Hey guys,

So my wife is always complaining about how the TL-S is stick and that it was stupid of me to get a stick knowing that she can't drive stick (even though I had the car before we got hitched).

So my question is would it be safe on the car (clutch and tranny) to teach her how to drive stick to get her of my back?

The car is an 08 with 10,000km on it so in my eyes it is still new which has me worried about any potential damage that may occur other then her smashing into something.

Also anyone else been through this and have any tips on how to get them up to speed faster while minimizing potential damage.

Thanks in advance

 

I say find a huge empty parking lot to teach her in. Before you start you need to accept that she WILL stall your car a million times. Also please realize that getting frustrated and yelling will only make things worse. First make sure she knows when and where (what gear) to shift into. Let her practice in the parking lot and then give her a little practice on a hill. Just make sure there will be nobody behind you on that hill.

Another thing to think about is if you are going to get frustrated teaching her it may not be a good idea. That will just turn into a fight. Good Luck I'm sure she can do it!

 

Do it now. It's still under warranty.

Besides, I've heard TL's are easier for beginners - something about how the clutch engagement works/feels.

 

wanna hear the best advice? are you ready?


buy her some junk manual car on craigslist for like 1000 bucks, teach her with that, and then when she is comfortable driving stick with the piece of crap, upgrade her to the tls

 

The sooner she drives your car the sooner she wrecks it.

But then again I'm not married

 

I agree w/ 50pennies and/or try and rent a MT and teach her on that.

 

UM I wouldnt give my wife(if I had one) my TL-S if it was auto, much less a MT. Naw man, I dont think the issue should be auto or stick. I woudnt let my wife drive my car period.

 

its better to spend 1000 dollars on a junker to teach her, then sell it rather then have to pay 1+K for a clutch replacement or new body panels.

 

Read Southernboy's posts on the subject, teach her in the TL.
Keep one hand on the e-brake if you are worried about her hitting something.
She can learn in a day with Southernboy's tips.
This part is important -
1) Teach her only if she truly wants to learn. If she doesn't want to learn, consider trading for an auto. Or, 'you should have bought an auto' is code for 'you don't consider me or my feelings enough' - the car may not be what she's worried about.
2) Be very patient.
3) If she is not getting something, saying the same thing over again won't help. Explain it in a different way.
4) Try to focus on telling her what she's doing right. Try not to tell her she's doing something wrong.
I hope it works out and you stay married.

 

I disagree. I was thinking of teaching my girlfriend how to drive a manual but I think the TL would harder due to the drive by wire throttle and the hydraulic clutch - both of which are bad for beginners because it sorta masks the feel of the clutch engagement or "friction zone". In short, the TL is too smooth to try to learn on. Like everyone said, get an old beater; something bulletproof like a late 90's Toyota Corrola of a Honda Civic with a cable throttle and clutch. That is how all the real pros learned.

 

I taught my wife to drive. At the time I had a old beat up 74 Vega 4 spd. I took her out to an old air strip we lived near and let her go at it. Yea, it took patience and a lot of practice on her part. But she learned and drove well with the MT. Of course every car we've owned since has been an auto except a Renault 6 we owned in Spain. Since the Vega was beat up already, paid $750 for it, I wasn't too worried about it. If it was the TL, no way. Get the beater car FTW.
One thing though. My wife really wanted to learn. Makes a difference. Good luck

 

guys lets not be bitches.....i taught my sister how to drive stick in the car and she didnt break anything as long as you're patient and explain how it works i think its ok... she knows how now and has the concept down of driving stick.... she still wont touch the car and if i ever need it moved or whatever the story is....someone knows how to drive it properly

 

My tl is an '05 and wouldnt let anyone ever learn stick on my car. I would suggest either renting a car for her to learn on or finding a friend/family member who doesnt care if you take the car for a few hours to get the initial feel of driving stick. I would start her off with the car off and run her through everything she needs to do ....... clutch in, 1st gear, gas, clutch out, then second, third, etc., obviously theres more detail. Also, make sure she knows what to do when stopping (clutch in) and test her a few times while the car is out so when she is actually doing it with the car on its not too bad. Also, mention the ebrake trick for steep hills so if she gets in a squeeze before she really knows how to drive stick, your tl-s doesnt get kicked in the butt.

 

I say do it I mean if she fucks up the clutch on a brand new car then fuck acura. Whats the clutch made of, plastic? 5 ppl learned stick on my 2000 corolla and 3 of them were girls and the car is still running with no problems or clutch slipping.
That was my friends excuse to get an auto g37s, I dont wanna fuck up the clutch by the time I learn how to drive the stick. I mean, you can learn how to drive in 3 days. If you fuck up the clutch in 3 days, then you shouldnt have got a piece of shit car like that in the first place

 

^ Couldn't agree more!
Guys let's not be idiots, it's his wife. The car is just a car. If it breaks, we fix it. Lets not forget the real reasons why we're here!

As for the Ops, you have nothing to worry about. Teach her in a safe place, be patient, and teach her why all of US love our TL's! She'll appreciate it more because you did it with her!
...My , good luck!

Andrew

 

Taught my wife in a long afternoon on a '66 GTO Ram Air/Tripower when we were first married. Used the parking lot of a sports stadium so she had plenty of room & no other cars to worry about.

Key is to stay calm, don't yell & don't teller her this was a bad idea.

For all you guys knocking women remember a women drives Indy cars very well, another was a world champion acrobatic pilot & women regularly fly not only the biggest aircraft in the USAF but are also carrier qualified USN aviators in fighters.

