Start car without pushing the clutch in mod!!!!!!!

So I have always thought that it is so stupid that you have to push the clutch in to start the car. Well it turns out it is really easy to disable the switch that controlls this with no side effects. Pull down the cover that is above your feet when you are sitting in the drivers seat, there are two switches for the clutch pedal. Pull the plug off the TOP one, take a ~3/4" long piece of wire and strip 1/4" off each end, bend it into a "U" and stick it in the plug, use a zip tie to make sure it won't fall out, use another zip tie to secure the plug. You can now start your car without pushing in the clutch.

-Jack

that means you can't leave your car in gear when you start... It is there as a safety feature so you don't kill your starter.

Thanks, that has been bugging me. I will do that to mine.

The day your going to forget to put in neutral, your going to hit the car in front of you. /images/graemlins/frown.gif
I just hope I wont be in between.
I did not had that safety on my 89 Jetta, and it append to me many times. Without hitting anythink by chance. Some time distracted.

I've used my starter to pull an otherwise dead car through an intersection, and clear of traffic. You should all thank me for the traffic jam that I had the forethought to not create. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

My 85 Golf and 96 GTI both had this "feature", and I have never had the problem of accidentally lurching forward in those cars. /images/graemlins/eek.gif

However... will this "mod" disable the clutch's ability to shut the cruise control off? Cause that's how I usually knock it off when I hit traffic.

I do this on every car I've ever owned with that stupid feature...luckily VW did not implement this until 1996 model year, so I've only had to do it on one VW.

It does not effect the cruise control, that is what the other lower switch is for.

Another reason not to push the clutch in when starting is that if you do, it loads the DRY thrust bearing in the crankcase! I explained this before, but basically the pressure to release the clutch is pushed against the crankshaft. The crankshaft's axial play (thrust) is set by the center main bearing's thrust collars. These collars are dry after the engine sits since the surface is vertical. If you've ever had an engine apart you know what I mean.

Also, if you cannot remember to put the transmission in nuetral, maybe you should just leave it alone. My wife and I are both college graduates, though, so along with the ability to tie our shoes we're OK with the mod. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Now if you will install a switch in that circuit and hide it somewhere you have an additional anti-theft device.

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if you cannot remember to put the transmission in nuetral, maybe you should just leave it alone. My wife and I are both college graduates, though, so along with the ability to tie our shoes we're OK with the mod. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

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College grads ... hehe ... tie shoes... I completely agree, in the old days you used to be able to start any car without that stupid safety feature - My old school Dad calls it the Idiot feature, because if someone can`t remember to put in neutral when they start then they do deserve a automatic.

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The day your going to forget to put in neutral, your going to hit the car in front of you. /images/graemlins/frown.gif


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Cars have been around for what 125 years, and this switch has been around for 15 mabye, I don't see the problem, this is the first car I have owned with the "stupid switch" so I am used to living dangerously /images/graemlins/tongue.gif. Say you push the clutch in start the car (it is in 1st gear) the let the clutch out as if the car is in neutral? IMO the car will jump forward a lot farther from that than the starter alone. The clutch does not need to be deoressed to check if the tranny is in neutral.

And as far as my car goes this is the "Oilhammer mod", in another post he described how to do it, Thanks!

-Jack

Better to be left as a mod by people that know what they are doing then to have VW remove it altogether. These days, the odds are just too great of someone out there messing up. Imagine what would happen if the shift interlock on automatics was removed.

I leave my car in gear because I have a parking brake realease on me before. Just so happens I was under a 7,000 pound truck and my leg was ran over. My driveway is very steep and I leave my car in gear, apply the parking brake, and turn the wheel all the way to one direction. So, I would still have to press the clutch in to get it out of gear.

I don't know about you, but I don't put a great deal of faith into those parking brakes.

My parking brake has stopped working and I use a piece of firewood to chock the car. . . . /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

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Cars have been around for what 125 years, and this switch has been around for 15 mabye, I don't see the problem, this is the first car I have owned with the "stupid switch" so I am used to living dangerously /images/graemlins/tongue.gif. Say you push the clutch in start the car (it is in 1st gear) the let the clutch out as if the car is in neutral? IMO the car will jump forward a lot farther from that than the starter alone. The clutch does not need to be deoressed to check if the tranny is in neutral.

-Jack

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What is interesting to me is in Europe, cars to this day do not have this 'feature'. I almost goofed last time I was over there, driving a Mini rental (just the super base model). Sometimes I'll hit the key over to start, THEN push the clutch to fire the starter, leaving the tranny in gear sometimes. Well, I did this without paying attention and lurched forward a few feet before I figured out what was going on. After that, I modified my behavior and did it 'right', putting the car in neutral, properly.

I think either way there are potential issues. I'd rather have no 'stupid switch', so I'll do the mod!

Chris

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Sometimes I'll hit the key over to start, THEN push the clutch to fire the starter, leaving the tranny in gear sometimes.

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I'd consider this a pretty bad idea, by the way. People are creatures of habit, and this guarantees that someday you'll get in an older car OR your car will have some interesting failure mode wherein the feature doesn't work. I hope there's nobody with a kid in a stroller between you and the H2 parked behind you.
I'm not a fan of the clutch-to-start feature myself, and I don't have a problem with disabling it, but DO NOT depend on it.
Funny story while I'm on-line: My mom traded her '67 Chevelle (purchased new) for an S-10 pickup in 1985, and she took it to the dealership TWICE because no one could diagnose the intermittent problem with the starter. Sometimes it would start when you turned the key, sometimes it wouldn't.
You guessed it. She had no idea that the clutch had to be depressed to start the car. The second tech figgered it out.

