and only after you engage the parking brake, there is a good chance that it's still resting on the gear and not fully on the brake
But if you engage the brake first, let it rest fully on the brake, and only then put it in gear, you should be good because it's not resting on the gear
That's 98% correct, however, there's the question of time. You put your parking brake on, and the car seems to rest on it, not moving anywhere. But, if the incline is steep enough and/or the brake is worn enough, it might still slowly roll over time, eventually increasing the load on the gear. You might not notice this when you're parking, you'd have to sit there possibly for hours, but that might indeed happen. Ergo, steep inclines - put something under your wheels.
In my country the potholes are all around You, You will dodge some and fall into others , whilst dodging,You even have to go into the other lane, and sometimes You will still fall in
What country?
Same here in germany atleast on my route to work lol
Gotta walk the track and decide which ones are good to hit.
@@YourKyckling romania
@@robyyroman350Eram sigur
Pothole full of water at night enters the chat.
Very true. This guy has a point in good daylight that it's easy to avoid potholes, but if you're driving down a country road which you don't know with no street lights, then it's very easy to drive into a pothole.
On an Indian road 💀💀💀
1) Crashing
well..... yeah :)
@@RapidClipX it's a joke dude relax
kerb crawling😊
i NEVER use the HANDBRAKE on my E46 because it is BROKEN and only serves me for AESTHETIC purposes
Same for me on my S60 lmao.
I think with the leaving in gear point, it depends how you do it
I do tend to leave in gear and I’m in a manual, but I pull the handbrake, release foot brake, turn engine off, then release the clutch so in theory there shouldn’t be any load in the transmission unless it did actually start to roll
Yeah, exactly. This seems like the natural way to do it. I want to secure the car while its still on considering I am now preparing to take my foot off the break pedal. You kind of have to put on the parking break, and then turn off the car, and then put it in gear. You could obviously do this all backwards, but it would take a very strange way of thinking to consider this.
Re: leaving the car in gear.
As long as you stop the car compeletely before turning it off and leaving in gear, you're going to be fine.
SAABs even have a safety feature, where you can't take out the key without leaving it in reverse.
very useful information please record more and more I watch from Poland
Great video mate. I agree with most of your tips except the one of leaving the manual transmission on first gear when parked, that one I do not think you are right, I do not think it harms the transmission in anyway. I have not seen any transmission damaged by this in my over 35 years of driving experience.
The only way to shift gears is like that African bus driver with the fingertip technique
This guy is the type of guy that people are nice to when they meet them at a Christmas Party, but prefer to avoid interaction with for the rest of 364 days each year.
Pull up to where you are parking, shift into neutral, apply the parking break, release the foot break slowly and allow the parking break to hold the car, then put the car in the gear for the situation. stops the transition taking the weight of the car and you have the insurance just in case. Is what I used to do, (I park on a pretty steep hill). I stopped doing this because one day someone smashed into my car and because it was in gear, my transition got wrecked. Really annoys me because I was taught to do this by my driving instructor. since then, I don't leave it in gear.
In your scenario, I would rather have insurance deal with my transmission in that event. Rather than having my car roll away and hit somebody else’s or damage my car. The event parking brakes fail is fairly high percentage, and “it won’t happen” is what every person says. Until they watch the car roll away and smash something
Used to be a valet and we had a car where the handbrake isn't good. So leaving it in gear was the only option.
@@Augie..yeah you must be really silly or live in a place with low insurance. Bro really said he wants insurance to deal with transmission 😂. Mate they’ll tell you to do one, and even if they do, in some magical world, cover it, then you’ll have a great time paying those nastily high premiums
In my country it's mandatory to put a car into gear when parking. The only wear that this can cause is stretching of the dual-mass clutch. There's a way to avoid this problem and it is to pull the parking brake before you release the normal brake and engage the clutch. That way, the clutch will be engaged but not twisted all the time.
For those who fear their hand brake cable failing, it is always possible to turn the wheels toward the kerb.
