Motors 51 Fiesta Flight stalls when trying to reverse...

I've recently passed my test (22nd July 2008), and I bought a 1.3 51 Ford Fiesta Flight.

I can start off no problem now, but when I come to do reversing manouvers it will always stall.
I find that it is hard to always get it into reverse, and end up in 4th.

I live on a narrow road, and that means I have to park on the kerb, so that my mirror does not get damaged by passing vehicles.

My instructors car (a clio) was fine to reverse by putting it into reverse, and just use the clutch to get it going (no gas pedal needed)
With my fiesta, I find that it needs gas to get it going in reverse.

the clio had stiff pedals, and I had to move my left leg to the right to use the clutch.
my fiesta clutch is directly in line with my leg, and is very light compared to the clio. the other pedals are lighter than the clio also.

It's annoying to stall when trying to parallel park on a hill (where I live).

Any advice?

 

Give it more gas on the reverse, some cars need more than others.

Also don't expect to clutch control it just yet if you've only just recently passed. It takes a little time to get used to a new clutch and car and how it handles.
For example I could barely drive the other half's 2001 Diesel Astra untill I drove it over a whole weekend away as it's clutch is very "soft" compared to my BMW.
Different car, different technique

If you are having to give it stacks of revs (more than about 2k?) then perhaps there is an issue but parallel parking on a hill is hard as it is and not being used to the clutch response fully will only emphasize it.

Give it a week or more of constantly driving it until you get used to it then worry

 

If it's a petrol car you will need to give it some gas to get it going in any gear, diesels are much more forgiving and you can just bring the clutch up and it will go (so long as your not doing a hill start)

 

The Clio petrol unit is quite torquey as well so it's not surprising, when I was learning in a focus, that was fine, but my Ka couldn't do it (unless it was completely flat), some cars need a little throttle, don't worry about it

 

The instructors clio is a diesel.

My fiesta is a petrol car, and it has only done 39.5 thousand miles when I bought it.

I guess I just need more time with it.

I'm finding it does need gas to get it going in reverse.

I don't know how many revs the engine is doing, as it has no rev dial. just a speed dial.

 

Just get used to the rise n fall of the engine in forwards and get a feel for how much throttle does what.

You'll get used to the pitch of the engine soon enough i'm sure. My sister funnily enough has that exact car in maroon and is 02 plate.

Bring the clutch to the bite on a flat surface with the handbrake off in reverse, and slowly increase the throttle whilst lifting the clutch slowly.

 

I learned in a diesel then bought a petrol too, you'll get used to having to use the gas pedal when pulling away soon enough

 

I learned in a New Astra Diesel and I drive previous gen Astra Petrol.

It took me a wee while to get used to the differences, the diesel didn't need any gas to move off slowly in 1st or reverse on a flat. The petrol needs a slight tap on the gas to move off without the revs dropping really low and risk stalling.

 

Diesel explains it, I now drive one and I have got to say, whilst driving a petrol to start with is probably better (you get used to controlling the throttle more delicately) I'd never go back to one now. Well, not a normally aspirated one anyway.

 

I learnt in a Diesel Opel Zafira and it easily pulled away without using the throttle, then got into a Renault 5 petrol and my god that has squishy pedals It needed a helluva lotta revs to make it do anything, made an awesome noise too
Then I moved to a petrol auto (no laughing!) and occasionally drive a diesel defender (you can drop the clutch in 1st and it'll stall then just go - I think once one cylinder fires it's enough to get everything going) and as such the few times I have tried to do a petrol manual recently have not been good

 

I think my next car will be a diesel one.
It needs gas in first or reverse to get going.
I'm now used to it needing gas.

I know when I was learning in my instructors diesel clio, I was taught to just hold the clutch bite point, whilst waiting on an incline to a roundabout or junction.

With my petrol fiesta, I have to stop with the footbrake, put the handbrake on. when the vehicle in front has moved forward, then back on the gas very slightly, clutch round the bite, and release the handbrake.

I've tried to hold the clutch bite point with a slight bit of gas, and whilst I can get it to hold (shaky though), I then try to move forward, and stall.
I think it would have been better if I had got a diesel for my first car.

