Realistically, how hard is it to learn to drive a stick shift manual transmission car?

[WestEgg]

I am 29 years old and have never driven a manual transmission vehicle. All of my cars have been automatic. Everyone I know has an automatic transmission vehicle. It just seems like outside of enthusiasts, it's hard to even find a manual transmission vehicle, let alone someone who can teach me how to drive one.

However, I also have wanted to buy a Ford Mustang for a long time now. Yes, there are automatic transmission models, but I'd like to have my options open, manual models seem a bit cheaper on average (and are the only available versions in higher end models) and part of me thinks that if I"m going to commit to buying a sports car, I should learn how to drive it "properly". But yeah, I'd almost certainly need to teach myself how to drive it, and the thought of stalling out on the road scares me.

I've seen opinions online ranging from "it takes a lot of getting used to" to "it's not really worth it these days" to "it's easy and the best way to enjoy driving". So does anyone out there have experience with learning to drive manual?

 

[subrock]

It's not hard. Practice on something you don't mind grinding a bit and you'll be fine

 

[Odesu]

In large parts of Europe it's the exact opposite to the US, where manual transmission is the rule and driving automatic is the exception. It's completely fine. You have to take an hour or two and learn to handle the clutch on some parking lot or something to not make the car die on every red light, but you get used to it and if you did it becomes second nature fast. Maybe that's not even necessary, a few Diesel cars I've driven were almost impossible to stall out even when you immediately let go of the clutch without using the gas pedal at all.

 

[Deleted member 1086]

Ford Mustangs with manuals are very temperamental cars to drive, shifting is very touchy, would definitely not recommend learning a stick on one.

 

[Masoyama]

It should take you about 2 hours to get the mechanics down. You might need a lot of in road experience to really get the clutching on steep hills, but you can get the car going without shutting down after a couple tries.

 

[weemadarthur]

It's not that hard if you can drive an automatic. I've taught a friend or two in an afternoon, letting them destroy my transmission lol.

 

[Cloggerdude]

I would say that it's somewhere in the middle: Not crazy hard to do, but also not something that you'll just instantly be comfortable with.

My first car was a manual and it took me a decent amount of time to learn how to drive it. One day it just sort of "clicked" in my head though and then it was like second nature. I haven't had one in a few years now, but I have full confidence that I could jump in a car with a manual transmission right now and drive it just fine.

It's a great skill to have and, at least to me, it makes driving a car a lot more fun. You just feel more...connected to the car. Even cars that aren't super sporty just feel sportier with a manual.

 

[Fliesen]

As soon as you're somewhat used to balancing the clutch and the gas to go start rolling, shifting up and down is super easy.

Student drivers tend to spend like 1-2 hours practicing, after which they enter actual traffic.

 

[Kyuuji]

Nothing that would get in the way of doing something you wanted to do.
Everyone uses it here in the UK.

 

[shadowhaxor]

I got my first card decades ago and it was a stick. Except I couldn't drive stick, so I was boned. The car was cheap, couldn't pass it up. Had a friend teach me in a few hours. Stick isn't hard, but it does require you to pay attention a bit more when you're starting out. Watching the RPM, knowing when to switch gears and knowing how to press the clutch.

Cause if you mess up, the car will tell you.

I don't have a stick anymore, because my wife refused to learn. But if I had a choice, I'd get a manual car all over agian. Loved how much more control I have over the car and it gave me something to do..... except in stop and go traffic. Then manuals are the piss.

 

[Carolina Reaper]

Not difficult. I learned how to do it as a kid on i95 driving between Florida and NYC because my dad was too tired to drive.

 

[Bleu]

it's not hard at all and much more fun.
if you drive everyday you will struggle for 3 days, a week top.

 

[dDASTARDLY]

It only took me a couple hours to learn, and I'd say about a week to get truly comfortable driving stick.

Once you get to that point, you and your car are now one.

 

[Wiped]

I've never driven an automatic. Almost the entire market is manual here in the UK

Having said that learner drivers can really struggle with the gears. Once you're used to it, should be fine.

