How do you park your car?

jayok

From an other thread on a Civic recall about 79,000 people that could be affected by their car rolling away due to handbrake failure. Do you park your car in gear?

Ok, so Automatics have a P(ark) option, but they also have a handbrake. So do you use the handbrake?

Me? As a habit on the Manual CR-V, I always handbrake, clutch, put the car in first, stop the engine and then release the clutch. The start-up sequence reflects this.

On the Automatic 325, I always shift to Park and then use the handbrake.

Does anyone just use the handbrake alone?

Mena

Always use both the handbrake and 1st gear.

John Mason

First Gear, stop, Handbrake and then netural

Rovi

Handbrake and gear, or handbrake and 'Park' in the automatics.

This reminds me of the old Land-Rover drivers' dilemma:
"Do I park at the top of the hill and trust the handbrake, or do I park at the bottom of the hill and trust the starter?"

cormie

I think I saw on the boat to France, that you should park with the handbreak on and in gear, but I think it said only for cars? Or else it was only for vehicles that ran on petrol? Something along those lines anyway

biko

Reverse gear only (have SAAB) but used to use handbrake only in previous car (Toyota) so have changed behaviour completely. Only because of car model

MercMad

Both mine are automatics and I use Park & Parking Brake, since they are foot operated. In any manual cars I use 1st gear and handbrake.

I would worry about using only PARK on automatics as on a lot of transmissions operation of PARK simply engages a small solenoid, hardly enough to hold the weight of the car. Many times I have heard these have broken, and since auto transmissions are shared with a huige number of makers you just dont know what you have.

peasant

Gears only on flat surfaces, handbrake comes in when a (even slight) hill is envolved.

The camper on the other hand spends the winter months on a slight slope in gears only with a chuck behind the rear wheels for safety. No handbrake, as that would seize over time

quarryman

Does 3rd gear not make more sense? At least then the car should cut out if you accidently start without disengaging the gears.

Bendihorse

Handbrake only, i will leave it in gear if i am stopped on a hill. 1st gear if downhill or reverse if facing uphill... maybe my theory is flawed but my understanding is that leaving a car facing up a hill in 1st gear wont matter as the car can roll back when left in a forward gear?

It BeeMee

Usually leave it in first, and use the handbrake just a notch or two.

peasant

quarryman wrote: »

Does 3rd gear not make more sense? At least then the car should cut out if you accidently start without disengaging the gears.

It is good practice to always have your foot on the clutch when starting the car.
a) to prevent the car from jumping if it is in gear (it will jump in 3rd as well)
b) to decouple the gearbox from the engine so that the starter motor doesn't have to turn both

Bendihorse wrote: »

Handbrake only, i will leave it in gear if i am stopped on a hill. 1st gear if downhill or reverse if facing uphill... maybe my theory is flawed but my understanding is that leaving a car facing up a hill in 1st gear wont matter as the car can roll back when left in a forward gear?

When facing uphill park in 1st, facing downhill park in reverse. Always use the gear opposite to the (possible) direction of travel to achieve breaking.
Parking downhill in a forward gear could result in the car rolling .

I only leave it in gear on a uneven surface...

DublinDilbert

MercMad wrote: »

Both mine are automatics and I use Park & Parking Brake, since they are foot operated. In any manual cars I use 1st gear and handbrake.

I would worry about using only PARK on automatics as on a lot of transmissions operation of PARK simply engages a small solenoid, hardly enough to hold the weight of the car. Many times I have heard these have broken, and since auto transmissions are shared with a huige number of makers you just dont know what you have.

Thats interesting.... i lived in canada for quite a few years and no one i knew ever used the hand/foot parking brake in an automatic... in fact all my family would say specifically never to use it in any car there, as no one uses them and it could be ceased so it might engage but when u go to drive off it might not disengage.

L1011

Usually handbrake only but I always start with the clutch down from force of habit from driving my parents cars - never thought of the starter motor benefit peasant mentioned before though.

JazzyJ

Out of habit - handbrake on, in gear, wheels turned into the kerb - living in San Francisco with all the hills will do that to you!

jellybaby21

Handbrake and 1st gear.....:rolleyes:
I'v always ahd a fear of my car rolling down a hill!!!:p

Frisbee

I only use handbrake. Unless im on a hill. Then its handbrake and first

Mary-Ellen

With handbrake and in 4th.
Just got in the habit of 4th not sure why but always know when someone moves the car

Really surprised anyone'd not use the handbrake automatically, don't think I've ever seen someone not use it :eek:

Rovi

quarryman wrote: »

Does 3rd gear not make more sense? At least then the car should cut out if you accidently start without disengaging the gears.

