Why must car start in P or N and not D.

[nowhhs]

Yea, after I wrote that I thought about restarting while moving, and I'm not sure that would be a good idea either. I've never actually done that, and the torque converter in a 76 doesn't lock so it would be different in any case. Good luck.

[Gregte]

In most older carburetted cars, and also in fuel injected cars, but usually to a lesser extent, there is a fast idle immediately after starting a cold engine.

If you could start the car in Drive it would immediately take off through the wall of your garage, or run over your puppy, or something else undesirable.

[cighon]

my younger bro tried to start our family car years ago while it was parked in R in the garage, it skipped and jumped back 10 feet. goo thing the garage door was open.
safey.

[alpine]

this question made me laugh a lil , d would be in gear.

[luvit]

my 1st experience with a manual transmission was at a paper drive.
i was obsessed with starting vehicles ..as my mom walked towards the truck.
my good deed moved the truck 2 or 3 feet while i tried to start it in gear.

[Bajascoob]

Originally Posted by nowhhs

I've bypassed the neutral safety switch in a 1976 Chevy van for over 20 years and not had a starter failure. My ignition switch went bad, so rather than replace it, I just wired in a relay and a push button switch (I was poor at the time) and its worked fine ever since (my dad still owns the van). And I've often started it in gear. It is a little weird to start moving as soon as the engine starts though. At cranking speed there is very little resistance from the torque converter, so it doesn't really add much to the starter's load. The reason manufacturers don't let you start in gear is strictly liability, remember Audi's "unintended acceleration"? That wasn't the same issue, probably a pedal placement problem, but the point is the same. Imagine what the average driver with a cup of coffee and a cell phone would do if the car started moving as soon as the key was turned and you see the problem. If I was going to wire something like this up, I would probably use a three position toggle switch mounted within easy reach with the center position normal, one direction kills the ignition / injectors, and the other direction to the starter. It would also allow easier EOC if you're so inclined, which saves a lot more gas, according to the people who do such things.

The transmission safety switch on my off road race truck is bypassed, I occasionally start it in drive if it stalls while racing etc. It's an auto trans, the starter doesn't make the truck move that much until I punch the gas. There is more load on the starter but I don't think much more. The auto "free wheels" until enough rpms are built up.

[daring4]

The t/c has a stall speed in most passenger cars over 1200 rpms, the starter rotates the engine nowhere near that speed. The t/c is bolted to the ring gear and is always turning with the engine. Its just a safety feature that you have to start it in park, apply the brakes then pull it into gear, with the exception of being able to start it in nuetral. I guess thats why its called a nuetral safety switch and not a turn the key and see what happens switch!
I guess my point is, you cant do any damage internally starting it in a gear.

[Clev]

I was thinking about that for the Clunker. When the clutch went out, I was easily able to start it moving in first gear with the key, and it worked surprisingly well, even on hill starts. I'm thinking about bypassing the switch so I can do the same to get moving at lights. The tradeoff would be more wear on the starter vs. less wear on the clutch (clutch is already all the way out when the car starts moving.) Of course, this would only be on level/slightly downhill streets.

The starter is pretty easy to replace, so I figured I could buy a spare starter and keep it in the trunk for when I finally kill this one.

[micondie]

FWIW: I used to have an old (55) Pontiac 3-speed standard. The clutch fork broke and wouldn't disengage so I drove it for quite a while without using the clutch. Just coasted to a stop in neutral, turned the motor off, put it in first gear and hit the starter when I wanted to go. The motor would start and I would just drive off!!

[RandomFact314]

The sensor or whatever is broken in my car so I can start it in whatever gear I want, It makes my check engine light stay on but I like it better being able to turn it on in whatever gear