[wingspar]

“ Since there is not a clutch safety switch on the starting circuit, make sure to press the clutch down before you try to crank the engine.”

Growing up, a friends dad would use this as a ‘feature’ on his Datsun to move the car out of traffic when it wouldn’t restart.

Put it in first, release the clutch, crank the starter, and move the car out of the way.

[wat10000]

I was told this was a potential last-ditch way to escape if you stalled while crossing railroad tracks.

In hindsight, stalling while crossing railroad tracks, like quicksand, is a much less common danger in adulthood than I was lead to believe as a younger person.

[riffraff]

what's the thing with quicksand?

I was born in 1980 and it seemed people would get stuck in quicksand on tv regularly when I was a kid, but it seems a kind of danger that has almost disappeared from the collective narrative.

Why was it popular before? Why isn't it anymore? This baffles me.

[firecall]

IIRC The British Highway Code* used to suggest this as a method to move a vehicle stuck on a level crossing! (Train crossing).

They did note that it’s only good for manual cars. Automatics were not standard in the UK in the 80s.

All from memory, so might be mangling the details :-)

*Or could have been the Australian version.

[maccard]

Automatics are not standard in the UK in 2025 either!

[FridayoLeary]

When the alternative is car confetti it's not such a dumb idea.

[ztetranz]

I remember that in the New Zealand code too.

[AnimalMuppet]

I've done that, with an old Volkswagen. It wouldn't start, but I was able to use the starter to move it maybe 30 feet uphill in order to reach a position where I could coast-start it for a couple blocks. Got it running.

But I came really close to getting in trouble with a 1948 Chevy pickup. I backed it into my grandfather's garage, and then found out that it was a bit too far forward to be able to close the door. So I turned the ignition on, put it in reverse, and touched the starter.

Unfortunately, the engine caught with that brief touch of the starter, leaving me frantically stabbing for the clutch before I pushed through the back of the garage...

Fortunately, it idled very slowly, and I had (of course) given it no gas.

[mtillman]

Funny you mention VW because the 914 is a VW. In fact, the name was originally VW-Porsche 914 from what I remember. A buddy’s dad bought one for $4K when they came out.

[hinkley]

I read about this trick about four months before the input fitting on the fuel pump in my little car decided to just pop out of the pump. Tow truck left it about ten feet from where I wanted it, on soft ground so pushing was gonna take all my roommates. Or take a few months’ of life off the starter motor.

[wombatpm]

I had a friend who drove a 79 Datsun. Stalling and not starting was a surprisingly common occurrence. He would often go out of his way to park on a hill to avoid problems.

[staplung]

"Driving" via the starter motor turns it into an electric car!

[vjvjvjvjghv]

In my old Audi sometimes the clutch wouldn’t work so that’s how I started it. Also learned double clutching and to anticipate traffic lights so I didn’t have to stop.

[james_marks]

Most (manual) cars of that era could be roll started this way!

Did it many times when a starter or battery died; just need a bit of a hill or a good push.

[wkat4242]

I did it daily with a car I had bought for 50 bucks and that was not worth a new battery. Just make sure to park it on top of a hill. Push it off with a foot out the door, gain momentum and now you have one attempt.

I did a 3000km road trip with it. Lol

[MarkusWandel]

I used to roll start my last stickshift car just for fun. 2001 Honda Civic. The inertia from just rolling down my 30ft gently sloping driveway was enough, have it in 3rd or so, pop the clutch briefly and it would start right up. A diehard stick shift colleague with a 2014-ish VW tells me this won't work on modern stickshift cars any more, don't know why.

[selimthegrim]

Isn’t this why you cannot push start cars anymore?

[toast0]

You should still be able to push start a newer manual transmission car. Put in the clutch, put the key to run, put it in 1st (or so), get it up to speed, let the clutch out, and now the engine is turning, which should turn the alternator/generator which should now be able to run the engine. If your electrical system is really bad, maybe the alternator can't get the voltage high enough to run everything; if your car is very modern maybe the engine control computer won't start up and control the engine before the engine stalls out because of lack of fuel and spark (or the fuel pump doesn't develop enough pressure in time); or maybe the computer just won't do it.

In a traditional automatic with a hydraulic torque converter between the engine and the gearing, you've got a problem: most transmissions use hydraulic pressure to actuate the gear selection, and hydraulic pressure is typically developed by turning of the input shaft. Some older automatics had a secondary pump to develop hydraulic pressure from turning of the output shaft. In those cars, you could select first gear, turn the ignition to run, and if you got it moving fast enough, it would develop pressure, actuate first gear, and then the transmission could turn the engine and off you were. Some references suggest pushing in neutral and selecting first when ready to start. References say you need to get up to about 15-25 mph for that; my VW Vanagon which shares the same engine type as the 914 (and is therefore a rear-engine sports car) can start the engine from a much slower roll; the speedometer rests at 10 mph, so who knows how fast I'm going, but probably walking speed.

[maples37]

As of 2013, manual cars (at least Mazdas) can still be roll-started, as long as the engine computer has enough power to function.

My CX-5 even has a wireless-pushbutton start, not a physical-key-in-the-ignition start, but I've still been able to roll-start it when the battery is too dead to crank the starter motor but still has enough juice for the electronics (lowest I've seen is ~8v if I recall correctly, but don't quote me on that).

The process is pretty much the same: put the car's ignition into the "ON" position (in my case, press the pushbutton twice without touching the pedals -- once to ACC mode, then once to move from ACC to ON), then it's the same as normal: clutch-in, shift to your preferred gear, get rolling, and pop the clutch. Engine computer sees "oh, looks like the engine's spinning, let's add gas and spark" and you're good to go.

Anecdotally, I've seen the described behavior of the engine computer ("detects spinning and adds gas/spark, even if the initial motion wasn't from the starter motor") on automatic transmission vehicles, too. On a 2008 Chevrolet, I found that if you revved the engine up a bit (for inertia), turned the key to OFF, then quickly turned the key back to ON (without turning all the way to START), the engine computer will catch it and keep it running.

[olyjohn]

I was really surprised when I couldn't push start my 1992 Miata. I had the thing rolling down a hill at like 15mph in first for at least 2 blocks, engine was spinning, but just refused to fire. Jump pack fired it right up. I know the battery was dead after I left the light on, but I figured for sure the alternator would make enough juice to fire up the injectors and ignition...

[mikestew]

If you can't push-start a car, it's because it has electronic fuel injection. If the battery is stone dead, there's no juice to run the FI and fuel pump, it will never start. It would work on stone cold carbureted cars because there'd be enough fuel left in the float bowls to bootstrap the whole operation.

[cafard]

No. The clutch must be in when you start to roll the car--the car won't budge otherwise. You get it rolling, turn the ignition to on, then let out the clutch.

I suppose that a 1980s Corolla was the last car I drift-started, though.