I have a question that was inspired by the thread “BMW driver crashes going 130 […]”, although it’s not really related.
Once I was told that you can only start an American car with a manual transmission when it is in neutral. As you can tell from my question, it’s not true here.
Is this true?
If yes, is it only the way it is usually done, or is it a legal requirement?
It’s definitely not a legal requirement, because I can start my BMW in first gear. If it was a law here, it would apply to all vehicles in the US, not just domestic ones.
Now, whether the domestic manufacturers do this on their own, I couldn’t say.
It’s mot true. Most cars are designed so you can start them in any gear as long as the clutch is pressed on. Older cars would let you try to start it in gear without the clutch being depressed and that could cause the car to jump forward. I haven’t seen any like that recently.
Same here. My car will only start if clutch is fully depressed. I had an older car–although not an American one, a 1981 Mercedes 240D–which would start no matter if the clutch was depressed or not. This once led me to having it jump when I forgot to take it out of gear. (I don’t anymore, but I used to always park the car in gear.)
Personally, I’ve never seen any American cars as the OP describes, but I’m not saying it’s not possible.
Thanks. I couldn’t imagine any good reason for such a difference, but it seemed possible.
Perhaps the rumor got started because that feature was introduced earlier in the US. Being a poor student I haven’t driven any really recent car but the jump is what I would expect as normal car behaviour.
I had never heard of this either. Like kellner, I lack personal experience with recent high-end cars, and it’s hard to find quick cites for things that aren’t there. I called two people in the industry I’m acquainted with (a VW mechanic and a BMW draftsperson) and both claim they’ve never heard of such a thing in a German car. Hearsay, I know, but all I can come up with on short notice.
All modern automobiles (those built from the mid-eighties and forward), and likely many older models as well are equipped with a “neutral safety switch” (some manufacturers use a different name - this is the most common). This switch, or sensor, performs the task of preventing a vehicle from starting under certain circumstances, depending upon the type of transmission installed in the vehicle:
With an automatic transmission: Prevents the ignition from being engaged if the car is not in park or neutral.
Manual Transmission: Prevents the ignition from being engaged if the clutch is not fully depressed. Note that the car CAN be in gear (at least on every automobile I have encountered).
Keep in mind that there is NOT a backup safety system installed on most vehicles. This means that if the Neutral Safety Switch fails, it is very possible to start a vehicle in any gear, or with the clutch engaged.
This is definitely not the case with cars sold in continental Europe. I’ll give leeway for cars built in the last couple of years, but “mid-eighties” - no way.
Automatics have always had neutral safety switches. NSS is not the term used on a manual transmission. No manual I am aware of requires it to be in neutral to start. Cars that have a manual transmission and start safety function usually refer to it as as a clutch switch. This is just a switch that sits at the end of the clutch pedal travel and is closed when the clutch is fully or nearly fully depressed.
I can name at least one car maker that did not go to a clutch switch until the 90s, because the engineers felt that A you should know not to start the car in gear, and B what if your car dies and you are in traffic? If you car does not have a clutch switch you can put the car in first or second and drive it off the road (or off the railroad tracks) with the starter. If you have a clutch switch you are stuck right there.
Very well put.
Or American cars in island Europe: my 2000 Ford Focus, bought in Ireland, will attempt to start whatever gear you’re in.
[QUOTE=Rick]
Automatics have always had neutral safety switches. NSS is not the term used on a manual transmission. No manual I am aware of requires it to be in neutral to start. Cars that have a manual transmission and start safety function usually refer to it as as a clutch switch. This is just a switch that sits at the end of the clutch pedal travel and is closed when the clutch is fully or nearly fully depressed.
That one was probably built in Cologne. 
[QUOTE=RangerXLT9]
Ranger? Ranger?
Anybody see what happened to Ranger? It looks like he was cut off in mid-post. Alien abduction maybe?
The clutch switch you describe is commonly refered to as the “neutral safety switch” in the auto repair industry, since it serves a similar function as it’s counter-part on automatic transmissions. You are correct that no manual transmissions require them to be in neutral (at least to my knowledge) to start, but I didn’t claim that either under my heading for manual transmissions.
I’m not certain where everyone in this thread lives, but on cars manufactured for use in the US, I have never encountered a vehicle (mid-eighties and forward), domestic or otherwise, that could be started without the clutch pedal pressed that didn’t have a faulty switch. I’m certain that some maunfacturers may not have implemented this technology until as late as the nineties, but they are definately in the minority.
Regarding the utility of the clutch switch, I would say the safety factor is orders of magnitude in favor of it being there. About 30 years ago my friend’s mother helpfully leant her battery to a couple of kids to jumpstart their car. As they turned the ignition, it lept forward, throwing her through a plate glass window. She almost lost her leg, has permanent nerve damage, and a horrendous scar. I think the opportunities to injure someone by having the car jump forward would be much more important than the ability to lurch out of traffic if the engine died.
Now that the difference seems to be the neutral safety switch I wonder whether I was told the inaccurate version or I misunderstood it at the time. I think I remember the bit about “Leerlauf”/“neutral”, but OTOH I don’t even remember who told me, so take that with a grain of salt.
Anyway I think it’s interesting how such a difference could develop.
Completely agreed. Safety should always outweigh convenience (apart from extreme/very rare cases or blatant operator errors, such as a sensor to keep you from rolling up your window if your head is sticking out of it… LOL).
I’d have thought that not checking the car was in neutral and/or putting the clutch down before starting a manual car was blatant operator error.