11:36 this is actually fine to do (with proper rev match). The problem is doing it when you're driving too fast for 3rd gear, that's when you risk a money shift.
Regarding leaving it in gear whilst parked. Regardless of whether you do this or not, you should put your foot on the clutch when you start the engine anyway, as reduces wear on the starter motor and battery (many manufacturers have also recommended this for as long as I can remember). My driving instructor taught me this in the late 90s and is just habit for me. In fact, the last couple of manual cars I've owned wouldn't let me start unless I pressed the clutch. So starting in gear shouldn't really be a thing these days.
When leaving your car in gear, it's not the gears grinding that stops the car from moving, it's gravity trying to compress/decompress the cylinders while the valves are closed. I leave my car just in gear, unless it's a steep hill. That way I don't have to worry about the handbrake freezing/rusting shut. (ofc it's not an issue with modern electronic parking brakes). Also, I choose the gear in which direction the car is more likely to roll (even slightly, when settling after releasing the brake) so the engine doesn't turn backwards but that's probably unnecessary.
People cant avoid potholes because they are so close to the car in front that they cant see what's down the road. They have barley any vision to see other vehicles let alone a pothole.
Then you observe the vehicle in front a bit more thoroughly and you'll notice if they went over one easily.
Tailgating is a bad thing. Putting your trust in the vehicle ahead of you makes you vulnerable to potholes or other obstacles on the road.
theres one pothole near my area thats right at the top of a crest on a hilly road and its quite a bad one too. very cruel spot that got me pretty badly my first time driving on it
Horse girl's are evil. I've got 5 and counting. Breazers/hits/rolex jumpers farm girl's. Watch out!!!
@@stefantatic4836 I remember someone tailgating me and while I kept avoiding pothole on a country road, they just took them all full force :))
Re. your last point: the transmission is only under load when the handbrake cable snaps. It's a "Plan B" in case your handbrake fails. The way I do it is: handbrake on, off the footbrake (car sags forwards or backwards as the handbrake takes the strain), then put it in gear. This way, 100% of the weight of the car is resting on the handbrake, and the gearbox is taking 0% of the weight. This is basically the same as waiting in gear at a traffic light (obviously another bad idea, but it's just an example). This doesn't wear out your gearbox any faster unless your handbrake snaps.
Definitely. I also always, as my father taught me, stop the engine in neutral then put it into gear. I think this is the safest option. I also put my hand on the stick while it is in gear, while many people recommend against it, I don't think it causes any problems.
@@scartyz762 It depends on how you hold the stick (hehe). If you are just putting force straight down it with no sideways force, there is a low chance of any excessive wear happening. If you are actively pulling or pushing it further into gear, that is when you risk bending the selector forks.
And in my country, when it rains , You can sometimes pass through at least 5 different standing water , before You get to your destination
only 5?
I usually agree with almost everything, but I am big leave it in gear guy. The compression of engine and the way everything works if you for example stop, put on handbrake, release foot brake, put car in neutral and leave it if for second than engage gear will give you so much safety in case your handbrake is bad or fails suddenly. I actually had it happen once when I did not put it in reverse on slope, and I was shocked I did not as I 99% time do.... had the handbrake cable failure and car went infront of my eyes down the hill, managed to run into and stop it just before it would crash another car..... My take on it is if you really stop normally let it settle in neutral, than engage you are absolutely fine no damage will really be done. EDIT : This "settle" I mention means not to stop, put it in gear and then release the clutch to jerk the transmision and make it bite, but first to stop, neutral, handbrake, release everything if car jiggles it will safely stop then put in gear.
I do agree with your statement of avoiding potholes, however there are a select few cities where it is literally impossible to avoid, there's potholes on both sides of the road and actually everywhere and 0 way to avoid them without going into on coming traffic, thankfully I moved 😭
Here in Austria the road infrastructure budget was decoupled from road tax income because road tax brought in so much money the government wanted to use it elsewhere instead of you know... lowering road tax. A Golf with the 1.5 TSI costs 348 euros per year, a Polo GTI with the 200-ish hp 2.0 TSI costs 1160 euros per year and your M2 costs 3516 euros per year.