 

[Sillution]

For the first manual car I owned, I didn't know how to drive stick either. I had the dealer drive the car home for me, had a friend come over who knew how to drive stick, showed me some things, and then the following morning, I was driving the car to work. It isn't to hard to learn. The clutch pedal is pretty forgiving too so if you think you are messing up, just press down on the clutch and it will return back to neutral.

You can slowly let go off the clutch when it is in 1st gear and you will feel the car start to move forward.You can learn where the grab point is on the clutch by slowly letting off the clutch until you feel the car begin to tip RPM's. Give it some gas and then slowly let go off the clutch.

 

[thesoapster]

It's not difficult, especially if you have a good teacher. I'm sure there are plenty of good instructional videos on YouTube.

 

[Dan Thunder]

A few hours will get you the basics, I'd then spend time practicing hill starts and using the accelerator and clutch to hold the car on an incline.

Could you not just find a local instructor and book a couple of hours with them?

 

[lunarworks]

You have to take an hour or two and learn to handle the clutch on some parking lot or something to not make the car die on every red light.

Click to shrink...

The Dark Souls of driving.

 

[Xe4]

Not too difficult, especially if you have someone teaching you. Shoot, I learned how to drive in a manual, as I'm sure many others did. Once you get out of first it's smooth sailing.

The most difficult part is starting on an incline, so definetly practice that a lot if you don't want to get embarrased in traffic one day XD

 

[ViewtifulJux]

I just bought a manual without ever driving one. Took a few hours to learn and feel comfortable driving around. After that you just have to drive around and get better over time. Sure people will honk and you will stall occasionally but who cares.

 

[Hassel]

An experienced driver can figure it out in an hour or two.

If I was you I would spring for lessons before trying to learn on your sweet new sports car. The point is not the lesson but rather use of a practice car so you don't hurt the new one learning.

 

[Forearms]

Ford Mustangs with manuals are very temperamental cars to drive, shifting is very touchy, would definitely not recommend learning a stick on one.

Click to shrink...

I learned to drive a manual transmission on an '88 5.0 Mustang. I think it was easier because of all the torque, which made it nearly impossible to stall.

 

[kvetcha]

It's not difficult, though, since you have 15 years of automatic habits, I would be prepared those first few months to accidentally stall out hard at stop lights, or while starting the car, because you let off the clutch while the car's still in gear.

 

[Dyno]

In large parts of Europe it's the exact opposite to the US, where manual transmission is the rule and driving automatic is the exception. It's completely fine. You have to take an hour or two and learn to handle the clutch on some parking lot or something to not make the car die on every red light, but you get used to it and if you did it becomes second nature fast. Maybe that's not even necessary, a few Diesel cars I've driven were almost impossible to stall out even when you immediately let go of the clutch without using the gas pedal at all.

Click to shrink...

You ain't wrong. One of my first cars was a horrible looking Fiat Brava. I once pulled away in it with no throttle in third gear lol

 

[Xaszatm]

I learned how to drive stick before I actually learned how to drive...A friend of mine taught me how. She drove and I controlled the gear shifter. Later when I started to drive learning stick wasn't that hard.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

It took me about a week, practicing 2 hours a day.

 

[Donos]

Doesn't take really long but don't try to learn it in an area with many hills/mountains.
Accelerating uphill from standstill is the tricky part. You should train this in an empty parking deck or a steep driveway where nobody is standing right behind you. Granted the car has no assistent system for that (many modern manual cars have a system that is automaticly braking for 1-2 second when accelerating uphill, so you don't roll back when releasing the brake and clutch).

 

[WestEgg]

Ford Mustangs with manuals are very temperamental cars to drive, shifting is very touchy, would definitely not recommend learning a stick on one.

Click to shrink...

Is this true for all versions? If I don't get it new, it will be at least relatively new, so either 5th or 6th generation.

Also, in all likelihood I'll be practicing on the new car itself, will it damage the car if I mess up too much while getting used to it?

 

[Euler007]

Not hard. When I bought my first car (1990 Acura Integra LS) I had never driven a manual car before. I knew that you pressed the clutch, select the gear, and about the friction point. I paid the guy, sat in the car and went off in a rush hour bridge cross, went fine.

The hardest part at first are stops (especially inclined), where you might stall the car or slip the clutch too much (wear&tear).

