Practicing and Troubleshooting

Practice on an easy course with an experienced manual driver. While you can legally practice alone on any public road with a valid driver’s license, you will pick up the nuances of driving a manual car faster if you have an experienced driver accompanying you Start off in a flat, isolated area like a large (and empty) car park, then move on to quiet suburban streets. Drive around the same circuit repeatedly until you start to remember the various skills involved.

Avoid stopping and starting on steep hills initially.When you’re new to driving a manual, plan routes that avoid traffic lights at the top of steep hills. Your timing and coordination in working the gear stick, clutch, brake, and accelerator needs to be fairly sharp in order to avoid drifting backwards when you shift into first gear.

You need to be able to quickly (but smoothly) move your right foot from releasing the brake to depressing the accelerator, while at the same time letting out the clutch. You can use the parking brake to limit backward drifting if necessary, but always remember to disengage it as you start moving forward.

Learn parking procedures, especially on hills.Unlike automatics, manual transmission cars don’t have a “park” gear. But, simply putting the car in neutral opens the possibility of your car rolling freely, especially if parked on an incline or decline. Always use the handbrake, but don’t rely on it alone to keep your car in place whilst parked

If you are parked facing uphill, shut the car off in neutral, then shift into first gear and apply the parking brake. If facing downhill, do the same but shift into reverse. This will prevent the wheels from rolling in the direction of the slope.

On extreme inclines, or simply to be extra cautious, you can also place chocks (angled blocks) behind your wheels to prevent movement.

Stop completely before changing from forward to reverse (and vice versa). Making a complete stop when changing directions is an easy way to reduce your likelihood of causing expensive damage to your gearbox.

It is strongly recommended to stop completely before going from reverse to first gear. However, it is possible on most manual transmissions to shift into first or possibly second when the car is moving backwards at a slow speed, but it is not recommended as this can cause excessive wear on the clutch.

In some cars, reverse gear has a lock out mechanism to prevent you for engaging it accidentally. Before using the reverse gear, make sure you know about this locking mechanism and how to disengage it before selecting reverse.