I really like the pothole advice. Clear, concise, direct and correct. 😂
The potholes in my town are genuinely awful. They've been filled and ran down so many times that they span right across the width of the road now. I saw less potholes doing 300miles through wales than I do in 3 miles around my town 😄
When i was learning to drive the standard always was put in gear and then handbrake, this was what i had to do on the driving exam. My father never uses the handbrake - only first gear, and he has never had transmission problems for 350k miles already. As long as you drive a reliable car, and not a BMW or Volkswagen from the new models (i may sound harsh but those are the facts), you shouldn’t have a problem.
Been driving since 1994.. ( all manuals) Majority of my cars were 7-12 years old. Always rest my hand on the gear stick , never had any problems and I know I never will!
If you rest it on the 2nd, 4th or 6th gear it’ll be fine as you’re pulling it into the gear. In 1, 4, 5 you will pull it into neutral from the gear and that will increase the wear. It won’t break instantly, but it will increase the wear
The clutch is engaged whether or not you have it in gear or in neutral so i dont get what would wear out there.
In neutral, car weight can't load the transmission as it's not engaged to the output rod. In gear, it would.
@@stanislavblinov8454 But if you use both handbrake and put it in gear then the gearbox is not under load because the brake is holding the car but in case the brake fails it'll prevent it from moving
I don't know if something would be wrong in this method so please tell me if I'm wrong
@@macncheese9235 It may not prevent it from moving either. I think these are two separate issues to consider:
- load and wear
- safety
To solve the former, one should never rely on leaving the car in gear and use the brake instead.
As far as the latter goes, if you're worried about the car moving on its own, put something under its wheels - problem solved.
We shouldn't even be talking about using the gearbox as an "emergency" to hold the car in case the brake fails. It is not designed for that purpose, and should not be used for that purpose.
@@stanislavblinov8454 so put it in neutral than pull the ebrake let the car weight lean there turn off the car and put it in 1st
These are good suggestions but I can’t help feeling like you are the kind of person who will freak out if someone mildly bumps your rear bumper on accident and scratches the paint
My instructor taught me to downshift to 2nd and use the clutch to slow the car down on approach to roundabouts. Wouldn't dream of it in my own car. Use the brakes for their intended usage, rev match the down shift and away you go.
I always park in gear, had it drummed into me by older brother . If I forget to put the handbrake on or the cable snaps (17 plate fiesta that still has a manual handbrake), it won't roll.
I don't use the clutch to slow down, when I'm approaching a stop or slower speed limit I rev match to lower gears and just let the car roll itself out. zero fuel usage aside from the little rev match blip and no wear on the brakes
Yeah that’s poor instruction. Not just bad technique but also not every roundabout is the same, even if it is the same the situation will be different and may require a different approach speed. A mark of a poor instructor is when they teach things to be routine.
Yes. This is the correct way to apply engine braking through sequential downshifting. It does require some practice, however, and personally I find a single downshift e.g 5th to 3rd usually adequate when approaching large roundabouts with light traffic. @Killbayne
Amazing video as usual 🙌🏼 I truly believe it's gonna be people like you with videos like these leading big changes in how people drive, cause the standards today are shocking
5 minutes into watching this video and i just realized how helpful your videos are. thank you great sir
So nice of you!
Could you make a video about why you chose the m2?
Would love to know your thought process. Love the car and the channel
I agree with most of this apart from one gripe. I believe its perfectly fine to leave your manual car in gear when on hills. First off let me preface by saying I always pull up my handbreak, let off the break to fully load the handbreak and then let off the clutch, but even if I didn't your transmission deals with far greater loads while accelerating the car than it does just having the static weight on it, so the wear you would get from leaving it in gear is a drop in the ocean. I also think its just good principle to check and make sure your car is in nutral and start it with the clutch in, you will learn pretty quickly on your first few mistakes, I for sure have😂
bro the roads themselves in my country are potholes, if you try to avoid one you will go into another one, plus my car has extremely stiff suspension
I disagree with 14:28 - Leaving car in gear when parked
This is good practice regardless of new or old vehicles, and it does not cause issues down the line.
