[Superleggera]

An unfortunate accident happened to me during lock down, still trying to understand the reason behind it. Sorry for the long post.

I have a 2014 Honda City Vtec Manual, still running on the stock battery and driven daily till lock down. I never had any issues with the battery until the car refused to start after a week’s continuous rest during lock down. I managed to start the car again as my friend helped with a push and the car came back to life again. Drove for about 15 minutes to charge the battery and started the car on alternate days to ensure that the battery is charged. All went fine for a week , but the car was dead again as I missed to start on a weekend. I left the car as is for a week and the battery charge was completely gone to such a state that even the instrument cluster as well as the music system displays were not working. Called my friend again and started the car with a push, the engine came to life but none of the lights or electronics in the car were working.

I pressed the gas pedal after putting the car into neutral, but there was no response from the engine. There was no raising sound and the engine was still in the idling RPM. Tried this many times, and the result was the same. When I switched on the headlight ,the engine stopped and the car was dead again. I pushed the car back to the parking lot and decided to change the battery.

I have been reading that during prolonged parking, it's better to park the car in gear without engaging the parking brake. So the car was parked in first gear without engaging the handbrake.

The battery guy came the next day, changed the battery and asked me to start the car. I was foolish enough to forget the fact that the car was in first gear without a handbrake and turned on the ignition standing outside . (without sitting in the driver's seat). What happened next really shocked me – The car moved forward with very high momentum (as if the gas pedal is pressed) , pushing away the battery guy and banged head on to another car parked on the opposite side of the parking lot, causing significant damage to both the cars.

Ideally, when we start the car in first gear and the gas pedal is not depressed, the car should stall. I am wondering why it didn’t not happen in my case. The two options that I can think of,

1. New battery – gave a power surge which made the car to move
2. I had pressed the gas pedal multiple times when the battery was down which didn’t raise the engine RPM. The fuel pump may had fuel due to this and which acted as if the gas pedal was pressed

Would like to know BHPians view on what may have happened. Also, please learn from my mistake – Never start the car without sitting inside, unless it's an automatic.

[SS80]

Really sorry to know about the accident, hope the battery wala is safe and not harmed.

Rule no.1 with any vehicle, don't start it if you are not seated in it or on it. This not only applies to all cars, also gearless scooters.

When you start the car, the mpfi system increases rpm and holds it there for a few seconds for the engine to warm up. This is exactly what happened on your car, since it was in gear it sort of accelerated.

Also, in motorbikes there is a switch near the clutch lever, which won't allow bike to be started unless the clutch is pressed (i.e when it's in gear). This feature is not present in cars. This is one of the reasons for some cars to be started only if clutch is depressed. Also note, the load on starter is far less when the clutch pedal is pressed.

Tata Safari Storme being one of the cars that can't be started if clutch pedal is not pressed.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Superleggera

.. I am wondering why it didn’t not happen in my case. The two options that I can think of,...

It's a new battery and will be more than enough to move the car in 1st gear. And, if the car started in the short crank, there is the idle rpm compensation in most cars to avoid stalling which will keep pushing the car forward.

Thumb Rule: When working on a car, wait 2 seconds and ensure everything is OK and READY before cranking any car... Like no tools in the engine bay, no people nearby moving parts, no loose cables to tangle, all covers closed and pipes fixed.

[Miyata]

I am surprised it lunged forward so much. What's the current mileage on it? Mostly city driven? I am wondering if there might be some issues with the clutch not disengaging - clutch cable or the master/slave cylinder?

I have been reading that during prolonged parking, it's better to park the car in gear without engaging the parking brake.

That is true only if parking it for very long time - to avoid jamming of the handbrakes. But even so, under such conditions, it is also recommended to place some supplementary stoppages such as bricks or wooden-blocks etc at the outside wheels so they are better kept in place and there is no unnecessary stress on the gear system.

[2000rpm]

This was really unfortunate. Also I am surprised that you discovered this after 6 years of ownership in an unlucky scenario.

Did you never encounter this in day to day life in traffic signals, etc?

This is a useful feature in some scenarios by the way. Let me narrate an incident which will explain that, I was on my way to Ganpatipule which is 25 odd kms off the Mumbai Goa highway. On this road, my Palio suddenly lost clutch pressure, when i opened the bonnet, realized that my hydraulic system had developed a leakage. The car wasnt changing gears as the clutch wasnt getting engaged, however the gears would work in a standstill car. So this is how I completed the drive and took the car to Ratnagiri (about 30 kms) using this approach.

Put the car in second gear, and crank the car. The battery would provide the "Push" which is required to start the car and the car will start running in second gear. I drove this car in second gear for about 40 kms. After this experience, I vouched that I will never touch a fiat again. No one in complete Ratnagiri area was ready to touch the car. I finally got a wielder to put a bridge to prevent the leakage.

[Superleggera]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

This was really unfortunate. Also I am surprised that you discovered this after 6 years of ownership in an unlucky scenario.

Did you never encounter this in day to day life in traffic signals, etc?

No, never. The car used to stall if the gas pedal is not pressed, this is the first time it happened. Its my decision of starting the car from outside created the whole mess !

[Maverick5490]

Most of the cars, even older ones (My 2011 Indica Vista had it) have a clutch inhibitor switch, wherein the car will not crank without the clutch being depressed. This helps in preventing such incidents.

[d3mon]

Is your City a lower trim without push-button start? (Regular twist key to start mechanism)

If so, absence of a clutch lockout is understandable. But if you do have push-button start, it's unforgivable for Honda to have skimped on this.

Any car will move forward if you are cranking it in gear. Nothing to do with a new battery and/or the fuel pump being full.

