Push Start a Car

Push starting, also known as "bump starting" a car or motorcycle is a way of getting the vehicle started when either your starter motor or battery have given up the ghost. It consists of getting a vehicle into it's running state, pushing it to get some momentum, and engaging the transmission, to start the engine spinning. Be aware that to push start a car you need to have a manual transmission, and trying to push start an automatic vehicle will either fail to start it, or possibly damage the transmission. You should also avoid bump starting a vehicle with a catalytic converter as unburned fuel mixture in the exhaust may cause it harm. It can still be done in a pinch though. Though it may be tempting if you're alone and on a hill, it's a really bad idea to push the car down the hill then jump in to bump start. People have accidentally run themselves over trying this. It's best to find someone to help.

Step 1 Getting to a running state

The first step in push starting a car is getting it in a state where it's ready to run. This usually just means disengaging the parking brake, having the key in the on or running position, and having the driver in place. This makes it so once the momentum of the pusher(s) is transfered to the engine it will be ready to use that momentum to start up and run.

Comments

[ivancamilov]

This works for motorcycles, tried and tested In a bike you don't do it any differently... except probably the gear. Many a bike won't let you put 2nd gear very easily unless you're rolling at some speed, so probably you should stick with 1st gear. So you put it on either 1st or 2nd, hold the clutch, gain enough momentum, release the clutch and give it some gas.

But watch out! you should do it like in the third step's pic, so get a couple of friends to help you. If you try doing it by yourself you can loose control of the bike too easily when the engine starts.

Of course, if you have a kickstarter you shouldn't be trying to push! ;)

[bowmaster]

Couldn't you put an automatic in neutral, then get going and put it in low gear?

[Andruha1123]

this is only for manual transmission, this will not work on automatic.

[moittinen]

so will it work on a Toyota tercel that what i have to fix

[carpespasm]

if it has an automatic transmission there's just no way to bump start it.

[Yerboogieman]

It will, you just have to get it Really fast, and i mean Fast.

[carpespasm]

Are you speaking from experience? I've never heard of this before. How fast do you mean?

[Yerboogieman]

err, no, 70 to 90 mph mehbey.

[dan_o_89_rs]

i don't think an auto (not running) could build enough tranny pressure to lock-up a torque converter at any speed... I could be wrong though.

[laznz1]

me and my family did manage to push start a Toyota Lucida Van once. But that was on a steep slope and the car was going approx 30kph when it started

[carpespasm]

So you could probably do it with most auto transmissions if you pushed the car up to speed with another car. Good to know.

[Yerboogieman]

You can, but you risk your transmission.

[dan_o_89_rs]

To get the car moving from a dead-stop, I would suggest (especially on bigger/heavier vehicles) that the pusher CAREFULLY push forward on the top part of the REAR tire... This gives the pusher some added leverage; similar to taking off in 1st instead of 5th... larger diameter gears allows for easier take-off. Pushing the car's bumper while sitting still will prove to be like taking off in 5th compared to pushing on the tire. ONCE THE CAR IS MOVING, the pusher should then step back and utilize the bumper, trunk, or A-pillar as this will be safer when the vehicle's speed increases... plus, the tire will end up moving faster than your hand can push. Good luck, and safety first :)!

[Atomman]

Good instructable, but the images are copied.

[carpespasm]

Actually if I remember right, when I made this 'ible I went looking specifically CC licensed photos.

[Tallerico500]

You can also push the car by the A-pillar as well, just a little tip.

[b-train]

nice instructable, although u might want to add that if its being done on dirt or grass the wheels might skid, and if this happens the driver should engage the transmission in the next gear up, or get sum1 to jump on the back/front wen u engage the gearbox (providing u have a bullbar or ute back for the people to sit, lol not just unsafely on the bonnet

[davethegiant]

HEHE, "bonnet" I love dialectal differences.

[b-train]

bonnet, hahah yeah me too, i use american terms like ketchup, aluminum and hood etc just to confuse my friends

[davethegiant]

What are the equivilant terms for ketchup and aluminum?

[b-train]

well ketchup is the american term for tomato sauce, and aluminum (al-oo-min-um) is canadian/american for aluminium (al-you-min-ee-um)

[abadfart]

ya we mess up our language purity good

[carpespasm]

Ahh, so you use an additional I in the spelling as compared with ours. I'd always wondered where the ee in the British pronounciation came from. I've always used grey and theatre when spelling those words. Gray and theater have looked like incorrect spellings to me as long as I can remember.

[trgz]

They're both originally English! The guy that invented it kept changing it:
http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

[b-train]

hahah well i spell them "GREY" and "THEATRE" too, yeah the other way looks weird, its like spelling "SQUAWK"

[scafool]

Park at the top of the hill. Then you don't have to push.

[Josho]

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Never bump start a car in 1st gear!!!!! ALWAYS IN SECOND! I was talking to an experienced mechanic about this, 1st gear is for pulling away ONLY! Therefore, when you bump start a car in 1st, it's already moving, and the engine spins up WAY to fast, especially when it fires up. You can wreck the transmition, clutch head gasket and the pistons doing it. Please change it, honestly, 2nd only.

[carpespasm]

Right, sorry about that. I've fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out.

[lukeyj15]

This can be done in 1st gear or reverse (if you were pushing the car backward). You need to fix this bit

[carpespasm]

It's true that you can do it from reverse if needed, but as Josho said, you'd do much better to avoid 1st since it would wind out the engine if you were going more than at a snail's pace when you engage the engine. Can you show somewhere that says 1st would be a better idea than 2nd? I was trying to make sure the instructions would lead to the best practice for those doing it the first time.

[lukeyj15]

You said you would fix it in reply to Josho's Question

[carpespasm]

Crap, sorry about that. I thought that I'd already made the edit. Thanks for making me aware.

[lukeyj15]

no worries mate