 

you use the handbrake, i just keep it on the 'bite' everywhere. Also i can pull away and change up into 2nd with out touching the throttle, pulls to a steady 15mph like that great for city/town driving.

note it is a 1.8L Volvo and a 8v not 16v so i believe that i have a little more low down torque/hp, as i am not turning an extra stick in the head.

 

Sound like you just need to learn how to drive


Sure it's easier to get a diesel car going as their engines tend to have more torque, and doesn't stall as easy. When you learn how to use the clutch properly it doesn't really matter. You'll learn it quicker on a petrol engine, though. When you get the hang of it, it's probably a good idea to try to drive many different cars. You have to learn how to "listen" and "feel" how the cars is doing.

If you want to take of quickly you need to use the gas no matter if it's a diesel or a petrol engine.

...and using the handbrake when starting uphill is cheating...



Oh, and just remember that having a license doesn't mean that you can drive properly yet. You are just allowed to practice on your own. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are the king of the road. Many people end up as king of the ditch, or king of a hospital bed...

 

Then your instructor was a fool. Not only will it burn out your clutch, but it's unsafe if you stall, get the biting point wrong and don't notice you're rolling, or your foot comes of the pedal.

That's the correct way. What you're doing is just fine, but remember to knock it into neutral at traffic lights or when the traffic isn't moving for more than a few seconds.

That's normal behaviour if you try that. Shaking things generally aren't good, with a few exceptions.

I think you just need to get used to the nature of petrol engines. Diesels are a lot more forgiving at set off due to their higher torque at low revs.

Keep practising and have fun.

 

This is what you have to do in every-single-petrol car. Given time you'll learn how to use the minimum amount of gas to give it before pulling off, it just takes practice. You're pulling up the clutch too fast on the bite if you're shaking (bunny hopping?) it though, you've got to ease it in, like you're making love to that gear then as you get going you can speed up the gear changes.

Giggedy Giggedy.

 

By shaking, i meant moving back and forward, whilst trying to hold the clutch at bite on a hill. (not bunny hopping)

 

In a car park or some other flat open area - try driving without your shoes on. Go on, use your toes to control the pedals with finesse - it works fantastically. I can't drive with shoes anymore.

 

That's not really what you're supposed to do...as said above it'll soon burn out your clutch and isn't as safe - if you're having trouble finding the biting point then you could accidentally jump out of the junction onto the road before you realise what's happening or if you panic and drop everything.

One trick you could try and practise is holding the brake on with your heel, then pressing the accelerator a bit with the ball of your foot. It takes a while to get that right but can be more useful if you're just going to be waiting for a few seconds, or need to make a quick pull out on a hill.

 

I had a lovely argument with a guy in the states a little over a year ago, about using the clutch to brake the car on a hill at a red light instead of the brake. Ended up with a shouting match with me saying that it will burn out the clutch faster and him saying it’s an advanced technique that makes you a better driver.
So because I work at a gas plant I asked some of the mechanics that we have here. They all said the same thing, he's an idiot for using the clutch to do something that the brake is designed to do.
The purpose of a clutch is to transition the speed of the wheels to match the speed of the engine. Not to hold the car in place.


Anyway, as for needing to use gas when going into reverse, my first car was a Toyota corolla. it had 90HP and needed gas on a level surface either in reverse or 1st. So don’t worry about it.
My current car, a Mazda 3, doesn't need gas even if on a slight hill. And it’s a gas (petrol) engine too. So its going to depend on the car and the engine/clutch/weight of the car/incline of the hill, etc...

 

Just don't try that for the first time in traffic ...




After a while you don't think about having to apply a little throttle to get the car moving, or having to find the bite point etc. you just get in and it all kinda happens

I started driving a 998cc mini, i can remember having to throttle up for everything, A while after i drove a Rover something with a 1.8 diesel which could do all the slow speed stuff at idle.
Lately i've been driving a diesel fabia of some sort, and tbh, I haven't got a clue what I actually do when I'm driving, my feet seem to take care of things all by them selves