First gear locked out at stop light

[BallisticSquid]

I’ve always considered the act of disengaging/engaging the clutch to be “harder” on it than leaving it depressed. If it’s a quick stop sign or short traffic light leaving it in and keeping it in gear takes half as many clutch presses to do.

If you’re sitting at a light for minutes on end then definitely throw it in neutral after you’ve already shifted into 1st gear coming to a stop.

The biggest thing I’ve always been concerned about is having the gear locked out or having to shift into 1st gear quickly to avoid someone rear ending me which is why I do what I do. I’ve never had a clutch failure in 20 years of driving manual cars but the method could be adjusted if you’re concerned about it.

1. Shift into 1st gear while slowing.
2. After you have stopped and are not rolling shift to neutral and take your foot off the clutch.

The trick is getting it into gear while moving to prevent the lockout. Similar to motorcycles which can be even more finicky!

I drove stick exclusively for 20 years after I got my license in '86. During that time, I owned 3 new cars ('91 civic hatch, '96 accord, '00 4Runner) and put about 120k miles on each. Prior to those was an '83 chevette and an '82 VW quantum. Never had I heard that you should leave the car in neutral rather than have the clutch to the floor when sitting at a traffic light. I've never had to replace a clutch or had clutch issues.

Today, watch any video on the internet about driving manual and it's made to seem that if you drive this way you'll prematurely wear out the throwout bearing and ruin your clutch. Is this something new with modern clutches? I am teaching my son how to drive manual and I'm reluctant to teach him to put the car in neutral at a stop light. In bad traffic, I'd put the car in neutral and let the clutch out just to give my leg a rest.

Regarding difficulty getting the car into gear, years ago I can remember doing the "shift into second" first thing to get the car to go into gear from a stop occasionally. Sometimes reverse could be tricky and putting into first gear and then reverse would help. Today I go into second before first sometimes without thinking about it from old habit.

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[TypeRD]

At a stop I always shift to neutral, but out of habit I keep the clutch pedal depressed (clutch disengaged) most of the time. I’ve never had an issue with a broken throw-out bearing. I’ve driven manual for over 20 years (all were/are modern vehicles).

 

[submitaweasel]

Correct. Don’t do this. Shift to neutral.

https://www.drivespark.com/amphtml/...rst-gear-at-traffic-signal-lights-025052.html

Whoever wrote this article does not understand how a clutch operates. The clutch and flywheel are not engaged when in gear. They are engaged when the clutch pedal is released.

leaving the car in gear with the clutch pedal depressed at lights will put strain on the throwout bearing and the pressure plate. Pressure plates have mechanical "finger" springs to apply clutch pressure when the clutch pedal is released. When the clutch pedal is pushed, hydraulic pressure pushes the throwout bearing against the pressure plate to release the pressure mechanical pressure and disengage the clutch. As with all springs, over time, their pressure will decrease when not in the natural position (pushed by the throwout bearing).

in a real world application, over time this would translate to a slightly reduced life of the throwout bearing and pressure plate leading to either a throwout bearing failure or clutch slip due to fatigued pressure plate springs. In practice, however, sitting at traffic lights with the clutch pedal depressed will do much less damage than quick shifts or clutch dumps.

TL;DR dont buy into the hype one way or another, do whats comfortable for you because in the long run you are doing way more damage in a single "spirited drive" than you are sitting at a stop light.

 

[TypeRD]

His advice about putting an automatic trans in neutral, when sitting a stop light, is also questionable at best.

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