Hi,
I own a 2012 Hyundai Elantra with the 6-speed manual. I would not ever own an automatic transmission on a car that is either sporty (BMW or a Mini) or an economy (Elantra). The manual is the only way to enjoy driving a car with such a small engine.
I find the manual transmission on my car a little finicky. First gear has such a small range that I often stall the car. The other gears shift gently - but this car is not intended to be pushed too hard - it gets clunky if you don’t time the RPM downshift just right.
All that said, I use the downshift to slow down rather than the brakes. I may occasionally coast in neutral on hills. I am VERY careful to engage or disengage the clutch as quickly as possible and not ride it out. Lastly - foot OFF of the clutch pedal when not in use.
I would love to know the life expectancy of my clutch and tranny - historically on these cars. I hope a long while.
Thank you all for your great answers, BF said “your car your rules” so he has agreed to drive “my way” when he’s driving my car
I’m not too excited about riding in his 98 grand am POS with no ac, water leaks, non working power windows (you get the idea) especially this time of year @Rod: I hear ya there, one of my moms friends drives a large pickup the same way, foot on gas and left foot on brake, it’s scarey!
Again thanks all for your fabulous responses. Helped me tremendously!
It is very hard to predict clutch life. There are so many variables. Some driver’s use clutch friendly techniques, some drivers are wanna be racers, some areas of the country have few hills and other areas (San Francisco for sure) are nothing but hills.
I have an '03 Honda Civic with just short of 140K and no signs of any clutch issues as yet. I expect it to go for many more miles, but other Civics have had clutches replaced long before 140K miles.
When I feel the 1st signs of my clutch slipping in 5th gear going up a steep hill I’ll get it replaced quickly so as not to damage the flywheel or allow the clutch to get excessively hot. Continuing to drive a clutch that is obviously slipping just means more parts and a more expensive job when the replacement is done.
@Uncle…yep, hills in city where I am from too, steep ones and many people get an automatic since they can’t seem to master the art of balancing the clutch/brake/gas @ a light or stopsign. I did have a 84 subaru with a “hillholder” feature that appeard to be another cable to apply the brake when you were on a steep hill, interesting but have not seen it on another car. Most of mine have been older toyotas which seem to be hard to come by on the east coast due to the fact they totally rusted out. In fact good used older cars seem hard to come by and not cheap on East Coast PERIOD.
Hyundai has only 70k on it, so I want to maximize my miles before I have to have a clutch done. I have neither the tools nor the resources to do it where I live now
@backyardmec My advice, as with others’, is that you not let him drive your car. Let him ride with you if he wants to. If that hurts his ego he may be the wrong guy. Tell him in Western Canada (Fort McMurray) there are 110 lb girls driving 250 ton dump trucks that require a ladder to get into the cab. These girls make about 95,000+ a year.
If he wants to abuse his own car, that’s his business.
Here is a rhetorical question for you to ponder: How did your BF’s car get to be a “POS”?
My car, which is just as old as your BF’s, is no beauty, but I wouldn’t call it a “POS.” Still, I know people who drive POS cars, and they tend to be hard on every car they drive. Don’t let them drive your car unsupervised unless you are willing to let your car become a POS as well.
That’s just my two cents. People who drive POS cars don’t get a chance to turn my car into a POS.
Good questions. Yes , you have a right to be concerned. But, it’s your car, you are being reasonable and your boyfriend should respect your wishes regardless of how you ask him to drive. When ever a person drives someone else car, it’s only polite and respectful to drive it carefully and respect the owner’s wishes. IMHO, it’s that simple. Not riding he clutch, down shifting appropriately and keeping car in gear are recomended procedures for safety driving a manual. That being said, it says as much about your boyfriend not being a respectful person as it does about him not knowing how to drive a manual transmission.
Your question causes me to pine, b/c it would be a great one for the show. Esp if Tom and Ray could get you and your bf on the air together!
Oh well, to address the OP, my opinion is that it is generally easier to control the car when it is in gear rather than neutral. It’s easier to stop as your brakes get an assist from the engine compression, and if you need to momentarily accelerate to avoid trouble, if in gear, you can do that to. Like you discovered, state law often says not to coast in neutral too, presumably for these reasons.
Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, riding the clutch and using the brakes more than need be does cause some wear and tear. But the parts that wear are designed to wear and are replaceable. It doesn’t damage the car beyond the fact that you’ll need to replace the clutch and brake pads and possibly rotors sooner. So it’s more an expense and inconvenience issue.
Let me offer a little bit of expensively learned advice here. If you want to minimize expense and inconvenience in your life, having a bf in the first place is moving the wrong direction. Or look at it this way. If having a bf is important to you, the bf offers up something in your life you’d otherwise not have, and you like that part, then forget about complaining about the wear and tear on the car due to his imperfect driving style. When the bf burns out the clutch, don’t complain, don’t even mention it, certainly don’t speculate that his driving style caused it, just fix it. That would be my secret to a happy couples relationship. Whatever happens … fix it, then “fugget-'bout-it”!
@keith
Thanks. I don’t listen to my wife enough either.
Sad to say though, OP had to post us to get the cooperation deserved from the beginning. IMHO, it should never have gone this far with a considerate person driving someone else car. Obviously, "caving in " is not a sign of a respectful outcome.
If I heard @GeorgeSanJose right, I respectfully disagree that one has to think about giving up personal rights of requiring, even a loved one, they operate your personal property correctly. My wife loves me dearly, but when I operate her sewing machine to fix my sails, I do it under her guidance and direction. We don’t give up personal ownership rights just to preserve a relationship. It’s still up to the non owner to respect OP’s wishes…that IMHO, is where th onus is. Relationships are two way streets. I love my kids, they operated my vehicles the way I wanted. Now, when I drive their cars, I drive them the way they want. No questions ask…and no reason to tie it to whether you value you that persons relationship. If op losses bf because of this, it’s his loss, not op and bf is being disrespectful.
Fixing and forgetting about it never works if you feel you had to sacrifice what’s right just to preserve something else. The human heart and mind has a way of never forgetting and resentment follows.
LOL @dag yeah…he is from west coast and like I said, not many “cheap” cars here that aren’t a POS, it was a POS when he got it.
Usually as a rule i DO NOT let other people drive my car. He is an exception …having a bf is better than having a husband who is now an ex husband but I believe that is a totally new subject and not “car talk”
@docnic Yes I’m from BC in case you didn’t see that and is actually easier to immigrate to US than have a US immigrate to Canada. Less BS to start with but…well, that’s another subject…would like to come back there (to BC) but family obligations keep me here for now.
If you do know of an easier way for a US citizen to get a job up there in Ft…msg me, I’m curious.
@George Yes I would LOVE to get the discussion on cartalk since the forum does not hold a lot of info on the subject. Have you ever tried getting through??? LOL
@backyardmec There is a critical skilled worker shortage in Alberta. The government has gotten together with industry to go on hiring missions to the USA. Many US veterans who are looking for work have moved up to the Alberta oil patch. They have good skills, are used to discipline and can handle the outrageous weather.
You can try the Alberta labor dept. (Government of Alberta.ab.ca), or the various oil companies directly, such as Syncrude, Suncor, Husky, Esso Resources (Imperial Oil), Shell, etc. They all have web sites and personnel departments. All except Syncrude are headquartered in Calgary.
I don’t see in your discription that the BF is burning the clutch, however holding the clutch pedal down does put extra wear on the clutch realease/throw out bearing. I am not much for “downshifting” either. I agree that brakes are cheaper than clutches or transmissions. I drive an automatic with the “paddle” shift. I sometimes drop it down to 3rd on a steep hill.
