About that Clutch Start Cancel button

So I have a 2018 DCSB with a manual transmission. I've always noticed that manual Toyota trucks come with the Clutch Start Cancel button.
What is the official purpose of it? I've heard and read that it's for if you get in a "tough spot" off-roading. I can't think of a single instance where you'd need to move the truck with the starter motor. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a neat feature but I've only used it to start the truck without getting in, like on cold mornings when I want to warm it up.

What are everyone's Clutch Start Cancel stories? Has anyone ever had it, pardon the pun, come in clutch?

 

hey man i literally don't use mine either but the 1 time when it was balls cold and refused to climb and and climb back out just to walk back inside...did your light behind the button stay on after you drove away? mine stayed on until i turned the truck off when i got to work.. just curious

 

I use it to start the truck in neutral so I don't have to climb in. Handy when you want to warm it up a bit while you clean the snow off or when it's eleventy billion degrees outside and you want the AC pumping before rolling away.

 

if you are stuck on the edge of an incline and need to inch forward, but if you move the truck a bit too much or roughly, it can loose its hold and slide backward, right? just one example of when using a starter motor works to inch the truck without upsetting it, but if you try that with the clutch then maybe it doesn't go well because it's too much power to modulate to the wheels.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD1jMD_J6pU

Described at about 1:15 into the vid.

 

ok after watching the video explaining it, it kinda seems to help when you really need it..but since i won't ever be on the Rubicon in it i'm sure the most it'll get used it to start it when its cold out... cool feature though

 

Same here. Just once when the wife and kids were in the truck and I made a quick dash into the store. I left it in neutral and they were able to start it to keep warm before I got back.

Yes. The light stays on until you stop the next time.


I've had live starters in cars and bikes before. I'd really like to ditch the switch and just have it active all the time.

 

That's normal. There's no point in turning it off, since you only start it once. Maybe it stays on in case you stall it?

 

I was having difficulty getting going from a stop on 4" snow on top of sand utilizing the clutch in 1st low, engagement was just too abrupt and would cause the tires to dig in. Used the clutch start cancel & crawled out of the tire tracks on the first try.

I've also read clutch start cancel comes in handy when using the clutch would introduce silty water into the clutch area.

 

That last one is interesting as the clutch is vented and the inspection door is hardly sealed. Although, folks around here warn about water crossings due to silt intrusion. It supposedly super fine due to the glaciers.

 

I use mine after a day skiing......turn the truck on without using the clutch because I can’t get in there with my ski boots still on haha. It’s top notch.

 

Thankfully I have no experience with that scenario, but yes glacier silt/'rock flour' particles are pretty much on the same scale as clay particles if I recall.

 

I think the manual says not to use it during normal ops. I wonder why. Safety thing or a mechanical issue?

 

I used it as intended last summer on a trail in the woods where I had to turn around with a drop off behind me, probably could have used the handbrake to work it out but it was nice to just ridie the starter out.

 

Probably just a safety warning. Folks driving through garage doors, shop entrances, and such.

 

I haven't tried it in gear. Does it actually start? Or do you need to hit it in neutral or use the clutch to actually start it?

 

Motor will start. I can use the clutch start cancel button, crank the starter to take off, and the motor sputters to life. Add gas and zoom away.

I kind of wish you had the option to ride the starter only in some circumstances. Sometimes I just wanna bump a tiny bit but the motor catches and away we go.

 

It will start both ways, in gear or neutral.

 

That is most of the point of it, as noted in the video. You can start gently in gear to avoid potential trouble in a hairy situation.

I've used the live starter on one of my bikes to get it off a road when it would not switch to reserve (a touch of vapor lock). On the other, I used it to roll the bike up on to my trailer when the fuel line popped off the pump in the tank.

I used to use it all the time in our car to just start in neutral being a bit lazy.

I never once had an oh shit moment.

 

I use it all the time. It's unreal the control it allows.

https://youtu.be/LkpXNU7o-r0