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      07-06-2012, 07:57 AM   #1
whostorm05
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Put DCT in neutral without starting car?

Ok, granted I haven't tried this very much yet but I tried for a few minutes the other day and failed. Does anyone know of a way to put a DCT equipped car in neutral without starting the car?

Sometimes when I leave early - or late - from my garage I feel bad for the people trying to sleep which live directly above my garage. If I could put the car in neutral and roll it back out of the garage it likely wouldn't shake their condo as much.

I tried putting the key in the ignition and pushing it in once, but no matter what I hit on the gear selector it stayed in park.
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      07-06-2012, 08:01 AM   #2
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Engine has to be started.
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      07-06-2012, 08:18 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bogart View Post
Engine has to be started.
Lies. At least on my auto it is.

Try this.

Hit the starter button without your foot on the brake to wake up the car. Then drop it in neutral.

That's how you do it with a step - a DCT should be the same way. Let me know if it works for you!
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      07-06-2012, 09:22 AM   #4
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^^^ Yes that is the way, I have done it with my DCT.
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      07-06-2012, 12:34 PM   #5
whostorm05
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Hmm, I didn't try hitting the start button without my foot on the brake. I figured that pressing in on key would have done the same thing. I'll try it on my way home from work.
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      07-06-2012, 12:38 PM   #6
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Question

Stupid question from a life-long manual car driver:

Your battery dies and your car comes to a stop on railroad tracks. You have no power at all and the DCT is in gear or park (don't ask why - this is a hypothetical dramatization ). How do you go to neutral to push the car off the tracks?
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      07-06-2012, 01:18 PM   #7
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Okay, I figured it out... It's amazing what an owner's manual can do for you...

Start the car
Shift into neutral
Turn off car
Leave key in ignition
Transmission will still be in neutral
Roll away
Press park to put in park when car is stopped
Or remove key and it goes in park automatically
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      07-06-2012, 01:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrokenVert View Post
Lies. At least on my auto it is.

Try this.

Hit the starter button without your foot on the brake to wake up the car. Then drop it in neutral.

That's how you do it with a step - a DCT should be the same way. Let me know if it works for you!
Actually that won't work with a DCT. As far as I can tell it won't go to Neutral without the engine being turned on.

This is a good case for "automatic car wash mode". From Page 224 of the manual:

Before driving into an automatic car wash, perform the following steps to ensure that the vehicle can roll:

1. Insert the remote control into the ignition lock, even with Comfort Access.
2. Engage transmission position N.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Switch off the engine.
5. Leave the remote control in the ignition lock so that the vehicle can roll.
- It switches back to P after 30 minutes or if you remove the key from the slot.

But what's not stated in the instructions above is that you still have to turn the car on between steps 1 and 2. Once it's in Neutral you can turn the car back off again and it will remain in Neutral as the instructions above indicate (dropping back to P if you remove the key).

I just tried this with my own car and I could not get it to go into Neutral without first igniting the engine. It does seem odd, so maybe there's some other trick that I'm not aware of. (Edit: Looks like bogart found the same.)
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      07-06-2012, 02:22 PM   #9
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What I haven't tried is whether or not you could start the car while it's rolling away in neutral...

I'm guessing you can't, because your foot has to typically be on the brake to start it.
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      07-06-2012, 03:07 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bogart View Post
Okay, I figured it out... It's amazing what an owner's manual can do for you...

Start the car
Shift into neutral
Turn off car
Leave key in ignition
Transmission will still be in neutral
Roll away
Press park to put in park when car is stopped
Or remove key and it goes in park automatically
This would work if I didn't have to start the car first.
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      07-06-2012, 05:25 PM   #11
bogart
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Only way to do it haha. If you have a garage you could do the following:

Start car that night
Put in neutral
Leave key in
Shut car off
Leave in neutral and key in
Close door but don't lock
Put something under the tire so it doesn't roll away or pull e-brake if brakes are cool
Close and lock garage
In the morning it will hopefully still be in neutral
Keep extra key outside car just in case
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      07-07-2012, 01:05 PM   #12
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I don't think that will work either. I think it would drop into Park after 30 min.
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      07-07-2012, 01:29 PM   #13
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So how would a tow truck driver get the car on a flat bed if the car won't start? Just scoot the car until it's on?
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      07-07-2012, 05:37 PM   #14
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Unfortunately, yes.
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      07-07-2012, 06:17 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 135-dmc View Post
Unfortunately, yes.
No, that can damage the trans.
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      07-07-2012, 06:20 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whostorm05 View Post
So how would a tow truck driver get the car on a flat bed if the car won't start? Just scoot the car until it's on?
No, do NOT let the tow driver scoot non moving wheels/tires. It can cause damage to the trans.