 

[julia crawford]

Oh compared to learning how to behave with other cars on the road, it's super easy

 

[Dr.Phibes]

As soon as you're somewhat used to balancing the clutch and the gas to go start rolling, shifting up and down is super easy.

Student drivers tend to spend like 1-2 hours practicing, after which they enter actual traffic.

Click to shrink...

My instructor never did this with me. We adjusted the mirrors and went straight into inner-city traffic. It was only mildly horrifying.

 

[Fliesen]

Also with regards to "it's the best way to enjoy driving" - i personally wouldn't agree.
What i enjoy on road trips is the open road, cruising through the country side. Couldn't care less about whether or not i could shift manually.

It's still a required skill here in Europe, because many types of cars usually have manual transmissions. Like, if you wanna rent a U-Haul like truck when moving furniture, they're pretty much always stick shift.

My instructor never did this with me. We adjusted the mirrors and went straight into inner-city traffic. It was only mildly horrifying.

Click to shrink...

Well, then you must've had been a natural or had some practice. They won't take you out into traffic if - at every single intersection - you strangle the engine. You'll need to at least be somewhat able to do stop and go :P

 

[chronos4590]

It'll take about a day or 2, a few days to get fully used to and you'll be fine. Especially if the car is fun to drive too. You'll be happy you learned. Hills might take time but that's no biggie, Enjoy it!

 

[TAFAE]

It's not all that hard, but you do need to find a car to practice on, and ideally one whose owner can teach you and who doesn't mind you grinding the clutch while you learn. After you get the essentials down (i.e. can reliably start from zero without stalling, can start on a hill, rough idea of when and how to shift), you should daily drive one to get practice and it'll be second nature after maybe two weeks. Ford's manuals are pretty easy to operate in my experience, relatively hard to stall out with the most basic level of experience. I don't know that I'd recommend getting a high power Mustang to learn on but you do need to have something to practice on if you want to learn.

 

[Dahellisdat]

For what its worth, I kind of learned the mechanics of operating a manual transmission on a motorcycle. While the actions with your hands and your feet are different for that, the basic idea of how to operate an engine coordinating a gear shifter, clutch and acceleration made it super easy when I translated that to a car.

 

[Empyrean Cocytus]

It definitely takes some time. My wife exclusively drives stick so I pretty much had to learn, and now I'm pretty effective at it.

The biggest issue, IMO, is going from dead stop to first gear. This can be tough as you have to release the clutch while pushing in the gas, and you have to time it pretty well. Too hard and you'll spin out, too soft and you'll stall. With practice you can get it. However this is only magnified when you go from stop to start on an incline, because there's also the danger of rolling back and hitting the car behind you.

 

[Psychotron]

It's very easy, you just need to get the feel. I drove an '03 Mustang GT for years, and before that an '01 Eclipse, which is what I learned stick on. You need to feel for when the clutch starts to grab, then it's a matter of making sure you're giving it just enough gas to keep the car moving when the gear engages. This is different on every car, but once you know the balance you're looking for, you'll be fine. Taking off from a dead stop is the hardest part, because once you're moving it's rather forgiving. Make sure not to ride the clutch, where you give it a lot of gas while the clutch is partially released, as this will cause damage.

 

[Dr.Phibes]

Also with regards to "it's the best way to enjoy driving" - i personally wouldn't agree.
What i enjoy on road trips is the open road, cruising through the country side. Couldn't care less about whether or not i could shift manually.

It's still a required skill here in Europe, because many types of cars usually have manual transmissions. Like, if you wanna rent a U-Haul like truck when moving furniture, they're pretty much always stick shift.


Well, then you must've had been a natural or had some practice. They won't take you out into traffic if - at every single intersection - you strangle the engine. You'll need to at least be somewhat able to do stop and go :P

Click to shrink...

I had a T-class license for two years at that point but it still caught me off guard.

 

[DennyDifferent]

It's easy for me to say it's not hard but it's all I've known (as already mentioned, the vast majority of cars in the UK are manual). That being said, I'd imagine the most difficult part will be getting used to the idea of the clutch biting point. Unless you've got that down don't try to pull off from a traffic light when facing uphill ;)

 

[Hollywood Duo]

The most difficult part is finding a car to practice on. You'll pick it up in a day or two.