Given the washout rate in all these activities I expect not many guys here can measure up to them.

 

Not disagreeing with you that these are awesome accomplishments, but a few women's actions do not speak for them as a whole population. Given there are women who are actually good drivers, it always seems like when someone pulls a stupid move on the road, its women more so then men. Not saying guys are the best drivers period, but if you want to talk about stereotyping then women are definitely worse drivers, at least from what I have seen.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies, you made some valid points and now I got someone homework to do before I get her in the car. First I got to make sure that she really does want to learn as 6spMike said and read that post "teach her in the TL".

Also the idea of maybe buying a beater car is a good idea however I don't know if buying a beater for 1000 bucks or whatever will be worth it since as soon as she learns how to drive stick, no one will use that car again.

 

DAMN YOU!! I want my cd back!!!! LOL, just kidding!

I hear a lot of people say women drivers suck...whatev, I don't care anymore, I know I am a good driver, I won't speak for anyone else...

 

I agree with the post about finding a big car park. When my father taught me to drive a 5MT when I was 15 years old, he took me to my high school's car park on a Saturday when it was empty and the first thing he did was to stop the car in front of a parking space. He had me learn the feel of the clutch by telling me to pull the car into the space using just the clutch and the brake. Worked quite well. Starting on a hill was the hardest thing for me because he insisted that I NOT use the hand brake as a crutch.

Back in June 2002 I re-taught my mother to drive a manual on my 1997 Accord with a 5MT. She drove manual-shift VW Beetles back before I was born, but she had not regularly driven a manual-shift car since about 1974. She and my father were scheduled to take a vacation in France where the rental car would be a manual, so she asked me to re-teach her. I probably should have used my brother's 1974 Beetle since it was closer to what she had known years ago, but I used the Accord because I figured it would be closer to what she'd drive in Europe. I took her to the same car park at the same high school (they live in the same house they did when I was in high school) and followed the same method my father had used with me. It all worked very well, but the one caution I have based on my mom's experience is that you not allow the learner to pull the car into a parking space that's on a slope until you're confident in her ability to start on a hill. My mom pulled into a space facing downhill with a kerb in front of her and then she became nervous about backing out and we had to switch seats so that I could back the car out of the space.

I would use your TL to teach her. I understand others' comments about increased clutch wear, but it won't be a ridiculous amount, and more importantly it sounds to me as though the reason for teaching her is so that she can drive your TL if she needs to do so. It always makes sense to learn to drive a manual on the car (or type of car) you'll be driving if you can do so given the differences between clutches. I routinely drive three manual-shift cars (my TL, my RX-7, and Ms1995hoo's RSX Type-S) and whenever I get back into the TL after driving the other two I always notice how different the TL's clutch feels. When I first test-drove a 6MT TL in August 2004 I initially felt like I was 15 and learning to drive again!

(I should add that my father taught my brother to drive a manual on the same car in which he taught me, and I then taught two friends in that car when I was in college after my father sold it to me. It was a 1982 Accord and none of these lessons led to a clutch replacement.)

 

Hahaha well I am done with it, you can have it back if you want! Notice I did not say all women, but most. You can be the small minority of women who know how to drive CarrieLynn! haha just kidding. Women seem to get in more fender benders, guys seem to get into more serious accidents since we like to speed thats why our insurance is higher.

 

5MT!!!! Whats that?!?!?!??! Thats so 1990's!

 

yeah, I speed alot too, I had to go to driver retraining

 

I said my father taught me on a 5MT "when I was 15 years old." That is, during the 1980s. The 1982 Accord had a 5MT. So did my 1986 Legend and my 1997 Accord. So does my 1988 RX-7. I think my brother's 2005 Civic EX is 5MT too. I don't know if 6MTs even existed yet when I was 15.

You want something that will seem really old-fashioned to these kids today? My first car (a 1977 Ford Granada) had what amounted to a 4MT. Technically it was a 3MT with an overdrive gear, but I normally drove it as a regular four on the floor.

(Do these 20-year-old posters on this board even know what "four on the floor" means?)

 

you guys bashing women driving your car's are SELFISH...LOL.....but I too have taught my fiance how to drive a stick in my 05 6MT...it is frustrating during the 1 million stalls however i cant see y i would buy a POS car to let her practice on if she will be driving the TL anyway....she's gotta get used to it someday rt?? anyway...she doesnt even want to drive the car by herself...she is more so scared of messing the car up...wth??

 

Same thing with my wife and I.

 

Posted in the other thread.

Maybe you can explain, if they are so bad, what is wrong with this statement about why their insurance rates are lower?

"One of the main reasons is that women on a whole are involved in less car accidents than men.

Out of the accidents that women are involved in, they are typically less costly and damaging than the accidents men are involved in.

There’s also evidence to support the claim that women commit fewer traffic violations while driving.

Not only does all this allow women to have lower car insurance rates, it all but disapproves the bad drive stereotype."

Thing is, the guys who have to pay the repair bills, the Insurance Companies, are betting on the woman.

You should always follow the money trail to get to what is reality & what is a stereotype.

 

I learned on a '73 Pontiac Lemans that had a 327ci V8 and a 3MT. I could burn rubber in all three gears too. Fun as heck when I was in high school.

 

no.......no.....

 

True story.

My wife and I sign up to go to AAA class because we'd get a discount on our car insurance. The class was full and many drivers were there because they could reduce their points.

The class had started and this young guy walks in late. The instructor asks his name and whether everything is OK.

The kids says, "Yeah, but I was late 'cause I got a speeding ticket on the way here."