Despite the relatively complicated operation requirements, manual transmission vehicles are still popular among many drivers across the world. Whether you choose left hand drive or right hand drive car, with a manual vehicle, you can enjoy better gas mileage and lower repair costs. On the other hand, if you do not treat your car well, you might experience various problems. This is why we’ve put together some useful tips that will help you keep your manual car in good condition for a long time.

Resting your Hands on the Gear Lever

What’s visible to us is the gear level itself, but we do not see what is going on inside the manual transmission. When you use the lever to change gears, the selector fork remains stationary while pushing towards the rotating collar. The collar is then pressed into your preferred gear.

When you rest your hand on the lever, the selector fork touches the rotating collar longer than it should. Consequently, the selector fork prematurely fails. Needless to say, the selector fork should only come in contact with the rotating collar for a brief period of time. So, it would be best to rest your hand somewhere else—the steering wheel, for instance.

Gaining Speed by Using the Incorrect Gear

When driving a manual used Toyota HiAce van or any other vehicle, you can cruise at higher speeds by using the top gear. However, it would be advisable to progressively go through the gears to avoid straining the engine too much. When you use a lower gear at a higher speed, this may cause the engine to prematurely reach the redline. What you should do is progress to a higher gear when the indicator tells you to do so or before you reach the redline.

It is also possible to strain the engine when you throttle to gain speed while driving in a higher gear. You will notice that it’s slower to reach a higher speed.

Resting your Foot on the Clutch Pedal

When you rest your foot on the clutch pedal, you would cause it to engage partially. This results in slippage. Consequently, you’ll drain a lot of transmission energy and reduce fuel efficiency. Moreover, this would also prematurely wear out the clutch. It would be better if you rest your foot on the dead pedal which is located beside the clutch pedal. Many cars these days are designed with one.

Leaving your Car in Gear at Stop Signal

If you do not want to turn off your car’s engine, you shouldn’t keep the gear at stop signal. What you should do is get your vehicle out of gear and let it stay in neutral. It is true that the throw out bearings are generally designed to live longer than the clutch. However, it is better if you avoid depressing the clutch for prolonged durations. Doing so puts the throw out bearing in contact with the diaphragm spring, causing premature wear.

Shifting Gears Without Using the Clutch

Whenever you push in the pedal, the clutch disengaged the engine from the transmission. It is worth noting that the clutch is the friction disc that transmits power from the engine to the transmission. So, if you want to shift gears, you must disconnect the engine from the transmission. So, when you do not engage the clutch, you are damaging the transmission system. What’s more, you are bringing dire consequences to the engine too.

So, these are just some of the things you should avoid when you are a manual used Toyota HiAce van or any other kind of vehicle. It is important to drive sensibly to ensure that your car will stay in good condition for a long time.