 

[Panther2103]

It's not nearly as hard as it seems. I didn't have any experience on a stick for my first 6 years of driving, tried to learn stick one day, got it down in like an hour. But you definitely won't feel comfortable for a few days.

 

[Dougald]

If you cant pick up the basics inside an hour and be proficient after a dozen more then you probably shouldn't be driving anything, unless you have a physical disability which makes it difficult. Just takes a week or so to pick up the muscle memory.

 

[studyguy]

Literally the easiest shit in the world, as others have mentioned it just matters A) Having a vehicle you can fuss with and B) Having open unoccupied roads to test it on.

I learned on my dad's old ass pickup on farming backroads so I could go as fast or slow as I wanted and not bother anyone. The harder moments of driving stick come when you're not on flat ground and have to do odd stuff like stop on steeper inclines mid traffic and stuff, but depending on where you live that might never be an issue.

 

[Forearms]

Is this true for all versions? If I don't get it new, it will be at least relatively new, so either 5th or 6th generation.

Also, in all likelihood I'll be practicing on the new car itself, will it damage the car if I mess up too much while getting used to it?

Click to shrink...

It would be incredibly hard to do a huge amount of damage unless you're repeatedly trying to jam the stick into gear without depressing the clutch, or repeatedly dragging the clutch. You'll be able to tell the former by the horrible grinding sound the transmission will make, and the latter by the horrible smell from the friction plates barely making contact as you rev the engine higher.

 

[SwampBastard]

There are a shitload of idiots out there driving manuals. You can do it if they can.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

You'll stall and look stupid for two hours in a parking lot.

Then you'll fuck up at a red light a few times.

Then you'll shake your head every other week when you release your clutch in first at a complete stop.

And then you'll be fine.

Don't stress. Lots of really fucking stupid can drive a stick. Plus, new cars have lots of nannies like hill assist or even rev matching for down shifts.

I've learned to drive a stick in a brand new Z06 when I was 13. I've driven a stick tens of thousands of miles... and there are still some things that are tricky (like reversing up a steep but short driveway - I swear this shit is impossible) - so don't worry about struggling.

 

[-JD-]

Hardest part might actually finding a means to actually learn and start driving manual before showing up at the dealership asking to test drive one. lol.

Once you get a hang of starting from a stop in first gear, which then flows into handling yourself in stop-and-go traffic, or how to manage slowly moving traffic on a hill, you'll have the hardest bits down. That's day one Clutch Control 101.

 

[MrNelson]

I learned over the course of a weekend just stopping and starting in my parent's yard. The hardest part is getting the car moving in the first place, everything after that is super simple.

God help you if you live in a hilly area though.

 

[LL_Decitrig]

I am 29 years old and have never driven a manual transmission vehicle. All of my cars have been automatic. Everyone I know has an automatic transmission vehicle. It just seems like outside of enthusiasts, it's hard to even find a manual transmission vehicle, let alone someone who can teach me how to drive one.

However, I also have wanted to buy a Ford Mustang for a long time now. Yes, there are automatic transmission models, but I'd like to have my options open, manual models seem a bit cheaper on average (and are the only available versions in higher end models) and part of me thinks that if I"m going to commit to buying a sports car, I should learn how to drive it "properly". But yeah, I'd almost certainly need to teach myself how to drive it, and the thought of stalling out on the road scares me.

I've seen opinions online ranging from "it takes a lot of getting used to" to "it's not really worth it these days" to "it's easy and the best way to enjoy driving". So does anyone out there have experience with learning to drive manual?

Click to shrink...

In the UK it's normal to learn to drive on a manual car even if you intend to drive only automatics. If you pass the test on an automatic your licence won't cover manual transmission. New learners are given maybe half an hour of intensive coaching until they grasp the principle of clutch control and learn to feel for the biting point. After that it's just routine coaching on transition through the gears to maintain smooth and safe driving as they are taken through a variety of normal driving experiences.

Parking and the use of reverse gears in turning are by far the most difficult manoeuvres covered by the British driving test. I don't think using a manual transmission makes that much more difficult.

 

[DrKelpo]

Dude... Every teen in Europe is capable of learning it within a few weeks. It's not that hard.