Frequently Asked Questions

If you're interested in teaching stick shift, visit instructor central to see the FAQs.

Yup, it really is, though we can’t believe it either. We started in 2017 and as of this writing (June 2024) we’ve helped 11,370 people learn stick shift. 

To find a location near you, please visit this page: Stick Shift Driving Lessons Near Me

To find pricing, find a location near you and then scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Purchase a Lesson" section.

To find a location near you, please visit this page: Stick Shift Driving Lessons Near Me

We recommend you look at our reviews online by searching on google or by clicking here Stick Shift Driving Academy Reviews. Note that we’re new in some areas, so we may only have a few (or no) reviews for the location near you. 

Yes! The vast majority of our customers do not already have a stick shift vehicle, so the lesson includes the use of a manual transmission vehicle. Note that for each lesson type, the vehicle that you will use will be relatively ordinary. 

Everyone learns at different speeds, so we’re going to try to give you a realistic expectation here. By the end of your lesson (2 to 4 hours in a parking lot), you’ll likely feel functionally competent and uncomfortable. How's that for an honest sales pitch? After the lesson, most customers are able to take their future car on the road so that they can refine their skills but they don’t yet feel amazing. You’re probably going to be hyper-vigilant and a little nervous, but you’ll be getting it done. In truth, it takes about 10 to 15 hours of regular practice before it starts to feel smooth.  

If it takes 10 to 15 hours for everything to feel smooth and easy, why is a lesson only 2 - 4 hours? After about 2 - 4 hours, there’s not much more that the instructor can teach you. It really just comes down to practice and refining your skills. We’d be happy to have you practice with an instructor, but we find most people don’t see a value in paying for more time in the car when they can practice much more cheaply with other methods. Since we started, less than 1% of customers asked for extra sessions, so we don’t promote extra time. Though we’re happy to have you back if you do want guided practice time. 

We can teach anyone who:

1. Is or will be licensed and insured on the date of the lesson

2. 18 or older on the date of the lesson
   

We CANNOT make any exceptions to this policy. These requirements come from our insurance company. 

The lesson will take place in a paved, off-road area like a parking lot or a cemetery. This is partially for your benefit and partially for ours. Parking lots are lower stress than roads. Fewer distractions and fewer chances for something to go wrong. This helps to make the experience less stressful. Also, you’ve very likely going to make mistakes. Better to do so away from the roads, where mistakes can have significant consequences. 

Everything? No. But we’re not offering everything. We’re helping you go from scratch beginner to independent. To do so, you need to learn how to the basics so that you can refine your skills once you get behind the wheel of your future car. All of those things can be learned at low speeds in a parking lot, typically between 1st and 2nd gears. Leaving a parking lot so that you can add more speed would not improve the learning experience for a scratch beginner. It would just add stress and risk.

We wish we could do pickups and drop-offs, but we're not able to. You'll need to plan to drive to the lesson. 

To redeem a gift certificate, please follow these steps:

1) Identify the location where you want to take your lesson by using our Stick Shift Lessons Locations page

2) Scroll to the bottom and select the lesson plan you want to take by clicking the "book" button.

3) Make sure to change your time zone to your appropriate time zone.

4) Pick a date and time when you want to take the lesson. If you don't find availability that works for you, please use the Stick Shift Lessons Locations page to find an alternative location.

5) Fill in your registration information (name, email, license and insurance, etc...)

6) Scroll to the bottom of the page to where you see a button that says "Redeem Coupon, Package, or Gift Certificate"

7) Enter your code and click "Apply"

8) Follow the remaining prompts to either complete the registration or pay the balance if your code does not cover the full cost of the lesson.

9) In a few minutes, check your email to confirm that the registration went through.