Most people consider driving an automatic easier than driving a manual.
However, there are different strokes for different folks as certain people still stick to good old manual transmission.
Even then, there are still ways to mess up parts of your vehicle.
Here are five things you shouldn’t do if you drive a manual transmission car.
#1 Don’t Keep Your Car In Gear When You’re At A Stop Light
Why It’s Bad: Your clutch will suffer from unnecessary wear and tear.
When you’re sitting at a stop light and putting your car into gear, you’re essentially pressing the three main parts of your clutch into one another: the spring, the bearing, and the diaphragm. Eventually, this wears them out.
#2 Don’t Use the Clutch to Hold Yourself On a Hill
Why It’s Bad: It wears out your friction material and clutch.
A common habit people have is to feather the clutch pedal (tap it repeatedly) so they can avoid rolling down a hill. What you’re actually doing is burning out the friction material on your clutch disc.
#3 Don’t Rest Your Hand On the Gear Shift
Why It’s Bad: It will wear down your clutch and it’s just plain unsafe.
This one is a bit surprising. The weight of your hand can actually cause the parts responsible for gear shifting to rub together. After a while, this actually rubs them down. This will cause your car to jump out of gear.
#4 Don’t Floor the Gas Pedal When Your Engine Is at a Low RPM
Why It’s Bad: It’s unhealthy for your engine.
When you start flooring the gas pedal at low RPMs, you’re sending your vehicle a mixed signal.
Your car thinks is should be relaxing, while your foot is telling it to step on it. It stresses the engine out, which will eventually lead to the need for repairs.
#5 Don’t Rest Your Foot On the Clutch When Driving
Why It’s Bad: It will wear out your clutch.