Clutch Starting New Vehicles

I wouldnt have a clue, Tim.

But I'd suggest that if you're towing the venicle, because it won't start, you would need to hit the "start" button once you are being towed, and have released the clutch. This should open the fuel solenoid, and arc up any other needed electrics. And success would be dependent on the SOC of battery.

Think it was the 2H engined toyotas that needed a hit on"start" as you let out the clutch. This opened up the rack further, providing ample fuel for a start.

Maybe you're right, Tim, clutch starting might go the way of the dinosaurs eventually.

Bob.

The 200 series is an auto, so quick answer is no, if the 150 series is an auto, it will be the same answer.

They have these new things out now called jumper cables whereby you connect them to a donor battery and then yours and presto..... it starts your vehicle.

The last time I clutch started a vehicle would have been at least 30years ago.

I have no hope of remebering how many times clutch starting a vehicle has got me out of trouble quickly, easily and with help from no one.

I have clutch started everything from a flogged Vespa scooter(which would not start anyother way) right up to a fully loadec 22.5 tonne GVM Mack R600 tip truck...and probably at one time or another every single vehicle I have owned.

Jumper leads are no good to you if ya starter motor is on the fritz, and I have encountered a couple of vehicles, for one reason or another simply wont start from jumper leads.

Quite a few auto vehicles can be tow or hill started, but ya need quite a bit of speed and some distance to do it in......some cant....you could tow start a mini or morris 1100 auto, you could tow start a Leyland Worldmaster buss.

I have clutch started my fuel injected petrol hilux..as long as there is sufficient schnaps to run the ECU and open the injectors it will run...normal procedure no problems.

lots of these vehicles with pushbutton start...its just a con.....they just shifted the start contacts from the key switch to a pushbutton....I don't get why its so wonderfull.
Lots of cars had push button start back in the 40's & 50's rolling onto the 60's.

As ya self the question...how do ya turn the thing off.

But I guess that lots of people don't think we should be able to help ourselves and even the most simple of problems should be put on a tow truck and fixed by the dealer.

I'd be more concerned about what happens when the transponder in the key fails to work and you are up at bamiga.

There is a classic example in a roothy video, of a vehicle that had to sent back to cooktown by barge because the transponder in the key went on the fritz....no keyfob transponder, antitheft means the ECU wont play.

Ya very right to ask ya self, do these vehicles belong in the bush, or should they stay in the suburbs dealing with the off road hazards in shopping centres and taking traffic calming obsticles at full speed.

cheers

Hi Tim,

First of all its very unlikely ANY modern vehicle can be clutch started these days with a dead flat battery. Reason being is that the ECU needs to have ~12V to work, so unless the ECU is powered up, doen't matter how fast you can push/tow the vehicle, it won't start if the electronic brain is off! As others have said, far better to simply jump start the vehicle.

As for the push button start, when I bought my 200 I thought what a gimmick. But after having it for severl years now, it is simply that convinient that I would buy any model with that as an option in future now.

The transponder actually has a "hidden" key inside, it opens a door to let you in, in case you have a flat vehicle battery and the central locking is dead. And the transponder has a RFI inbuilt in case the transponder battery is flat. Simply hold the transponder to the start button and press it.

I have had both a flat vehicle battery and a flat transponder battery at different times and being a keyless pushbutton start was simply not an issue.

Like many new things, people are wary of them until they have been around for a while. I remember when fuel injection was going to be the death of vehicle reliabilty - but who would buy a carburetter vehicle today (in fact I dont think there are any new mainstream cars around today that has a carby!).

Cheers

Captain

I don't think it will work. On my push button start, the fob goes in the slot, foot on the brake, push the button and the starter cranks. Foot off the brake, push the button turns the ignitition on without starting the car. This means that the switches are all electrical relays that require power to operate in the first place. If there isn't any power, you wouldn't be able to set the ignition circuit to on because it's not a mechanical link. It might work if the battery is not completely dead and has enough juice to flip the relays open. It doesn't worry me because mine is an auto anyway.

With so many of these new cars having "electrical everything", the clutch start issue aside, if ya battery is dead ya buggered.

Ya got keyless entry.......so ya cant get in, cant lock it, cant unlock it
Electric windows...... so ra cant wind the window down
Ya got electric power streering....so ya got bucklies of steering the bugger

and chances are it has a computerised auto transmission..so ya probably wont get the mongrel thing out of park just to drag its sorry ass onto a tilt tray let alone use a tow rope.

Realy these vehicles are just getting too smart for our good.

I spoke to my brother a while back & he had done some work on a western property where they have a lot of flash new vehicles.

They all sit lined up under this long car port...each vehicle has it own battery charger straped to the posts of the carport.....and if its not driven that day itt stays on charge till its driven

Because if the battery is flat the vehicle is buggered.

cheers