Been doing it for years.
It’s literally unnecessary and you must live outside the UK because no one really does that here, and it just increases the risk of a jump start
Admitting two mistakes, thank you for pointing out.
Nice topic. Why most people don't or can't read the road is mainly because they're too busy with their cellphones or other gizmos (i see or read on a daily basis about people crashing on a perfectly straight road, on their own). About the parking I agree to leave it in neutral in your garage or driveway. On a public road (especially if it's not flat) I personally prefer to engage the hand brake first and then put it in gear, so all of the weight is on the brake.
Well if you use the handbrake first and then put it into gear there actually isnt any force on the gear itself, because the brakes are already holding the car.
YES pull the HANDBRAKE, put it in GEAR (1st or reverse). The order should be neutral, handbrake, gear. If you pull the handbrake (parking brake) first, and put all the tension on the brakes, even if you put it in gear after that, as long as the handbrake is up, the transmission wont suffer, there won't be any tension on it. So if your car rolls slightly after applying the handbrake, let it to that, let it settle on the brake and then put it in gear "just in case"
I know you say "I have never had a handbrake cable snap on me", but also, I've never broken a transmission because I left it in gear, after pulling the handbrake. So to each their own I guess 🤷🏾♂️
Re leaving a car in gear when parking, I was taught - and I think it's good practice - to put the car in gear (generally 1st gear) when parking on a steep hill. Doing this AFTER applying the parking brake, as some commenters have suggested, would seem to be best practice for the reasons given.
Also, in this circumstance, again I was taught (in the US) that it's best to turn the front wheels so that if the car rolls back or forward as the case may be, the tires will come in contact with the curb, providing an additional margin of safety.
As for accidentally starting the car while in gear, for safety's sake I was taught to always check that the transmission is in neutral before turning on the ignition, as well as to depress the clutch to put less strain on the starter motor. Apparently, in the UK, this last practice at least (according to my son) is not taught by driving instructors, and I suppose there's a question as to whether the reduced strain on the starter motor is worth the increased wear on the clutch mechanism by keeping the clutch depressed while starting the engine.
Engine braking as you note is simply the consequence of ceasing to depress the accelerator and in no way involves using the clutch to perform any braking action. However, engine braking could involve progressively downshifting through several gears. In this case, the gearshift should be effected so as to ensure the engine RPMs are at the appropriately (high) level for the road speed in the new gear, and then to immediately let off the accelerator allowing engine braking to take effect.
Otherwise, the tips you offered seem sensible to me, especially concerning driving through standing water and avoiding potholes when possible.
Always put your car in Gear & use hand brake when you are stopping the engine! No transmission issues (from a car built in 1986 that I drove last 4 years ago. No issues because of this). This way you are "blocking" all 4 wheels.
Always put in 1st (even down the hill. It does not matter as you are "locking" the gears in place so the wheels are connected to the engine which is not running - full "engine brake")
For an Automatic: Always use P(ark) mode and hand brake.
Hello Mick! Yes, I have this handbrake issue, and yeah, I know this isn't that right to stop the car and put it in 1st gear instead of neutral, but I've had a case when my car (it's Focus 1 2004) started getting down by hill straight to the road. I got in it and hit the brakes. Now I prefer to put it in gear when I park on the hills just to avoid this.
Usually it's much better to find a place not on the hillside and use handbrake, of course
I always leave the vehicle in gear and handbrake on when parking. Maybe third gear on the flat as there is a spring on the selector that can wear over time of left in first or reverse. I have had handbrake cables break in the past and happened quite recently on one of our cars although the cables usually break when we are applying the handbrake. Also what can happen with cars with rear disc brakes, as the brakes cool down everything contracts and can slacken off the handbrake. We do own older cars with a manual handbrake. I am not a fan of electric handbrakes. More to go wrong. Great video as always. 😊
Great advices as always, maybe I would've specified to look out for cars in the opposite direction when avoiding potholes and water. I know it sounds obvious but people are not generally that smart.
