When parking do you leave it in gear or in neutral?

15-11-2021 1:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118167672#Comment_118167672

My son is learning to drive and he's going to do it in an automatic seeing as ICE cars are being phased out. Can't fault his logic.

Parachutes · 15-11-2021 6:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118169095#Comment_118169095

Manuals will still be much more widely available and cheaper than automatics for quite some time.

Flinty997 · 16-11-2021 4:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118170745#Comment_118170745

When I went looking found it very hard to get a used petrol and manual in the year and model I wanted. I ended up getting a diesel and auto. I expect it will only get worse with time.

Henry Ford III · 16-11-2021 5:57pm

I always leave the car in gear. I can't understand why anyone would do any different tbh.

p.s. In an automatic you're supposed to leave it in park, with the handbrake on. Might be a clue there.

Sleeper12 · 16-11-2021 11:30pm

Should always be parked in gear.

beachhead · 16-11-2021 11:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118159893#Comment_118159893

Not suprised about SF hills and wheel direction.They also have contra parking rules in the US which should be the law here.I was always told put car in gear on an incline with wheels to kerb.Gear dependent on direction of car-pointing downhill meant reverse gear,etc

beachhead · 16-11-2021 11:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118160391#Comment_118160391

Doesn't depressing the clutch replace the choke/initialising the solenoid on new cars i.e. feeding the carburettor with fuel before firing the engine.

josip · 17-11-2021 12:03am

For all those pointing the wheels in, do you turn and unturn the wheels while stationary?

Galbin · 17-11-2021 12:57am

I was taught to leave it in neutral. What does keeping it in gear do? The one time I accidentally left a car in gear it lurched forward before I was prepared for it to move! I thought neutral was the safest, as the car cannot move with the handbrake on and the car in neutral. How would keeping it in first help?

Sleeper12 · 17-11-2021 9:15am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118167626#Comment_118167626

I'm 35 years driving & it wasn't a new thing back when I started driving. Cars should always be parked in gear. It's a double safety measure. Not putting it in gear is like never using your house alarm if you have one or just banging the front door after you when you have a security lock that you can engage.

magicbastarder · 17-11-2021 9:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118178591#Comment_118178591

how did it lurch forward?

the reason for leaving it in gear is to use the engine as a brake in case of handbrake failure, or not engaging the handbrake properly. i've seen cars roll on several occasions because of the latter, thankfully nothing at any great speed (i was able to stop one of them myself)

newirishman · 17-11-2021 9:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118178332#Comment_118178332

Is there any new car sold with a carburettor? I’d guess not for at least 25 years?

Miscreant · 17-11-2021 1:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118179069#Comment_118179069

I can't think of a single vehicle on sale nowadays with a carb (perhaps some motorcycles?). They were essentially phased out by fuel injection and the need to keep emissions down. I think the main reason newer cars need the clutch pressed is in the event that the car is in gear and this stops it from lurching forward. A safety feature, if you will. I think it also takes some of the strain off the starter motor by disengaging the gears temporarily and helping to spin the engine easier.

whiterebel · 17-11-2021 1:49pm

I was having a problem with my Mokka, and I thinking about the process, realised that I was starting it in gear. I asked the service department was this a bad habit, and they saw nothing wrong with it as the gears are disengaged anyway.

nemefuria · 17-11-2021 11:02pm

Just something I heard and wonder if there's some truth in it...

If another car hits your parked car, it'd cause more serious damage if you parked in gear, compared to the alternative case where it's in neutral?

I tend to park in gear on inclines but leave it in neutral when on relatively flat surfaces, e.g. car parks.

Timing belt · 17-11-2021 11:15pm

I always park it in gear as a habit from driving old cars in the pre NCT days where the handbrake was week. Became a pro at using my right heal on the brake and my toes on the accelerator when taking off on a hill. 😜

Ave Sodalis · 17-11-2021 11:49pm

My handbrake in an old car of mine didn't actually work at all. I could drive off with it up and not notice. It still passed the NCT. I now park in gear and push in the clutch when starting as a matter of habit.

