Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange
Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [driving]

The act of operating a vehicle.

56 questions
27
votes
10 answers

Manual transmission at stop: 1st with clutch in, or neutral with clutch out? -OR- Throwout Bearing wear

When sitting in traffic or at a long red light, is the Best Practice to have the car in 1st gear with your foot on the clutch, or in neutral with your foot off the clutch? Some say that you should be in gear to be ready to move if necessary. Some…
mac
  • 5,343
  • 3
  • 22
  • 36
20
votes
3 answers

Does resting your foot on the clutch wear it out?

Does driving with your foot always resting on the clutch (not pushing) generally wear it down?
George
  • 6,605
  • 38
  • 86
  • 123
20
votes
12 answers

What does Honda's 'Econ' button do? Does it truly improve fuel efficiency?

I recently bought a Honda Civic that had this in the car: I have no idea what it does, and how it's supposed to help. Even Honda's website is ambiguous, just using a lot of fuzzy words to describe what it does. From the website: Econ Button and…
yuritsuki
  • 447
  • 2
  • 5
  • 15
12
votes
7 answers

Most reliable way to stop an automatic with a stuck throttle

I was thinking about a recent question here as well as that 2009 Toyota incident. I'm not particularly paranoid of this happening, as it's highly unlikely, but I do like to mentally run through sticky situations so I'm prepared if they do happen…
Jason C
  • 4,910
  • 8
  • 36
  • 73
10
votes
3 answers

How is this pavement optimized to suppress water splashing?

In my experience driving through the rain at speeds above 100 km/h results in a cloud of sprayed water behind the car, like so: However, I encounter more and more recently repaired road sections where the pavement is virtually immune to…
Dmitry Grigoryev
  • 2,662
  • 2
  • 14
  • 29
9
votes
1 answer

Does drifting damage a car?

Sometimes when it's wet outside and there are no cars or pedestrians nearby I will take corners hard and drift. I'm aware that drifting has a safety risk and wears out tires. It also places some lateral force on the bottom of the tire, torquing the…
Reinstate Monica
  • 203
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
9
votes
3 answers

Switching gears without clutch

I drove manual car for a long time but never tried to switch gears without clutch. Question: given that clutch-less shift is executed properly, does it take a toll on transmission in any way? For example: does clutch-less shifting reduce life of…
MeIr
  • 498
  • 1
  • 7
  • 14
8
votes
4 answers

Do fast cars need to occasionally be driven fast?

In the broad spectrum of cars, there's higher end models with sport-focused engines. Examples would be an BMW M3, and even more so Ferraris and Koenigseggs etc. Apparently they're more fussy, in that new cars need a careful run in, special oil,…
andrewb
  • 1,056
  • 6
  • 14
  • 22
8
votes
2 answers

For how long should I idle at a stop?

As I approach a stretch of road that has been single-laned due to roadworks, the sign-flipper spins the sign to STOP. Having been through these roadworks before, I know I'll probably be waiting at least 3 minutes, probably more. If I leave it…
Digital Trauma
  • 1,176
  • 2
  • 13
  • 23
8
votes
2 answers

Driving slower at low constant rpms or driving fast to get to destination faster, which saves more gas?

As the question title says. I am a new driver and I understand that driving at higher RPMs can burn more gas faster. However getting to a destination longer would mean you were spending gas at a longer period of time. Are there any scientific…
Jomar Sevillejo
  • 1,307
  • 3
  • 16
  • 27
8
votes
2 answers

Is it healthy to drive with a bad IAC?

My IAC is bad and in order to keep my car running while a stop sign/light is to have one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas. Is this an effective fix to travel until I get it fixed? Or Should I just not drive it?
Kenny Hawkins
  • 81
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4
7
votes
1 answer

Drive by wire disables steering when car is off?

I've recently purchases a manual transmission 1.5 Honda Mobilio. Which claimed to be a drive by wire vehicle and I assume it really is (don't know how to tell if a car is drive by wire). I am a new driver and on my observation, when I take the key…
Jomar Sevillejo
  • 1,307
  • 3
  • 16
  • 27
7
votes
8 answers

Will driving through puddles do any damage to my car?

I've often been told that driving through puddles (anything from a small one to 3-4cm deep) can be bad for my car, and I shouldn't drive through them. I know about aquaplaning, but is there any other damage driving through puddles can do? I mean in…
George
  • 6,605
  • 38
  • 86
  • 123
7
votes
1 answer

Why do open differentials drive the wheels on the ground when a vehicle drives on two?

In this youtube video, a Toyota FJ cruiser in Saudi Arabia drives up on two wheels while 5 people get out and remove the wheels on that side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQm5BnhTBEQ This turns out to be somewhat of a thing-to-do in arab nations…
Ehryk
  • 2,704
  • 2
  • 18
  • 32
6
votes
3 answers

Why do you use the "park" gear to park a car and not only the handbrake?

Here on the internet people just explain the difference between the two and how you should also apply the handbrake when it gets steep, but why is there even a parking gear in the first place when you can just use the handbrake?
Peter
  • 61
  • 1
  • 2
1
2 3 4