Starting the car properly

[john87]

The same as many others above, I press the clutch down before I start every time..

My driving instructor taught me it as good practice, takes the load of the gearbox (albeit not a lot) off of the starter motor 

[dmac1969]

The mk6 will not start unless you press the clutch down.

Same with the New 2012 on Beetle I had out for the weekend when it first came out. I always press the clutch down anyway , have done for years. As regards cooling down , by the time I get out the car , unlock and open the garage door then put the car in there , its a couple of mins gone anyway , so job done.

[bellios]

IIRC the idling before shutting off is to stop hot oil being left in the turbo. hot oil cools down and leaves deposits on the turbo causing premature wear. your best off just driving off boost for the last bit of your journey.or at least that what ive always done.

[Frenzy]

i always depress the clutch before switching on and after a good run let her idle for a minute or two. the first thing i learnt from reading the manual when i got the car, the 2nd from reading posts on here - makes sense.

[phil1975]

I have to start my mk6 with clutch down (as previously stated) and I always wait for the revs to drop down before driving off. I always let the car idle before switching off, at the end of the day you can't be harming the car by doing this so prevention is better than cure in my humble opinion.

[Mertyvw]

I get in turn the key wait for all check lights to go and after depress clutch and  turn the key full and let the engine idle of a couple of mins(3-5mins in winter) and im off

When a complete a long journey  i wait a min or two then switch off.

[rich83]

I start my car...  and drive off as soon as possible.
I stop my car... turn it off and get out.

 

[Tortaruga]

let the engine idle of a couple of mins(3-5mins in winter)

That's not recommended. Even the owners manual says so.

[Itsagthing]

I ALWAYS depress the clutch pedal on my edition dsg before I start it! Lol 

[bellios]

the handbook my misses got with her polo must be different to the golf. Start engine (sometimes in gear). give the car absolutely no time to warm up at all before going up to 5k rpm. ride clutch etc etc

[RifGTi]

I used to start with the clutch pedal down but stopped doing it. I probably should start doing it again.

Always let the engine warm up before putting lead on the foot lol. Personally I let it hit 90 degrees before doing anything. I always let the engine the idle at the end of the trip for at least 3mins at least 5-6 after a solid lead foot/ long journey/ Italian tune up

[beetie]

Always start mine with the clutch down.

 for when I stop, I take it easy for the last couple of miles. Although I'm sure the mk5 has a pump that pushes coolant around for a few minutes to help the turbo to cool, once you have switched it Off. Listen for it the next time you leave your car. It will do it every minute or so.

[Savo]

I'm the same as most people, start with the clutch pressed down. I'll let it idle until the revs drop then drive off but wait 5-10 minutes before going into boost to give the engine time to get up to temp.

Always start mine with the clutch down.

 for when I stop, I take it easy for the last couple of miles. Although I'm sure the mk5 has a pump that pushes coolant around for a few minutes to help the turbo to cool, once you have switched it Off. Listen for it the next time you leave your car. It will do it every minute or so.

I do exactly this too just taking it easy for the last bit of the drive. I've heard that noise when turning it off and always wondered what it was.

[Kalpsn2000]

I have read that it is better to drive pretty much straight after starting up, although keeping the revs low until it has warmed up, as this will transport the oil around the engine better than leaving it idling.

Any truth to that?