Pop the Clutch
 

This question came up in the chat thread: Can you pop the clutch on the G37S 6MT to start the car? The answer is, yes.

1. Without depressing the clutch pedal, press the ignition button twice to put the car into ignition mode, where the dash is lit up and you can operate the window motors.
2. Depress the clutch, and put the car into first gear. [edit] Use 2nd gear instead and the car won't jerk around as much.
3. Roll forward gently, like at a walking speed.
4. Pop the clutch by releasing the pedal, then push it back down again. The car will start, and you'll be wanting to put the clutch back in immediately to regain control.

I've done this on most every MT car I've owned or driven in the last 35 years, but for some reason, this is the first time I've tried it on my G. I think that this being the first car I ever owned with a push-button ignition made me think you can't do it.

Anyway, works just fine.

Why 1st gear and not 2nd?

:dunno:

Wikipedia suggests 2nd gear: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_start

Maybe I'll try it again with 2nd gear someday. I suspect there would be less of a jolt.

Wow Rochester, you actually tried it. I was gonna try after work once the lot cleared a little bit. Good to know. For 20 years or more I try and park facing downhill when I can(always do this at my job) because it comes in handy when no help is around. Now I know it's possible and don't have to risk getting a jump start. Thanks!

I didn't know if there was a specific reason you suggested first on the G, I've never done it on this car. I have unfortunately done it dozens of times on various other POS cars over the years and learned to use 2nd gear so that it's less of a jolt to the driver and the car when it starts. And the poor bastards pushing.

:biggthumpup: Try it with second gear.

You intentionally park on an incline? That would freak me out. I'm paranoid about the weak parking brakes in our car. Wish we had a proper e-brake.


No reason at all, BB. Never thought to try 2nd gear. But now that we're talking about it, and I've done some very soft research, it seems that 2nd gear is the way to go.

+3 for 2nd gear starts. always been my preferred method. yet another fringe benefit of driving a 6MT...

luckily i've never needed to on the G37, but had to on the G35. with the recent cold snap here hopefully the battery has enough CCA to fire up, otherwise i may need to pop the 'ol clutch again.

The thing that caught my interest with this topic is that I've been experiencing ignition problems. I swear it feels related to the cold weather, because when the car is warmed up, or when temps were over 50, the problem is rare to non-existent.

Specifically, I go to start my car, and pressing the ignition button does nothing except enable the radio. Press it again, and it might start, or I go into ignition mode. Press it again, and it might start, or it just goes back to baseline. If it gets this far, pressing it a fourth time definitely starts the car.

I got to tell you, this is seriously annoying. I've replaced the battery in the key fob, use the key fob slot most of the time now, and I replaced the original car battery last month (which was due anyway). But as winter comes on us, this problem is becoming more and more prevalent.

So what does temperature have to do with anything? :dunno: While I'm not Walter White, I do know that metal expands and contracts with temperature, so maybe there's a component in the mix here which has a tenuous electrical connection.

I had to do this during my intermittent starting problems. Thankfully I had my two boys with me to get the car moving towards a slight decline. I think I left mine in first but have read second is a better option. Before I had my starter replaced I would try to find the best parking spaces just in case I need to roll.

i had a frustrating intermittent starting issue on the G35. turned out it was the clutch pedal sensor. there is a sensor that is depressed when the clutch pedal is depressed - an interlock sort of sensor so the car does not start without the clutch pedal depressed all the way. that sensor failed and was on the fritz. drove me nuts until i found the problem and bypassed it until the part came in. a cheap and easy fix as a DIY.

It is THE MOST unsatisfying feeling in the world to press that ignition button and the car doesn't start. I realized that when the battery died in my Altima. I had a slight temporary phobia (exaggerating) that it wouldn't start even after I replaced the battery.

I did the sensor after a new battery. The problem didn't go away until I changed the starter.

Huh... learn something new every day, if you're not careful. I've always used first because, to me, that gave the engine the most mechanical leverage at a given speed. Makes sense though because 2nd would be simulating a short shift into 2nd, from first, with less driveline backlash.

Would have been handy to know back in 1993 when I was on a first date in built Mustang 5.0. CAI, throttle body, MAF, Ford Motorsport intake, heads, b303 cam, headers, x-pipe, 3.73s, traction bars... Nice lumpy idle. Underdrive pulleys decided to kill my chances for a second date and the battery was dead after getting gas. Was raining so I was running the A/C, wipers, lights, etc. My date didn't know how to drive a manual (should have been a warning sign in the first place) so *she* ended up pushing. She gets the car rolling, I dump the clutch with a little gas, car lurches, she almost faceplants the deck lid, then it catches, lights up the tires and she almost falls in the parking lot. I then have to turn around, blipping the throttle the whole time so it won't stall and of course, the rest of the evening at every light. Every joker thought I wanted to race. As I said... first date. Didn't get the 2nd but it worked out. Disappointing at the time but funny now.

^ lol. great story.

hey, at least your mom says you're a catch...

Rolled down the driveway a few feet and popped the clutch in 2nd gear.

Worked like a charm. Much less jarring.