Start car without clutch depressed

[pandaboy50]

I can start my car without having to depress the clutch all the way. Is this normal?

[MrBurgundy]

yeah

[101]

Clutch safety switches didn't appear until later. Makes it a bitch when switching between autotragic and manual cars.

[george graves]

Normal, and can be dangerous. Always wiggle the gear knob to double check it's in neutral before starting if you're not sitting in the car.

[e30davie]

Do not ever start the car without sitting in it. last year i had a nasty scare when i lent through the window and started the car and it took off on me. Thanks to the shitty shifter bushes i thought it was in neutral when in fact it was in gear.
lucky to not get seriously injured myself. Did a bit of damage to both the car and my house as i came to an abrupt stop.

Clutch switches should be mandatory on every car I reckon...

[ForcedFirebird]

I will never forget purchasing my first air cooled VW Beetle. It stalled just as I was going over a double set of railroad tracks, accelerating from a stop light. Well, that day I was very happy the starter would turn with the clutch out, left it in first gear, turned the key and crept off the tracks.

[e30davie]

Well that is the other way to look at it.

And i must admit that method has also helped me get through an intersection with a stalled flooded old corolla.....

[TobyB]

I think it's a preference thing. I coded the E46 so I could crank with the clutch out.

I feel better now.

If I do something dumb, I deserve to look like a dope.

heh

t

[Das Delfin]

I had an old saab that would start without the clutch pedal depressed. Felt natural in that car but in the bmw I have the clutch in every time just in case

[jeffnhiscars]

Speaking of bonehead things to do with starters and transmissions...I had left the office early to grab a coffee (in the days when I actually went to an office) and ran in to my boss and then BFF with his new GF. They asked me to join them for dinner so went to run an errand first.

I got in my cabrio, started it up then decided to take my sport jacket off (in the days when I wore a jacket). I stepped out of the car and as I whipped off my jacket I realized I had left the car in reverse. The open door knocked me flat on my back with my legs under the car at about a 45....as it rolled back !!

Without thinking, but knowing I had 1 shot, I raised my right leg, moved it over the door sill and managed to hit the brake pedal. Keep in my I'm still flat on my back, jacket half off and the car is still in reverse. The focus then was not to move my foot as I got the jacket off, lifted myself up and in to the seat and put it in park.

I drove off feeling pretty good about myself and thanked my e30 spidey sense for not failing me that day :)

[MrBurgundy]

One time I was under the good of a car and my I asked my dad to crank it for me, but he didnt take it out of gear... that sucker pushed me like 10 across the floor

[KIRIEIW]

I think it's a preference thing. I coded the E46 so I could crank with the clutch out.

I feel better now.

If I do something dumb, I deserve to look like a dope.

heh

t

Is that something you can code out on ISTA/P?

[george graves]

I will never forget purchasing my first air cooled VW Beetle.

Ha! Great story! If you think the BMW "brotherhood" "Gang" "Forum" is cool, the VW air cooled guys are kinda awesome. It's more then a car, it's a way of life. And as someone said "When you buy a air cooled VW, you'll never be in a hurry again"

[TobyB]

Is that something you can code out on ISTA/P?

or most of the standard 'tool sets'- PA Soft, for example: all you do is change the dme bit from
automatic to manual. The manuals in the US are coded to think they're autos,
and BMW uses the auto neutral safety switch circuit on the clutch instead.

One time, at work, I had to drive an automatic dumptruck, and I forgot
about the 'park' lever thingy?

heh

t

[cscracker]

Yes, there is no clutch safety switch. And I prefer it this way. If the car stalls and won't start back up, you can use the starter to get it off the road, or onto a trailer.