Just a note cause I saw this in a post, Never keep the clutch disengaged and car in gear while waiting at a light. Yes, you will be able to take off faster when the light turn green, but holding the clutch in for long periods of time (like at a light) will put a great deal of stress on your throw-out bearing. ALWAYS go to neutral at a light and let up off the clutch pedal. If you want to take off fast, pay attention to the traffic lights and begin to shift when the intersecting traffic light turns red.

 

The year I was born my dad bought his first new car; a manual tranny '82 Toyota Tercel. 10 years, 100,000+ miles later neither the clutch, nor engine were replaced.

In 1991 he picked up the 2.0, I-4 Camry DX with a manual transmission. My three sisters and I learned how to drive on that car. The clutch had to be replaced at 105,000 miles, but I attribute that to four kids kicking that car’s butt!

Downshifting was heavily employed in both of these Toyota cars and they lasted well beyond reason (I say beyond reason because few people keep cars that long nowadays).

When I see discussions on these forums urging people not to downshift I honestly get confused.

For all those people who live in and around mountains, how do you properly negotiate steep roads on a decline? You downshift. Why? To do otherwise will leave you with toasted brakes, unable to stop. Cooked brakes have a distinct smell, ask anyone who knows.

Now, I am not saying to downshift and have the tach jump past 4 grand. However, downshifting in combination with breaking is not beyond the expectations of standard operation in any car, let alone a manual transmission. Furthermore, this is a Toyota, not a 1999 Eclipse or mid-90’s Corvette whose transmissions were about as reliable as a White House press release.

I plan on keeping this car for at least 7 to 10 years because it’s a calculated fiscal decision. When I get out of law school I’ll see what else Toyota has to offer, but you can rest assured this car, with original clutch and transmission downshifted daily, will be in the garage for a long, long time.

Be safe, have a good weekend, and downshift responsibly!

 

I always down shift, but keep in mind if you have to stop hard your abs might kick in while your down shifting this is kinda scary because the abs make you slam on the brakes harder in order to stop. If your braking on rough roads your abs might kick in.

 

downshifting will make your rpms go up the same way acceleration will. Its the same stress.

 

Why would you put your car in Nuetral? If you are coming to a stop you should always be in first, just disengage the clutch by pressing it in all the way, this will not do any damage. only an idiot would stay in nuetral at a stop. Say something happens and you've gotta move out of the way, for instance a car is coming up behind you and not paying attention to the fact that you aren't moving, they might just smack into the back of your car, or somebody could come right at the side of your car. I'd rather be able to move out of the way in case someone else is going to screw up and hit me. I find it safer to be in first just in case something happens and I have to get out of there fast, and if your not already in first than you could panic and stall the car trying to get out of the way if you had to.

 

Why not brake while downshifting (in 3rd, push brake, put in clutch, rev up engine, shift to 2nd, release clutch, release brake)? That's what I always do in my car, kind of. I usually hold the brake the entire time I'm slowig down instead of just between gears, although I tried it in my friend's xB and I couldn't do it. If all Scions are like his, I'd guess it might be hard to do.

 

Not true at all. Keeping the clutch engaged for long periods of time puts stress on the throwout bearing like bbsciontc suggested. Know the mechanics of your car before you start doing things you might regret later on. Unless of course you don't mind replacing parts well before you need to.

 

i thought that over the years if u down shift as opposed to using the brakes...as the vehicle gets older you'll lose equal compression across the 4 cylinders...

::granted::: wear and tear ETC ETC....

 

The only problem with your statement in bold is that you have to push in the clutch to start the car.