How To Drive a Stick Shift

With the car off, locate the clutch, which is on the floor in front of the driver to the left of the brake pedal. The clutch must be pressed down when shifting gears. Using your left foot, practice depressing and releasing the clutch pedal.

Study the gears. Manual cars can have up to six gears; a guide is usually on the head of the stick shift, which is the lever to your right. They are often in an “H” pattern, with neutral in the middle.

Learn how to put your car in reverse. This usually involves pressing down on the stick shift and moving it to the far left or right and then up or down. Consult the pattern on your stick.

With the car still off, press and hold the clutch down as you practice shifting through the gears of the car. Practice both shifting (or speeding up) and downshifting—lowering gears to slow down.

Find a flat and open area, such as an empty parking lot. With the car in neutral, depress the clutch and foot break. Turn on the car.

Put the car in first gear. Now you’re ready to go.

Release the foot break and slowly press down the gas pedal as you simultaneously release the clutch—the car will move forward.

Continue pressing the gas to make the car go faster. Once you hear the engine begin to rev higher—or see the tachometer hit around 2,500 rpm—depress the clutch and shift into second, then slowly release the clutch while giving it gas.

As you go faster, repeat the shifting process for higher gears.

To decrease speed, go through the gears in reverse order. To stop at a light, either release the clutch and put the car in neutral or keep the clutch engaged with the car in first gear.

Once you’re thoroughly comfortable starting, stopping, and shifting gears on flat land, practice on hilly areas. Keep on trucking!