How to Drive a Stick Shift

Your Manual for Driving a Manual! (haha)

Okay, let's face it. Knowing how the stick shift works is probably the best way to drive one. But you could explain it to me ten times, and I'd still respond with, "The what fits into the huh?"

The first time I drove stick, my erstwhile companion was trying to explain why I had to do what I had to do, and I would get so involved in trying to visualize the mysterious mechanisms under the hood, that I would promptly stall. 

But now that I've been driving stick for a while, I've realized it's a skill worth learning and it gets much, much easier with practice. Driving stick is fun, and cars with manual transmissions are not only cheaper, they're also more fuel efficient. Not to mention the mad street cred you get for your skillz.

Getting Started

There are 3 pedals. You press the clutch with your left foot, and the gas and brake pedals are the same as in an automatic car.

Adjust your seat so that your left foot can easily press the clutch down all the way to the floor. You might have to sit closer than you would in a regular car.

There are 2 things that you absolutely have to know about the car before you drive since some cars are a little different.

1. What gear do you have to be in when you turn the car off? In some cars, you can be in neutral. In others, you have to be in 1st or reverse.

2. How do you put it into reverse? Some cars have a ring on the actual gearshift that you have to pull up before you can get into reverse. The position of reverse can also be different, depending on the car.

The Gears

Most cars have the pattern marked on top of the gearshift. The pattern can vary a little, depending on whether it's a 5-speed or a 6-speed transmission. And, of course, the position of the reverse can vary as well.

Neutral is always in the middle. When you're in neutral and you are at a stop, you will not move unless you're on an incline. If you switch into neutral while you're still moving, you will continue to move until you either press the brake or naturally roll to a stop. You cannot use the gas pedal in neutral.