2. Assuming basic driving rules
are already understood, here
are a few simple steps to
show how to drive a car that
is stick shift.
Step 1: Make sure the gear
shift is moved into 1st gear
before starting the car.
3. Step 2: From the left: clutch, brake, gas.
With your left foot, push the clutch all the way to the floor and push the brake with your right foot.
Release the emergency brake and turn the key to start the car.
4. Step 3: To move forward,
slowly release the clutch
from the floor, while
simultaneously moving your
right foot from the brake to
the gas at the same speed.
Note: It is not uncommon for
those who are unfamiliar
with stick shift to stall a few
times during this process. If
this occurs, turn the key to
shut the car off, then follow
step 2 again to start the car.
5. Step 4: Once the car is moving, keep an
eye on the tachometer (RPM gauge), once
you hit between 2500 to 3500 RPMs, it is a
good time to shift gears. To switch to 2nd
gear, make sure you gained enough
momentum so that the car will stay in
motion while you move your foot briefly
off the gas. Once your right foot is off the
gas, push the clutch to the floor with your
left foot and pull the gear shift straight
back, then gently the release the clutch
and return your right foot to the gas pedal.
Repeat for gears 3-5 (and 6 if you have it).
Note: Holding the gas and clutch down at
the same time can cause damage to your
clutch if done too frequently or for too
long. Once you get the hang of shifting you
will be able to do it more quickly and
smoothly.
6. Step 5: There are two options when
stopping in a stick shift:
Option 1 – Move the shifter to the center of
the gear shift to put the car into neutral.
To make sure it is in neutral, wiggle the
shifter back and forth, if it moves easily
the car is in neutral. Then, stop as normal.
Option 2 – Remove your right foot from the
gas to hover over the brake, at the same
time push the clutch all the way to the
floor. Then push the brake down until you
safely stop.
Note: If the car is in gear, you must have
the clutch in to come to a complete stop,
otherwise, the car will stall out.
To start moving again, see step 3.
7. Step 6: Putting the car into reverse can be slightly different depending on the make of the vehicle. In most cars,
you would move the shifter all the way to the right and then down, each car should indicate on the gear shift where
reverse is located. Once in reverse, use the pedals just as you would if you were moving forward.
8. Step 7: Rather than pressing the brakes
every time you need to slow down, you
have the option to downshift. To
downshift, you would start the same way
as shifting regularly, except you will
move into the next gear lower than the
current gear you are in (Ex. If you’re in
4th gear, you would shift into 3rd). It is
important to ease off the clutch and onto
the gas gently to make sure your car
catches smoothly.
Note: Do not downshift more than one
gear at a time, you could cause serious
damage to your vehicle. Your car will
dangerously jolt, as well, which can
cause you to lose control.
9. Step 8: To park the car, follow the directions for stopping from step 5. Be sure to leave the car in 1st gear,
this will help prevent the car from rolling. It is best to shut the car off before removing your foot from the
clutch, to avoid stalling. Pull up the emergency brake as an extra precaution and you just learned how to
drive stick!