Totally agree! Never had this feature on any of our cars over here, apart from Hyundai.Must admit though I have a habit of pressing the clutch before starting up.Probably because the salesmen at the dealer ship I work at have a habit of leaving them in gear! W*NK£RS

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I don't know about you, but I don't put a great deal of faith into those parking brakes.


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I live on a flat street and I trust the e-brake for that.

-Jack

The number of rotations the engine makes starting up with the clutch disengaged really is pretty negligible.

I've been starting up sticks with the clutch pedal depressed for a long time and never worn out a throw-out bearing and I've taken a stick shift car past the 200K mark on one clutch.

Just a habit I was taught growing up and it seems to have had no negative impacts.

VariantTDI does note a practical reason to do the mod though... pulling your car out of an intersection with the starter. I might do the mod for this reason. Someday.

When I drove semi's in upstate NY, I allways stepped on the clutch before starting. Even when I knew the truck was in gear. You can hear the difference in the load on the starter in sub zero temperatures. As a result of this, I allways use the clutch on my cars as a force of habit from practicing in my "large car".

I was taught that in the old days, a diesel truck if parked in gear on an incline could start and run if the brakes failed and inertia was great enough.

Just my 2 cents
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B4's don't need the clutch to start...

I believe it's the only NA TDI to not need it. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I will definitely perform this mod on my '03 Jetta Wagon manual. If you forget and try to start the car in gear, it usually just lurches and you instantly turn off the key, knowing you forgot to take it out of gear.

Also, it is useful to be able to reach in the open driver's side window and start up the car, without depressing the clutch, for instance, after an oil/filter change, when you want to fill up the filter and do a leak check.

I have always thought this 'clutch-in' requirement is motivated by overactive liability concerns. Thanx for directions on disabling.

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And as far as my car goes this is the "Oilhammer mod", in another post he described how to do it, Thanks!

-Jack

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Whoa! I get credited with a TDI mod? Cool! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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a practical reason to do the mod though... pulling your car out of an intersection with the starter.

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/images/graemlins/blush.gif The only time I ever had to do this (my trusty ol' CJ-7) I just pushed in the clutch, engaged the starter, and eased the clutch out.

I was taught that in the old days, a diesel truck if parked in gear on an incline could start and run if the brakes failed and inertia was great enough.
In the old days trucks did not have spring breaks that would come on when of if the air pressure dropped off.

In my first year as a mechanic, I was doing an oil change on a Jeep. I reached in the window to start it to circulate the oil and it started in gear and promptly drove straight into my $1000 tool box. I did not drive the car into the bay, so I doidn't know it was a manual, nevermind that it was in gear! I guess the owner did a similar mod to his Jeep and it cost me $1000. If you do this mod and take your car to a garage for service, you might want to let the techs know.

Good point, and your avatar is a perfect example of why this mod could save your life, car won't run, train is coming, no problem I'll use the "hybrid" feature(electric motor (starter) powering the car).

-Jack

I had a 92 toyota truck that had a " clutch start cancel" switch on the dash which did this mod when you pushed it.
It would only do it for that one time.If you shut the rig off you would have to hit the switch again. Good safety feature,in that if you needed it,you could use it (i stalled it in a brook once and used the starter to drag it out (4x4) )

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wingnut, my first toolbox was a $600 used POS that was in a fire /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif damn that poor thing looked bad. I still have the top box at home, now I have a shiney yellow Snap On roll cab that set me back almost $7000!!! I think if something ran into it, though, it would likely do quite a bit of damage... to the vehicle!!! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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Better to be left as a mod by people that know what they are doing then to have VW remove it altogether. These days, the odds are just too great of someone out there messing up. Imagine what would happen if the shift interlock on automatics was removed.

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With the intrusion of electronic "safety" gadgets I wonder how long it will be before an average driver will no longer be able to drive a '61 Beetle without consulting a driver's manual. We can thank automatic lights, rain-sensing wipers, distance-sensing cruise control, ABS, stability control and reverse proximity sensors, just to name a few, for the dumbing down of the average driver and gradual and dangerous reduction in the skill required to operate a motor vehicle.

But that's just my humble opinion.

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With the intrusion of electronic "safety" gadgets I wonder how long it will be before an average driver will no longer be able to drive a '61 Beetle without consulting a driver's manual. We can thank automatic lights, rain-sensing wipers, distance-sensing cruise control, ABS, stability control and reverse proximity sensors, just to name a few, for the dumbing down of the average driver and gradual and dangerous reduction in the skill required to operate a motor vehicle.

But that's just my humble opinion.

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Yeah, but todays cars are safer in general these days, wouldn't you agree? Why else would manufacturers and government regulators go throught the time and expense to implement these simple little life saving things such as DRLs, shift-locks, airbags, anti-skid, etc?

It has never phased me that everytime I go to start a manual car my left foot automatically hits the clutch. I learned to do this at age 16, way before any car I drove had this "idiot switch". This is common sense, not a matter of control of your rights and freedoms. /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

The problem is our country is so intent on making cars handle crashes better, while actually teaching people to drive well is a low priority at best. In the USA "knowing how to drive a car" for the most people means you can make the car go froward, backward, stop and go left and right. If we spent the same amount on driver training that is spent on airbags and saftey devices I think the fatality rate would be notably lower.

-Jack