Danimal1209

Hi, new to the forums and new to mustangs along with manual transmission.

I bought an 04 mustang gt with a manual transmission yesterday. Ive been driving an automatic my whole life so Im attempting to learn to drive manual with my new car.

So heres my questions:
If I do not correctly accelerate from a stop will the car auto shift for me? Thats what it feels like it is doing, if i do not shift correctly then the rpms will drop to around 1000 while im going 30mph.

Also, while driving my car in 2nd at around 3000-3500 rpms i shift it into 3rd, then the rpms drop to 1000 and I cruise at 40, is that normal? It seems like Its dropping into 4th instead of third, like im missing the gear there. My gf's brother drives the car fine but hes been driving manual forever, he says that I just need to learn to drive the car properly. So, is the mustang equipped with some sort of auto shift to compensate for driver error?

Thanks for any help.

SC55509

Lol no autoshift, quite honestly idk what your talking about there not to be rude im just saying and when you shift into third it is suppose to do this in my sixer I usually shift when it hits about 2 grand when im trying to save gas. But yes if this is your first stick it will take some getting use to.

0949er

the pops' z06 will auto-shift you from 1st to 4th if you don't shift hard enough (some kind of emissions thing) but that's not the point

you just need to learn to drive the car. you will get better at is as time goes. Remember, if you get to a stoplight, and you find yourself looking around for a metal refinery, you better check your clutch first :-p

Obsequious1

WELCOME TO MF'S.
Sounds like everything is ok to me. No your car will not auto shift if its a manual transmission.

Sxynerd

Make sure you're shifting into the correct gear. and not 4th & 3rd not 5th. Very easy to do when you're new to Manuals.

vanquish

+1 if you're trying to go from 2nd to 3rd you're probably actually going from 2nd to 5th. Just make sure you are going into the next gear.

cliffyk

One mistake many beginners make is trying to "horse" the shifter into the next (higher or lower gear) by applying much more force and motion to the shifter than is necessary.

When shifting from 1st to 2nd, just pull the lever back with a very slight amount of side force toward your right knee, from 2nd to 3rd you will be pretty much pushing it straight forward, however do not force it straight forward--let it move to the right as the centering spring wishes.

3rd to 4th is straight back, 4th to 5th is one you do have to maneuver a bit, up into neutral and then to the right and up into 5th.

Downshifting is a bit different. From 5th to 4th pull back and again let the shifter move itself to the left to engage 4th gear--do NOT force it straight back as that will attempt to engage reverse!

4th to 3rd is straight back, 3rd to 2nd is back with a slight side force toward your right knee--2nd to 1st is straight forward, again with a slight pull toward your right knee to keep the shifter's centering springs from moving the shifter toward 3rd.

Hope this helps...

Fobra

-1 ... it wont go from 5th to reverse anyway

Riggs

Everything sound fine to me, as someone else said make sure you are going into the right gear. Search google for "learn to drive a stick" and read a few of the guides. I had my manager learning to drive stick and told him to read a few of those guides and after that he did a lot better. It also helped him a lot after it was explained to him how a clutch works.

crash

I agree, that's what you're doing. When I was crazy enough to teach my gf how to drive a manual, she sometimes went 2nd to 5th. You'll get used to it. Don't worry. How many miles and what color is it?