Clutch start cancel

Ok so here i am my first, tacoma its a 2005 2.7l 4 cyl reg cab 4x4 with the 5 speed manual transmission, not my first truck or 4x4, ( i had a 2004 f-150 4x4 4.6 v8 XLT reg cab long box) loved the truck, but with the help of bad drivers, and snow squals i managed to find my way into a stone wall! Anyways been reading through all the threads absorbing knowledge but something that isnt touched to much on, and was just itching the back of my mind, but

What service does my CLUTCH START CANCEL BUTTON do, i've only ever stalled the truck 4 times ( not bad for my first manual tranny) each time i just throw it into neutral and started back up! so whats it for! Oh yeh when i bought the truck It didnt have an owners manual, and im a poor 21 yr old carpenter, doin my inclass part of an apperenticeship, so i am so poor right now! I will buy a manual when i have money!

 

It lets you start the truck in gear without depressing the clutch....sorta scary actually.

 

Don't use it unless you need to. It's supposed to pull you out of trouble, like if your on a hill and stall. Instead of depressing the clutch and relying on your brakes to keep you safe, you can press the button, leave it in gear, and use the starter motor to pull you up.

I have never seen this done, and I would imagine the stress on the starter motor is extreme. Definately something you want to do just because.

Thats my understanding on its use. Correct me if im wrong.

 

Coreyjon,

You are for all intents and purposes correct. It lets you put power to the ground with no risk of wheel spin at all. Like in your example of being on a hill, or like in a last chance effort to get out of deep mud where even 4 low and starting in third is still giving you wheel spin.

I've also used it while standing in the parking lot at work and shooting the shit with a co-worker to start the truck while standing there without actually having to sit in and depress the clutch to fire it up. (after putting it in neutral of-course)

 

great replys thanks everyone, nice to know, I live in Northern Ontario, Canada, and my daily driving is done on mostly backroads, and streets and small hwys that are after this winter worse then the backroads now. So it is just nice to know other great capabilities of my vehicle.

 

just read a lil closer to your post there maverick, whats this you say about starting in 3rd, you mean like shifting into third from a dead stop??? Sorry like i said maunal transmission is still new to me, kinda only had a crash course been goin from there, been readin up lots on it!

 

What he is talking about is being stuck in deeper mud where spinning your tires would do no more than dig yourself a deeper hole. So, you start out in a higher gear to get less wheel spin to hopefully remove yourself from your muddy trap.

 

how exactly you start out in lower gear, just throw it in third rev the engine up and pop the clutch?

 

Main purpose is for tough situations where you dont want to slip the clutch for your takeoff. Think roll back on a nasty uphill climb or approaching obstacle where you may have stalled or got stuck.

Also good in winter when you have your snowboard or ski boots on (tough to clutch) and want to warm up the truck, just make sure your in neutral.

Finally, when I slipped a disc in my back in the woods was able drag myself into the truck and start it in gear (thanks to CSC) and drive home 1 mi very slowy in 1st cause I couldn't depress the clutch pedal to start or shift it otherwise.

Used it a few times otherwise. It does feel funny starting in gear. You turn the key and your moving.

 

You won't be able to start in third, unless you are in 4wd low range. Starting in third in 2 hi or 4 hi will likely only stall you out. My point in making that statement was just that if you start in a higher gear in low range, (which you would do just the same as if you were starting in first in high range) it would minimize wheel spin, in a stuck situation, but sometimes even that would be too much torque and wheel spin, so using the starter motor may move the truck enough to get you to firmer ground and get you un-stuck.

 

It's also NOT a good idea to use the starter to pull the truck up a hill, or start the truck in gear at all. Really quick way to wear out your starter. You won't be able to get it started in gear unless you a) have clutch depressed (negates using the cancel button), or b) are on a down hill slope and the momentum will turn the engine over.

The only time I've used it is when I am standing outside of my truck, but want to start it.

 

cool, didnt know I could start out in a higher gear in low range. Will be nice to know next time that I get stuck, which will most certainly happen, although this truck has plowed through snow drifts higher then the front hood and come out on top! Gives me a a false sense of immortality when I drive my Tacoma!

 

Isn't the purpose of the clutch start cancel to allow push starting (dead starter) with the manual transmission?

 

Negative, you do not have to push the clutch start cancel to bump start a Tacoma, I did it on my 04 once just to check that.

 

I use it all the time to start my truck whenever I don't want to get in it. Shift to neutral, push the button, turn the key. Occasionally do it from the passenger side while loading my laptop bag to warm the truck up before leaving.

My car's clutch switch has be bypassed for 4 or 5 years now since I hated having to floor the clutch, and sometimes the floor mat gets in the way.

As for not being good to start in gear.... You don't do it ALL the time, but occasionally using it for what Toyota designed it for won't be a problem. Do you honestly think Toyota would have designed, implemented and marketed the feature if someone could use it a few times, break the truck, and sue Toyota for it? Or generate more warranty work from it causing problems? They don't like to perform free (warranty) work as it is. Think they'd do something that generates more of that?

 

Oh, and someone on yotatech had a good idea for a kill switch (just a little extra theft deterrent or keeping those pesky family members/friends from driving it.... ). Disconnect the switch under the clutch. Then you have to push the clutch cancel button to start. I suppose if you wanted to get sneaky you could replace it with another OEM switch like fog light or whatever. Just push it once to start, then again to pop the switch back out and open the connection back up.

 

I have used the clutch start cancel pulling a trailer before where I wanted to back up very slowly (friend signalling how far to come back till i hit the loading dock) and reverse low range was still moving faster than I wanted so...reverse low range...starter cancel just bumping it over not holding till it starts

 

I was stationed in Japan for 3 years. Over there they do not have it where you need to have the clutch pressed in to engage the starter, or the button. If you're not paying attention it will lunge forward on you.

I guess they don't have as many lawyers over there.

 

Off roaders use it a lot for crawling over obstacles. In Wranglers up until the last redesign you could start them in gear, no switch needed! I was in one of those Jeep Jamborees a few years back and all the serious Wranglers off roaders used the starter for crawling. Some of them had like 70k on their Jeeps, all off road, and on the original starts. So I wouldn't worry too much about burning up the starter!

Anyone ever try to ADD one to their truck? My 4 cyl PreRunner doesn't have one, and I think it might be useful to have for launching a boat or if I get stuck in sand or something... You think there's a way to add it?

 

It is an awesome feature! In my old CJ-5 I used to shut off the gas and would just run the vehicle off the starter for a super low gear speed in gnarly stuff; like if I was a small weight-shift from rolling/tipping over, I would just run it off the starter to avoid any unnecessary bumps that might occur from letting the clutch out. Or if you stall in a situation where rolling back will F you, or if it's too tight of a situation to safely take your foot off the brake-shift-cluch at the same time USE IT. Be sparing with it though, its basically just using your battery to move the truck so don't get happy with it.