Hi Mick , have been driving since the late 60's and always left in gear with the hand brake on .
Years ago, my cable snapped whilst I was paying for fuel. At the till, i looked out in horror as my car rolled into a pump and then into the main road. Luckily, no harm done, but im always parked in gear now! It still makes me cringe.
Great video!!
There is always something new to learn from you 🙂
Btw, i always put my gear in the 1st when parking 🙈
very instructive ❤ thank you. i have a question about speed bumps: i see people taking speed bumps by driving over to one side of them as far as possible, so that one side of their car is driving over the highest part of the bump, and the other side of the car is either on the very low side of the bump, or even on the flat road. this has always seemed a bad idea to me. i drive directly over them, trying to keep my car centred over the hump. what's the right way to take a speed bump?
Fantastic question! Might make a video with this as a core part.
The reason it different cars have different amount of ground clearance - some are ''lower'' than others.
So in a normal car - yes you can go directly over. In a lower car you will probably scrape if you do that, so you adjust yourself to either side. If you have a -really- low car then you have to go over diagonally and very slowly.
Atlanta roads are terrible. Sometimes rough roads and potholes are unavoidable
Thanks for the video! Quite educational. I'm doing driving lessons and smoothness/finesse is what stood out for me in the video. Gotta replace excessive fear with better skills to feel confident driving on local busy roads with very poor visibility due to bad narrow roads and mfs who park everywhere possible to hide visibility for checking oncoming cars at stop. Won't give up, I quite like driving, even on such frustrating situations and teacher says I'm gonna be a good driver (he's very impatient tho and I am more afraid at lesson and repeat mistakes)
11:32 oops…. Not gonna do that anymore. Been wondering about that recently. Still fairly new to driving stick. Thanks for clarifying! Hopefully my clutch isn’t too cooked
Potholes at night are worst
The last part is good rage bait ngl, almost got me 😂
96' A3 1.8T driver, My dad has been driving said car 15 years before it was passed down to me, and has always used 1-st gear to keep the car from rolling without pulling up the handbrake when parked.
Over years this has resulted in 1-st gear having an extremely worn out synchro and possibly teeth(It also whines), practically preventing me from engaging 1-st gear 80% of the time, at a stoplight.
Unless I revmatch both the engine and the transmission, I more or less don't have 1-st gear most of the time, having many situations in which I have to take off in 2-nd gear at stoplights, because 1-st gear won't go in no matter how many times I press and depress the clutch engage other gears (typicall 2-nd and then push it into 1-st) in order to rotate the gears in a way that they will mesh. And this is just from years of using the gearbox, as a handbrake, instead of the actual handbrake.
Please never use your manual, or automatic transmission as parking brak without pulling up the actual handbrake unless you are absolutely certain that the car will roll back on an extremely steep hill even with the parking brake absolutely all the way up.
1. Pull your handbrake
2. Release brake pedal
3. Stop the engine
4. Put in gear
5. Release clutch
No harm to transmission because your car is held by handbrake
And you have the added insurance of the transmission as a backup should the handbrake fail, makes sense to me
There would be no harm to your gearbox regardless. It’s a myth.
I rest my hand on the gear level, but mine is a DCT so no worries 🙂
Impeccable my dude 🙏
Thank you 🙌
I have an electronic e-break, which I hate. I used to leave the car in neutral, but one day I had a battery issue. The voltage must've been a tad low after a short drive, and the quick flick on the e-break switch that I had gotten used to didn't register, but I didn't notice because the break always just worked before so I wasn't paying attention. I went in to the store to get some groceries and when I came back out, the car had rolled into a lamp post near where I parked.
Now I leave it in gear every time.
