If you have an auto tranny, you probably just put the car in P and leave it. Do you notice that the car "twitches" a little when you take your foot off the brake (if you are not standing on a flat surface)? Some cars even rock back and forth for a second or two. I have read that you shouldn't put the car in P without using the hand brake/emergency brake when you park in a hill, because the forces applied to the gearbox. I always use the hand brake when I park, even if it is just a slight incline. (I don't use it in the garage, as the garage floor is perfectly flat). My question is: is it necessary to use the hand brake every time you park, to limit the forces applied to the gearbox, or is it just necessary in steep hills?
i use it every time i park regardless of wether its on a hill or not, but i drive a manual as well and always use the handbrake on that so i guess it is just habit
It all depends on who you ask. Some people will swear that it's nasty on the tranny not to use it (mainly older people and ones who are used to a manual shift) while others never use the hand brake and never have a problem. When auto manufacturers created the automatic, they wanted to make it simpler for people to drive the car. Part of driving is parking and by the addition of the "P" in an automatic tranny, they tried to make it so you don't really need to use the hand-brake in normal situations. When you engage the "P" (or Park), your essentially locking the gears so they won't turn. Interesting side-note... Often drivers shift to 'P' just AS the vehicle is coming to a halt. This is damaging to the gearbox as the gears receive the full impact of the vehicle's momentum, this can shorten the service-life of the gearbox. Apply the foot brakes and select 'N' first, then with foot brake still applied, shift to 'P'. This will free the gearbox from the strain of the vehicle. In addition, when parking on a slope great enough to use the parking brake, it's best to put the tranny into "N", apply the parking brake, THEN put the tranny in "P" as it will eliminate the stress on the tranny and make it easier to get it back into gear. As for your comment on the "twitching"... The reason the gar will do this is because the tranny hasn't fully engaged in the park position. Older trannys will do that more than new ones will. When you put it in park and let off the brake and you're on a slight slope, the car will move untill the tranny enagages.
even new ones do it... I've found that fords will travel up to a foot after you remove the brake and you're in park... it's also good to use your handbrake on a fairly regular basis as in some cars it helps to adjust the rear brakes... I only drive manual, so I use it everytime I park, regardless of a hill or not
I wasn't aware that the newer cars do that much (my car is 20 yrs old and only travels about 6 inches ). Good tip about using the hand brake to adjust the rear brakes. Of course, this will only work with drum brakes though...
I just have it in D all the time, hold in the foot brake and take it all the way up to P. Then I engage the parking brake and release the foot brake. I have no reason for putting it in N for one second while stopping...
That main reason to do that it it will eliminate any and all stress on the tranny before you engage the parking brake.
The T REG Honda Civic 1.6i ES I have been driving recently is automatic and the Park gear does not move at all. I always put the hand break on when in Neutral or park. When changing in to Park gear I completly stop and hold the car breaks until in P gear is in then pull the handbreak.
of which most of the cars these guys drive, they have (think ford escorts etc... all have rear drums...) my truck as well... and the honda that's chilling in my driveway (the maxima & bmw both have discs front & back, the maximas have been changed to it) it's still a good tip regardless, as if you don't use it every once in a while, the cable can go bad and lockup... so when you might actually need it, you won't have it my mother's escape seems to have a ton of travel in park... like can roll car back and forth quite a bit
My dads old Laguna V6 auto used to shift up to a foot on hills when he put it in park, was quite worrying sometimes but his new (well not anymore) Laguna v6 auto only shifts a couple of inches after enabling park. Mind u, the old model's drive shaft was almost crapped out and the bloody things vibrated like anything when accelerating in the last few months of its life, and the renualt techies couldnt find nuffin wrong?! So i dunno, maybe have been a contributing factor?
I use the handbrake every time, the car I drive (Micra GX Auto) shifts a foot easily with tranny in park and no handbrake Parking's also quite tight round here, so it's pretty dangerous if your front bumpr is a few inches from a wall.
hang on, just thinking about it - surely its more stressful on the gearbox to use the handbrake and park? Cause the gearbox is trying to fall into park but the handbrake is stopping it - could that cause stress? Does it work like that?
My car's a manual (yey!) and if I park on an incline, up or down I will usually leave it in either first or reverse and will let the car roll just up to where the engine starts taking the weight. I've had the handbrake pop off on it once before, and I had to stop my car hitting the nice shiny new BMW behind it so I had to put something in the way... my knee... ouch... don't really trust it 100% since then.
im picky i wotn drive anything other thna a manula box so i alwasy use the handbrake & when i park pointign up hill, into first & on goes the handbrake belt & braces method, belt & braces
Well, no. It is less stressful. The gearbox will fall into park no matter if you have the handbrake on or not. If you use the handbrake, it just doesn't put strain on the gears or the locking mechanism.
