A lot of drivers have these common bad habits that they should avoid in a manual transmission car. Many people don’t realize the gravity of the situation and how little care can protect your transmission components over a longer period of time. Without realizing it, many drivers tend to have these habits. Over the long term, these habits can cause substantial wear to the components of the transmission. Hence, this post will help you recognize some of these habits and hopefully avoid them.
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Bad Habits To Avoid In A Manual Transmission Car
Keeping Hand On The Gear Lever
This is arguably the most common mistake that drivers make while driving. Even experienced drivers have the habit of keeping one hand on the gear lever while driving. One must know that it causes a certain pressure on the gear lever translation to the gear selector forks below. This makes the selector fork rub against the gears which can cause premature wear of these components. Moreover, it is never a good idea to steer the car with just one hand. So, ideally, both your hands should be on the steering wheel.
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Using Clutch As Brake On A Slope
As someone who drives the car on inclined slopes every day, I can attest to the fact that it is not the best solution to balance the car on the slope using the accelerator and clutch pedals. One must use brakes to bring the car to a complete stop. When the traffic moves again, one must either use the triple-pedal technique (if the slope is too inclined) or use the hand brake to pick the car up. Not doing so will allow the clutch plate to rub against the diaphragm spring and pressure plate. After the friction material on the clutch wears out completely, you will start experiencing clutch slips.
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Not Using Neutral At Traffic Lights
A ton of people keep their cars in first gear while stuck at the traffic lights. It must be noted that while in gear, the clutch is not meant to be pressed for longer durations. The best way to do that is the put the car in neutral and lift your foot off the clutch pedal. Otherwise, it is just unnecessary wearing of the transmission assembly.
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Resting Your Foot On Clutch While Driving
This is a problem that a lot of people using old cars have because of the lack of dead pedals in the car. However, modern cars do come with dead pedals which are meant for your foot to rest while not engaging in gear shifting. But people still have this habit from the past to keep one foot on the clutch pedal. This, over time, reduces the efficiency of the clutch and also might result in a clutch slip. Not to mention, your foot gets tired of being in that position on longer journeys.
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