Clutch braking from normal shifts doesn't wear the clutch, as long as your not dumping into insane revs. For instance you are going to take a 90 degree right turn you down shrift, the braking there is from a normal down shift, that will not cause any damage. Clutch + Breaks will not cause wear. Using the clutch only to stop will accelerate the wear, but nothing you would notice in short time.
Destroying your clutch comes from partial engagement, and acceleration. Or dumping a clutching into high revs.
I have exclusively drove manuals for as long as I have been driving, and have +160k on clutches.
I very often put my car in gear after i park it but im using e-brake first, so it takes whole mass of the car or at least big part of it. But i dont think that this habit is harmful because while accelerating quickly your transmission probably have to withstand more stress and wear than mass of the car alone
So for the handbrake problem, mechanically if you allow the car to settle on the handbrake and once all the weight has been placed there, if you put the car into first there will be no force on the transmission keeping it in place. There's also so much torque in first that even if you are on a hill you don't need to put it in reverse.
Leaving car in gear is probably fine as long as the handbrake is applied first before selecting a gear. Also most newer cars require the clutch to be pressed before starting so it prevents the problem of the car jumping forwards if you forget and just try to turn the key.
Thank you for this video. Marvellous tutorial. Keep it up❤️🙌. Is it possible if you can make a video on how to handle the fear of driving?
As for leaving the car in gear when parked, since I own two old Mercedes and it's a pain to work on the parking brake, I always leave the car in gear when parked. When I park on a level surface I don't even engage the parking brake. The way I see it, it's not just the gearbox holding the car in place - it's the whole shaft and diff. I'd rather replace the diff fluid often and change the flex discs on the shaft than having to work on the parking brake.
I went to a week long trek with a friend of mine once. I left my car in gear, handbrake down, and he did the opposite (handbrake up, car in neutral). When we came back and he pulled down his handbrake, the brakes were locked in and he couldn’t do anything about it. In the end, we had to get the car towed and change the brake discs, which was quite expensive. I’m not sure it’s the right thing but having seen this, I leave my car in gear handbrake down whenever I have to park it outside for more than a day.
idk resting the hand on gear shift never was natural to me
real, my friend always tells me he wants to do that just because it looks cool, it feels ok sometimes but i usually drive with no hand on gear
Totally true for potholes, but mate driving and being mainly focused at the tarmac leads to bad surprise coming from emergency braking in front, sudden road change and other drivers around you doing sh*t, if you are on a trip and often relying on GPS navigation in a city you can never dodge most of potholes, and if you do you'd miss your turns/path 20 times..
I almost didnt buy my new little FWD 4banger cause of cv axle complaints. Low and behold just enough handbrake to park and stop that roll, is a good thing, especially for little FWD cars. My cv axles been perfect.
Gear lever: Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but in an automatic car, you can rest your hand on the gear lever all day if you want to.
Water: NEVER brake when driving THROUGH water, you can warp your brake discs when they get cooled down abruptly.
4:50 after picking up my last car, a brand new 2023 BMW 1 series, i went to drive a friend home. I had maybe 400km on the clock at that point.
It was raining heavily, and because there was so much water on the road, i couldn't see the standing water i was approaching at roundabout 50mph. Next thing i knew, the water splashed about 2m high in front of me and gave any electronics unfortunate enough to be cought in the crossfire a thorough bathing.
No reversing aid on the rest of that trip, but luckily it dried out enough over night, so that it worked again in the morning
I always park with handbrake and 1st gear engaged. And load in not on gear as handbrake is engaged first and gear is selected. Gear will only be loaded when handbrake fails. I used to leave it in neutral but one time the car started rolling ahead as I got out of it.
the reason people talk about shifting with engine braking is because the lower the gear the stronger the engine brake effect will be.
4:00 I learned this tip the hard way REALLY fast. When I got my license and my car at 19 it wasn't even a week when I decided to go on a joyride on a wet day. Splashed through puddles quite a lot and ended up getting water in my engine....then it stalled in the middle of a busy intersection and I sat there like a fkin idiot for about 15-20 minutes until the car got up and running again.
