How to Shift a Manual Car

Manual cars are harder to drive than automatic.

Manual transmission cars are more confusing to drive than those with automatic transmissions. You must pay attention to what gear your shifting into, your RPMs and the road all at the same time. While you are driving, you need to know how to shift the car between gears. If you do not shift properly you can cause the car to stall, or you can seriously damage your transmission. Hone your shifting skills to transition smoothly between gears.

Instructions

1. Start the car, if it is not running already. Check if the car is in neutral first because the car may stall if it is not.

2. Hold down the clutch with your left foot. The clutch pedal is left of the brake pedal.

3. Grasp the shift knob at the center between your chair and the passenger's chair and recognize what position the knob is currently in. Neutral position is in the center of the console and you should be able to wiggle the shift knob while it is in neutral. Up and left is first gear, down and left is second gear, up and center is third, down and center is fourth and, depending on your transmission, either up and right or down and right is reverse. The position of each gear is shown on the shift knob.

4. Shift the knob to the gear you must put the car in, depending if you are speeding up or slowing down.

5. Release the clutch, gradually. You may cause the car to stall if you release it too quickly.

6. Repeat the steps for each gear.

7. View the RPM gauge behind your wheel. If it is at 3000 or more RPM, you may want to shift into the next highest gear. As you slow down your RPMs will go down, so if your RPM drops below 3000, you may want to shift down a gear.

References

• Standard Shift: FAQ