Should I teach stick-shift with my new yaris?

[twowheels]

Loren has said it twice, but I think it bears repeating...

Start out in an empty parking lot and practice starting from a standstill w/o using the gas pedal over and over. Once she gets the hang of that, the rest will be easy. I've used that method before and have taught two people to drive manual transmissions w/o destroying my cars. I learned the same way on a farm forklift when I was a kid, just 8 years old. Yes, the Yaris is the most difficult one that I've ever driven as it has the vaguest feel, but they'll learn.

Before you teach it... are you sure YOU know how to drive a manual correctly? Many people don't and have bad habits. Do you rest your hand on the stick while you're driving? Do you take a fistfull of the stick and jam it into gear, or do you guide it in? (I tell beginners to shift with their fingertips so that they can feel how much force they're putting on the syncros rather than with their palm) Do you time your shifts such that the engine speed is matched (goes along with guiding it into gear)? Do you hover over the clutch when you're not shifting? (I once drove alongside a girl in doorless jeep and watched her foot riding on the pedal the entire way as she bounced over every bump pressing it 1/4 to 1/2 of the way)

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Before you teach it... are you sure YOU know how to drive a manual correctly? Many people don't and have bad habits. Do you rest your hand on the stick while you're driving? Do you take a fistfull of the stick and jam it into gear, or do you guide it in? (I tell beginners to shift with their fingertips so that they can feel how much force they're putting on the syncros rather than with their palm) Do you time your shifts such that the engine speed is matched (goes along with guiding it into gear)? Do you hover over the clutch when you're not shifting? (I once drove alongside a girl in doorless jeep and watched her foot riding on the pedal the entire way as she bounced over every bump pressing it 1/4 to 1/2 of the way)

Those are all excellent points. I was taught by an officer and so learned those things correctly, but it amazes me the number of people who've acquired some/all of those bad habits.

If you've got a place, practice starting on a hill with and without the cable brake to get a feel. In teaching various people, I've found that really stresses some people out in traffic, to the point that they're prone to make a mistake they otherwise wouldn't have.

I'm also an advocate of teaching compression braking early, with an emphasis on not wearing out the clutch while engaging on the downshift. This teaches them to more efficiently engage/disengage the clutch, and emphasizes looking ahead and acting more proactively, which of course has safety implications regardless of the transmission being used.