I pretty much always leave the car in gear. I pull the handbrake, then go in gear, but shut off the engine before releasing the clutch. Like this, there's no pressure on the gears, as the cars weight is held by the handbrake. When I do it like this, I can literally just shift it in and out of gear without the clutch. And if the handbrake does fail, it will still catch it.
But a lot of the time, none of this would even be needed, as the parking space has like a hole, where the wheels sit and the car wouldn't move even in neutral and no parking brake. But I still leave it in gear just in case
Park.Footbrake hard. Handbrake. 1st gear. Engine off. Release clutch. Eat sleep repeat...
BRO!!! YOUR PSI STATEMENT IS HILARIOUS!!
SHOUT OUT FROM LAKE PLACID NY
ADKURBANMTBTEAM
15:34 the clutch would be engaged anyways, innit
One can only avoid pottholes if one sees them early enough.
But with that poor following distance of most people makes that impossible.🤷♂️
I have had a handbrake fail. That is a much bigger bill than a new transmission, trust me. Apart from anything else, your car could kill someone if it runs away. I will always leave my car in gear.
I disagree with the last point. Once you’re parked, keep the foot brake engaged before you engage the handbrake, then release foot brake and put the car in gear. Doing this will mean the weight of the car is being held by the handbrake, and if that fails then your car will roll slightly before the transmission stops it from rolling any further. So therefore under ideal circumstances your transmission will not be damaged.
Additionally, leaving your car in gear without the handbrake engaged can be handy if you plan on not moving your car for an extended period of time so the handbrake doesn’t seize, however wheels chocks will probably be a better alternative.
If you have an older car, leaving your car in gear should be habit. If damage to your transmission is true, at least that’s cheaper than a whole new car.
If you do it correctly, putting the transmision in gear as prevention shoudn't wear the transmision, clutch nor engine since the parking break is engaged, "supporting" the weight of the car and avoiding it to move.
The clutch is always engaged unles the pedal is pressed, therefore no damage.
Gears won't wear because they aren't moving.
Engine won't wear because it isn't moving.
And at the end of the day it's preferable a damaged gear after a snapped parking break line, than your car rolling down and hitting something or someone.
Rust is caused by salt, not water
Mick could you make video about under steer and over steer? How to get out of slide
I always use hand brake, but its just habit. Do not worry with manual to leave it 1st or reverse. Sometimes it is better than hand brake. Depends on car and situation. I remember, one old car with a 1.0 L HTP engine had a problem with that, after some time the timing chain skipped teeth and goodbye engine... but never heard of it being a problem for any manual gearbox.
You should park the car, handbrake on, foot off the brake, clutch in and put it in first or reverse depending on the incline. This will not load your transmission in any way. Also you should select 1st gear for downhill and reverse for uphill and NOT the other way around. If your handbrake fails you do not want to be in revese and going the downhill as it will damage your transmission. 1st gear should hold just fine on any resonable incline.
You mentioned the parking brake idea before in another video (can’t recall which one); what is the step-by-step for parking the vehicle “appropriately?”
A note about potholes; if you can, report them! They won't get fixed if no one knows about them
On the subject of engine braking, you can do this in any gear. However, lower gears are more effective than higher ones. Furthermore, engine braking is further pronounced on diesel in comparison to petrol.
Yes you can stop a modern car quickly. What people don't take into account is your thinking and reaction time.
I only leave my car in gear if I'm parked on a substantial hill. Leaving the front types pointed somewhat towards the curb should also help if the hand brake decided to fail.
My OG Saab 9-3 requires putting it in reverse to take the key out of the ignition, so it is by design always in gear while sitting. Not sure if all of these points are equal, definitely not clear-cut and that simple as you're stating.
May I add...
Number 11: If you're driving a BMW, don't use your left turn indicator, as activating this electrical circuit that has never previously been used may have unintended consequences, up to and including a BMW driver turning right while indicating left. 🙂