[roby_dk]

This is strange and not a good practice at all to start a car while standing out. I don't even like the practice of engaging gear of a car while parking. Better to leave it with handbrake. I think most of the cars nowadays have this feature to depress the clutch while starting the car which would have helped you in this scenario.

Apart from that few people develop a habit to press brake while starting car to avoid rolling, I guess some automatics do have this kind of feature where you need to press brake pedal to crank engine.

[Superleggera]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Is your City a lower trim without push-button start? (Regular twist key to start mechanism)

If so, absence of a clutch lockout is understandable. But if you do have push-button start, it's unforgivable for Honda to have skimped on this.

Any car will move forward if you are cranking it in gear. Nothing to do with a new battery and/or the fuel pump being full.

Mine is a 2014 V Trim. Don't think City had push button start in 2014, I may be wrong though.

[paragsachania]

When you start a car that has been lying idle for few days with the engine being cold, the idle RPMs on starting are usually bumped up by 150-200 RPM. This is very common for most petrol cars and hence the initial few seconds you will always notice that the idle RPMs are higher.

With this, if you start the car in gear, it will definitely surge forward with a good momentum no matter what and this is what happened.

Long back I had come across a trivia as to what would you as a driver do if you are stuck on a railway track, and want to save yourself and your car. You are all alone, your car cranks but doesn't start. Answer was to slot into 1st and crank the car without depressing the clutch. Do it few times till the car keeps limping out of the path of the train.

Not sure if it helps but realistically, we know what happens when we accidentally start our car in gear.

Next time please be very careful. I jumpstarted 2 cars in my apartment during the lock down period. Even if visibly sure, I would still bend inside through the window and ensure my car is in neutral before turning the key. Not just that, due to lack of space my car would be perpendicularly parked and I would insist the driver of the other car am helping to check if his car is in neutral. A small jerk and a T Bone is enough for a good damage to both my doors (it's a Maruti too )

[Thermodynamics]

Thanks for sharing your experience. There is no point in debating over why didn't the car stall, because the very reason this happened is because you had slotted gear in first. Had it been at a higher gear perhaps it would have stalled.

It is a good habit to press clutch and start. A lot of cars have this interlock inbuilt. And also there are a lot of cars that don't have it. This confusion was a theme of a funny incident. My brother took my car (Brezza) on a long travel. He was habituated to Nexon that doesn't have this clutch interlock. After sometime, I got a call from him and he was in panic. After refueling the car won't start. He had no clue, was it a wrong fuel or adulterated fuel, no error is thrown out by MID, it simply doesn't crank. I asked him to call Maruti on-road assistance. In 30 minutes the mechanic arrived, thanks to humongous network of service centers Maruti has. The mechanic said, Sir, there is no problem with vehicle, you simply have to press clutch before ignition. Now give me 500 bucks for attending . So having this system can also cost you.

Another best practice I would like to share is, have a habit to push gear lever sideways and check horizontal movement before you crank. It is a habit I had from days I drove Santro. It makes me sure the gear is neutral because I always doubted the visual position of gear lever.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Superleggera

An unfortunate accident happened to me during lock down, still trying to understand the reason behind it. Sorry for the long post.

1. New battery – gave a power surge which made the car to move
2. I had pressed the gas pedal multiple times when the battery was down which didn’t raise the engine RPM. The fuel pump may had fuel due to this and which acted as if the gas pedal was pressed

Sorry to hear about your ordeal! The high idle RPM in a cold MPFi engine, anti-stall feature and good torque in the first gear, all of them join hands to create this havoc.

Almost 18 years ago, I witnessed a similar incident first hand, one which involved a brand new M800 5-speed!

Incident:
My grandfather had exchanged his age old Premier Padmini for a swanky new M800. The car was 2 days old and he had got it home to show it to my father. While walking around the car, he had keyed it and turned to ACC mode, all this while both the gentlemen were checking the car from outside. Once they were satisfied, my grandfather goes to pull out the key, fumbles around a bit and then jimmies it to pull it out.

Next instant, the car lurches ahead. Both gentlemen gathered their wits and caught hold of the b-pillar and front fender of the car and try to push-back/stop it. All in vain, the car overcame them, jumped a small 8" tall divider, crushed few small plants and crashed into the boundary wall.

Root-cause:
Being accustomed to his Premier which had a shot parking brake, he used to slot in 1st and ignore the hand brake. With the new car, he simply followed
the same routine. While jimmying the key, the car started and being in gear, it kept moving until it came across an obstacle which was strong enough to handle the idle torque and anti-stall.

[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Another best practice I would like to share is, have a habit to push gear lever sideways and check horizontal movement before you crank. It is a habit I had from days I drove Santro. It makes me sure the gear is neutral because I always doubted the visual position of gear lever.

When I used to follow this practice for a few months, it resulted in a small squeaking noise whenever the gear lever was operated.

When I got it checked during regular service, the SA said "Please avoid moving the gear lever around to confirm if the car is in neutral as the metals have no lubrication inside with the engine switched off".

He fixed it by spraying something inside and the noise disappeared. I have avoided this practice since then (2 years now) and the little squeaking noise also never came back.

So looks like this is specific to the car. Hence recommended to double check if your car is tolerant to this practice.

[Tgo]

What you described is similar to what I observed in my car recently. The battery was completely dead. Even after jump starting, turning the steering at idle speed the power steering would fail as it is an electrical pump assisted system. The charge drawn by the system was more than that being generated by the alternator.

A lot of cars come with a safety interlock where the clutch needs to be depressed to start the engine. So, the City misses out on this, like my Duster.

Just make it a point to follow this start-up procedure:

Clutch In - Ignition on - Handbrake release -> select Gear

...and the following shut-down procedure:

Brake - Neutral - Straighten the wheels - Ignition off -> Handbrake