# 2011 Subaru Legacy - Throw out bearing at lights

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-subaru-legacy-throw-out-bearing-at-lights/150661>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** subaru\
**Created:** [October 13, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-subaru-legacy-throw-out-bearing-at-lights/150661 "2019-10-13T17:32:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JohnDalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@JohnDalton](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JohnDalton)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-subaru-legacy-throw-out-bearing-at-lights/150661/1 "2019-10-13T17:32:16Z")

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Dear Car Talk, I’m an old guy who has never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission. Way back when I was told to never hold the clutch in at stoplights because of damage to clutch parts (throw-out bearing?) Was that true then, and is it true now in an age of modern mechanics? Thanks, John who still doesn’t know

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-subaru-legacy-throw-out-bearing-at-lights/150661/2 "2019-10-13T20:00:59Z")

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> [@JohnDalton](#):
>
> Was that true then, and is it true now in an age of modern mechanics? Thanks, John who still doesn’t know

Not true then, not true now. It is more a safety issue than a wear-out issue. Throwout bearings should be replaced every time the clutch come out anyway. The safety part is being able to move the car in a far shorter time if you have the car in gear and ready to go.

My state would have failed me on my driver’s test if I had popped it into neutral during the test.

Doesn’t matter so much anymore as there are very few manual trans cars sold in the US.

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**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 5:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-subaru-legacy-throw-out-bearing-at-lights/150661/3 "2019-10-14T05:21:52Z")

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When I first got my license, they stamped you license automatic only if you took your road test with an automatic.