<p>My D is 17, has had her license about half a year. She drives the family minivan. </p>
<p>I’m thinking of trading it in for a Prius, and she ain’t gonna drive my new car! So, the only other option is our 5-speed Honda.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience teaching a teen to drive a standard transmission? Is it just too much to think about for someone with limited driving experience under her belt?</p>
<p>A 17-year old should defintely be able to learn to drive a stick - and it’s a good skill to have.</p>
<p>She should be fine. It will be a little scary at first (for you, especially), but she’ll catch on.</p>
<p>Personally, I think having the skills to drive a manual transmission make for a better driver. I’ve taught 2 children to date and will start number 3 (who just got his license) this summer. The clutches of today seem so much easier to learn on than in my day!</p>
<p>My son took his driver’s exam in my stickshift car. The examiner had NEVER seen someone drive a stickshift for the exam before. </p>
<p>It’s much easier to rent a car in Europe if you can drive a stick.</p>
<p>It is not that hard to learn. Really. And there’s a real sense of pride once they do learn.</p>
<p>I learned on a stickshift. There’s no reason not to teach your child.</p>
<p>My first two learned to drive on my old Volvo with a manual transmission. There was lots of family talk about their friends not knowing how to do it, so when we were searching the used car lots for #3 she really wanted a stick shift. (of course the clutch went out soon after we bought it - but that’s another tale). She takes a lot of pride in having a skill that most of her friends don’t have.
I think that, like any physical skill, it’s easier to learn when you are young.</p>
<p>Same as twinmom - I learned on a stick. </p>
<p>Given that your D already knows how to drive, it shouldn’t be hard for her to learn at all. And I agree with vulture3: The skills it takes to drive a standard help make people better drivers overall.</p>
<p>Does she have to drive in a stop and go traffic often?</p>
<p>Quite a few of my friends learned to drive on a stick, and they all did fine. I also had a few friends who learned on an automatic, but learned how to drive a stick later, and they did fine as well. :)</p>
<p>ChiSquare, I based that endorsement on the fact that you probably live in a pretty flat place (not many mountains in Mn). If you lived in downtown San Francisco or Seattle, that’s a lot trickier. Unlike past generations nobody at steep intersections now thinks “Am I too close? Is he going to roll back a little before starting to go forward?” .<br>
That was something drummed into me when I learned to drive so many years ago.</p>
<p>Ask any mechanic, and he will tell you:</p>
<p>It is not in the interest of the person responsible for the up keep of a well used standard transmission car to have a novice driver using it to learn how to use a clutch. </p>
<p>Unless of course, you have a spare $1500 to $2500 laying around.</p>
<p>Both my sons learned to drive on an old manual transmission Honda Accord. They both say they love the way it feels, and that it’s truly the way to connect with what you’re doing when you drive. They are the envy of their friends because very few of them know how. </p>
<p>It did seem to come easily to them, even as beginner drivers. It was a little harder on us, listening to them slipping and grinding the clutch until they got the hang of it. 
I agree with the consensus here that it’s a valuable skill, and not that hard to pick up.</p>
<p>D’s first and only car is standard transmission. She’s driven that car for 4 years - still has the same clutch! She learned to drive in my automatic. Claims she’ll always drive stick - she loves it. The best part is the majority of her male friends don’t know how and think she’s so cool.</p>
<p>Absolutely learn to drive a “stick”. There’s really just some basic concepts to master. </p>
<p>Find a quiet street (cul de sac is great) or a huge parking lot not being used (early morning hours) (I taught my kids how to drive a “stick” in the parking lot at Dodger stadium during the off-season. Lots of space and no one around. Of course by the 9th inning at most games no one is around).</p>
<p>The “trickiest” part I think is learning what to do (and not panic) if you are stopped going up a steep incline and to start up again without frying the clutch.</p>
<p>But, great “skill” to have and your kid will amaze all their friends, most of whom I’m sure cannot drive a ‘stick’. Ultimately I also think driving a “stick” requires you to concentrate more and be a safer driver. Tough to be on the cell phone, etc. and otherwise distracted as you can be with an automatic.</p>
<p>D had a stick shift car (H’s old Saab) and loved it. WildChild wrecked it while D was away at boarding school, which didn’t help family relations… It is easy for teens to learn to drive a stick. Just takes a little practice.</p>
<p>My H taught 2 sons to drive stick, shortly after they got their licenses (both learned on manual). They both say they will never drive anything else! D, however was a different story. She started out well, then there was an interruption of her “training” for a month, and when they went back to it, she got too frustrated and couldn’t get the hang of it. In the meantime (9 months) she has become a very good driver and has logged many miles. H says he will try again later this summer, just so she knows how. We believe it is a great skill to have, plus, it means that there won’t be too many kids who could borrow their cars!</p>
<p>When we bought S1 a vehicle to be dedicated to him, it was a manual transmission Jeep Wrangler. He’d never driven one before. He is, however, a very coordinated athlete and a physics wiz. I drove the Jeep to the high school parking lot, explaining what I was doing at each shifting point. Put him in the driver’s seat. He stalled it one time, and never stalled it again. Just drove away. That was 30K miles ago!</p>
<p>I learned on a manual transmission, too…on mountain roads. Nothing like stalling on a steep hairpin curve and not crashing over the edge to give a new driver a little self confidence! I still cringe at the memory, but from that day on, I knew I could drive that car anywhere.</p>
<p>I don’t drive a manual transmission now because we have metered onramps & it makes commuting not so fun. But that is the ONLY reason I gave up the old car. I really miss that old car!</p>
<p>My dad tried teaching me on a stick shift at first. Just too much stuff to pay attention to all at once while I was still learning. About six months after I had been driving an automatic, my dad put me back in the Mazda GLC and I picked up the stick in a hour.</p>
<p>I later taught my college boyfriend, roommate (and future SIL) and DH to drive stick shift, too. I really like the stick for driving in the snow. I feel I have MUCH better control. </p>
<p>Beware: SIL’s parents got her a hot blue sports car (used) for her 21st b-day. She then loaned her stick shift sports car to a friend who claimed to know how to drive it. Sixty miles of first gear later, SIL learned a hard and expensive lesson.</p>