As peasant says above, best practice is to put it into the lowest gear available. This is so that if the handbrake fails, the multiplication effect of the gearbox means that there is much more engine braking available than there would be in a higher gear.
At the extreme ends as an example (made up figures, for demonstration purposes only!), if, when driving, it takes 10 revolutions of the engine to move the car 1 meter in 1st gear, and 1 revolution of the engine to move it 1 meter in 5th gear, gravity (or bad people) will have to turn the engine over 10 times per meter to move the car if the gearbox is in 1st gear, but only once per meter if it's in 5th.

I'd disagree though, on putting the gearbox into the opposite gear to the direction of possible travel.
There's exactly the same engine braking available whether the engine is trying to rotate in the correct direction or backwards, but the rotating components of the engine will almost certainly suffer damage by getting rotated the wrong way.

eringobragh

Handbrake, First gear without a doubt.

Funny cause i was discussing this in the pub a few days ago. My mates da moved his car and he went out and turned the ignition and the car bolted forward ad gave out to his dad. I said it's up to you the driver to check the ars in neutral. He can't get his head around leaving the car in first FFS :rolleyes:

The Real B-man

Handbrake.

Fey!

Handbrake and first (sometimes reverse). Although at the moment, due to a very sharply inclined driveway and the lack of a handbrake, first and 4 wheel chocks!!!

TURRICAN

handbrake .in gear.wheel turned into the kerb

SV

TURRICAN wrote: »

handbrake .in gear.wheel turned into the kerb

Same

(with steering locked )

cormie

peasant wrote: »

Gears only on flat surfaces, handbrake comes in when a (even slight) hill is envolved.

The camper on the other hand spends the winter months on a slight slope in gears only with a chuck behind the rear wheels for safety. No handbrake, as that would seize over time

How would the handbreak seize over time do you know? I know you've been on the ferry a bit with your camper too, do you recall anything about not leaving diesels/vans in gear by the ferry instructions?

barryfitz

I use my mirrors if im reversing into a spot, if not I just drive straight in.

How do I hold the car in position with the ignition off?
Handbrake and 1st gear.:p

peasant

Rovi wrote: »

I'd disagree though, on putting the gearbox into the opposite gear to the direction of possible travel.
There's exactly the same engine braking available whether the engine is trying to rotate in the correct direction or backwards, but the rotating components of the engine will almost certainly suffer damage by getting rotated the wrong way.

The point of putting it into the opposite gear is not to let it move at all.

The engine always rotates in one direction only, whether you're driving forward or backward ...it's the gearing that turns in different directions.

Parking in the gear opposite to the slope makes rotation (and thus movement) impossible ...unless you push so hard that you break the gearbox (say you crash a car at full speed into the parked car)

If on the other hand you park the car in gear (1st to 5th) facing downhill, all that is required is a bit of a push (in 5th) or some hard effort (in 1st) to get the thing moving. On a steep hill in 5th or 4th the car might not even park at all and roll on its own.

peasant

cormie wrote: »

How would the handbreak seize over time do you know? I know you've been on the ferry a bit with your camper too, do you recall anything about not leaving diesels/vans in gear by the ferry instructions?

The handbrake seizes because the pads "bake" to the drum over time due to condensation/rust.

Never saw those instructions you mention, but it is theoretically possible to start a Diesel engine by pushing it in gear, it doesn't need the key turned.
(but only if the fuel cut off solenoid is broken and the fuel supply is uninterrupted even with the ignition off)

Rovi

peasant wrote: »

The point of putting it into the opposite gear is not to let it move at all.

The engine always rotates in one direction only, whether you're driving forward or backward ...it's the gearing that turns in different directions.

Parking in the gear opposite to the slope makes rotation (and thus movement) impossible ...unless you push so hard that you break the gearbox (say you crash a car at full speed into the parked car)

If on the other hand you park the car in gear (1st to 5th) facing downhill, all that is required is a bit of a push (in 5th) or some hard effort (in 1st) to get the thing moving. On a steep hill in 5th or 4th the car might not even park at all and roll on its own.

I'm not certain I'm following you here...
Are you saying that an engine can't possibly rotate backwards?
If so, I'd beg to differ, but perhaps I'm not properly comprehending what you're saying.

cantdecide

Handbrake only. Some cars have brilliant handbrakes. If I was driving a lesser car, I'd leave it in gear.