2007 Honda Fit, manual

A while ago my oil plug shot out while I was on the highway and I was lucky enough to hear it and notice smoke in my rear view mirror so I put the car in neutral and turned off the engine at 110km/h (60mph) and rolled to stop. There was no damage at all - just did an oil change.

This got me wondering about turning off the engine while driving and restarting while driving.

1. If I turn off the engine with an initial speed and turn the keys to a certain position (and maybe even remove them) is it possible for me to cause the steering wheel to lock or otherwise make the vehicle uncontrollable?

2. If the engine is off and I want to restart the car while rolling, is it bad to turn the key until the engine cranks (transmission in neutral)

3. What if I "jump start" the car at highway speeds? That is, turn the key to "on" and then pop the clutch in 5th gear to start the engine... Is this worse than a standard "dead battery" procedure where you get the car rolling and pop the clutch in 1st or 2nd gear?

 

my guess.
1 yes
2 no
3 boom go muffler
4 lol

 

The moment you turn the key to the OFF (you don't even need to take the key out), the steering becomes lockable (once you turn it to one of the lock positions).

If the engine is in neutral, it doesn't mattered what speed you're going, you HAVE to crank to get it started in neutral.

If you're IN GEAR (proper for the speed), hold the clutch, put the key to ON(II) then EASE off the clutch pedal and the car will start itself. This is slightly better than trying to pop in 1st or 2nd as it's less jarring because you can ease the clutch. Popping 1st/2nd is very jarring because you have to do it quickly to avoid going too slow and stalling out again (or not starting at all).

So, no... You're NOT "jump" starting it at high speed cause if something goes wrong, like a seized engine, your gonna have a very terrifying experience. Ease the clutch i (off pedal)n, so that, if the car doesn't start, you can ease the clutch back out without potentially locking up any tires and spinning yourself into who knows what.

Ps. You can also start the car in reverse gear, if rolling backwards. Again, only popping the clutch at low speeds, easing the clutch in at higher speeds.

 

Don't "pop" the clutch, except when playing in the snow.

They call this bump starting. If engaging the clutch in first from a dead start is like a handshake with all the moving parts quickly and smoothly coming solidly together, then a bump start while at speed is more like a fist bump.

You don't ease the clutch into place, you gently lift off just enough to make contact and immediately put your foot back in. The momentary contact is enough to get the engine moving while not being too harsh on the clutch- but at lower speeds a lower gear and sharper bump will be required. Once it's spinning you match revs and move on with your life.

When you do all this, as soon as the engine stops turn the key immediately back to the RUN position. This keeps all the nice things like power steering up and running and leaves the car ready to be bump started at will.

And watch out you don't get yourself killed. Do everything safely.

 

1. Yes if you have the key in the lock position and (I think for the Honda) remove the key. That's why you have to push the key in or depress a lever or something to turn it to the lock position, by the way—to try to avoid having it happen accidentally while on the road.

Obviously, if you have a pushbutton start car with no steering wheel lock, it won't lock.

2. No problem at all—it's no different for the engine than starting it when the car isn't moving. This would be the standard way to restart if the engine stalls for some reason while your moving (in either a manual or an automatic).

3. Generally OK, as explained by others.

The phrase "jump starting" refers to using jumper cables to start a car with a dead battery. That is not a good idea to do while in motion!