With RWD, if you can't get it in neutral, the the tow truck can hook it from behind, make sure the front wheels are straight, lift the rear, and tow it up the flat bed ramp.

If front wheels can't be turned straight and car won't go into neutral, then you need a flat bed that has dollies to put under the wheels. Lift the front wheels off the ground, insert dollies under tires, do same for rear, now car can be moved onto flat bed.

For AWD that is locked with no neutral capability, it too needs a flat bed.
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      09-05-2015, 11:12 AM   #17
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So I've got a hunch with how to put the dct in neutral, and it involves the mysterious Allen key included in the tool kit. Has anyone been able to do it yet? I haven't had too much time to experiment and figure it out but I think I'm close. Any of the regulars recall seeing this figured out? gregthegr8 Dackelone , anybody else?
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      09-05-2015, 01:51 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtla1 View Post
So I've got a hunch with how to put the dct in neutral, and it involves the mysterious Allen key included in the tool kit. Has anyone been able to do it yet? I haven't had too much time to experiment and figure it out but I think I'm close. Any of the regulars recall seeing this figured out? gregthegr8 Dackelone , anybody else?
I had the misfortune of having to do it about 2 months back when the car died at an intersection close to home. It took me about 30 minutes to figure it out, but it can be done. Manual touches on how to do it, but it's not very clear. To put it in a simple step by step for you guys,

1. remove DCT shift trim (pry off carefully with flathead screwdriver)
2. locate allen socket near top left of shifter. you will see a red cap looking thing next to it (no need to touch the red cap)
3. insert appropriate allen key into socket
4. rotate counter clockwise. The first quarter turn feels light, but then it gets heavy. Instinct is to stop when it gets heavy, but you have to push past the resistance of the allen socket. once you push through it, you'll hear it click and if done correctly, you'll see the car in neutral on the cluster. From there, it'll stay in neutral as long as you don't remove the key or put it in park.

I'm fairly certain you do need to at least have battery power to do this, but no need to start the car. Hope this helps!
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      09-05-2015, 01:54 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bogart View Post
Engine has to be started.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 235-dmc View Post
Unfortunately, yes.
Not true. See above. It's a PITA, but it can be done without starting the car. No need to tow the car in park.
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      09-06-2015, 09:05 AM   #20
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Well I figured it out. Did you have a little white plastic cap?
And what is the red button for? I want to press the red button!!
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      09-06-2015, 10:57 AM   #21
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Yup this is the only way with the car turned off. Ive done it twice now.



Quote:
Originally Posted by sometorque View Post
I had the misfortune of having to do it about 2 months back when the car died at an intersection close to home. It took me about 30 minutes to figure it out, but it can be done. Manual touches on how to do it, but it's not very clear. To put it in a simple step by step for you guys,

1. remove DCT shift trim (pry off carefully with flathead screwdriver)
2. locate allen socket near top left of shifter. you will see a red cap looking thing next to it (no need to touch the red cap)
3. insert appropriate allen key into socket
4. rotate counter clockwise. The first quarter turn feels light, but then it gets heavy. Instinct is to stop when it gets heavy, but you have to push past the resistance of the allen socket. once you push through it, you'll hear it click and if done correctly, you'll see the car in neutral on the cluster. From there, it'll stay in neutral as long as you don't remove the key or put it in park.

I'm fairly certain you do need to at least have battery power to do this, but no need to start the car. Hope this helps!
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      09-06-2015, 10:58 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtla1 View Post
Well I figured it out. Did you have a little white plastic cap?
And what is the red button for? I want to press the red button!!
The red button re engages the trans
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