I see this question online a lot where people ask whether or not it is okay to start your car in first gear. Many people even have their vehicles parked in reverse gear. Hence, they often wonder if it is okay to start the car in reverse gear. There is a ton of information floating around on the internet regarding this theme. However, it must be mentioned that these things depend on the situation. Many people follow different practices across the globe as per their surroundings and their cars. Let us try to understand it in depth.
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Should You Start Car in First Gear?
Well, there is no short answer to this. If you have an automatic car, then you would already have parked it in Parking gear. Therefore, you will need to start it in that gear only. The cases I am discussing are applicable only to manual cars. So, if you have parked the car in neutral on a plane area with a handbrake, you should ideally start the car in neutral. That is the best practice. It doesn’t strain any mechanical component of the vehicle. In fact, that is the most common way to start any car.
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However, if you live in the mountains, it is common to park the car in the gear depending on the slope or incline. For instance, if you have parked the car with its front facing an uphill slope, you generally park the car in first gear. Alternatively, if the face of the car is facing a downward slope, you should park the car in reverse gear. When you want to start it again, you will need to press the clutch and brake. Hence, it is not an issue even if you start the car in first or reverse gear provided you press the clutch and brake pedals.
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Conclusion
The ideal scenario is that you should start the car in neutral. However, depending on the situation, you could start the car in first or reverse gears too. It won’t cause any damage to the components as long as you are pressing the clutch and brake during the start. Alternately, once you are in the car even on a slope. you could press the clutch first and then put the car in neutral and then start. In this manner, if the car tries to move, you will still be in full control to press the brakes. I hope this article will help you clear the queries about how you should start the car.