RandomViewer · 21-11-2021 3:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118179069#Comment_118179069

1992 was when catalytic converters were fitted to all new cars so nearly 30 years,

Leonard Hofstadter · 21-11-2021 5:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118201328#Comment_118201328

There were still a few cars after 1992 with carburettors. I remember the principal of the school my friend went to had Daihatsu Domino, 1994 car but still had carbs. That was very much the minority, though - pretty much everything with a cat has fuel injection.

RandomViewer · 21-11-2021 5:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118202117#Comment_118202117

Wee 3 cylinder so maybe emissions low enough, saw a 1995 Rover with a carb but suspect it was replacement engine,

Buffman · 23-11-2021 3:39pm

I always park a manual in gear.

I was only watching one of the UK cop shows the other day where an empty car had gone across a car park, down an embankment backwards, across a path and smashed into an apartment building. The cops first thought the driver left the handbrake off, but upon inspection it was on. Then they thought the driver was lying and breathalyzed him. He was 0 and turned out in the garage that the handbrake cable had snapped. The car was a write off but luckily no one was hurt, as it would have definitely been fatal for any pedestrian on the path.

I mostly drive autos now, for me parking a manual in neutral makes as little sense as parking an auto in neutral. I'd consider leaving it in gear the manual equivalent of P. You're locking the transmission to insure the car can't move. The yanks actually refer to the handbrake as the 'emergency brake'.

jack of all · 25-11-2021 10:37pm

I posted on this thread a few days ago, I always leave my car in gear in addition to applying the handbrake. Today I was parked up in a carpark and on returning to my car I found another car had rolled back into mine- hand brake not applied or had failed. I waited around for 30 mins for driver to return, details exchanged etc. Minor damage to my car but a ball ache all the same. So in case anyone is any doubt- always park in gear!

25-11-2021 10:43pm

I never put a car in gear parking on the flat ...but if I'm parking on a hill I leave it in first.

dulpit · 25-11-2021 11:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118223748#Comment_118223748

Can I ask why you don't on the flat? There's an obvious benefit in putting car in gear on hill, but why not do it everywhere?

26-11-2021 7:12am

Hi dulpit....thinking back afew years ago my wife and myself could only afford the one car between us .as I recall I used to put her in gear on the flat in our drive way but when my wife would take the car and turn the ignition it would jump forward...even though we have separate cars now I suppose I got told off enough over the years lol

dulpit · 26-11-2021 11:43am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118224637#Comment_118224637

She hadn't heard of the clutch pedal?

26-11-2021 12:08pm

I think it's a man thing. I don't know any woman who puts a car in gear 😂

Buffman · 26-11-2021 3:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118223714#Comment_118223714

Hope you get sorted, annoying way for the other driver to loose their NCB. I bet they'll leave it in gear in future.

Notch000 · 01-12-2021 2:02pm

I always park in gear with handbrake up, I was under the impression too that leaving the car in gear is relying on the engines compression to hold it and the car can still potentially roll away on its own too if slope is steep enough

Squatman · 08-12-2021 10:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118159946#Comment_118159946

maximum frequency of yearly. minimum frequency is 2 years

colm_mcm · 08-12-2021 9:18pm

Kinda related, saw a mk3 Superb that rolled diagonally across the road and used a parked car to stop itself. Gathered quite a crowd, driver nowhere to be seen.

another genius not using Auto Hold on the electronic handbrake,

Former Former Former · 08-12-2021 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163054#Comment_118163054

This post sums it up.

The need to put it in gear dates back to when people were driving around in rusty heaps of shyte that were held together with masking tape and Novenas.

There is absolutely no need to park a well maintained car in gear.

muddypaws · 08-12-2021 9:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118225595#Comment_118225595

👋 I do. But that's probably because I drive a Sprinter van and the handbrake aren't the best.

I worked as a courier driver throughout lockdown but have gone back to my 'proper' job now. Met an ex colleague and asked why my replacement was driving a long wherl base when a medium is easier on that round. Apparently someone parked the van I used on a slight hill. It got written off as it rolled down and smashed into a wall.

dulpit · 09-12-2021 10:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118292516#Comment_118292516

But there's also no harm, right? Whereas if you park in neutral there is a possible (albeit low) chance of harm...

Furze99 · 09-12-2021 10:52am

I wonder is there a strong correlation between those who don't leave a parked vehicle in gear and those who drive forward into parking spaces and then later reverse hopefully back into the traffic flow?? Wouldn't surprise me!

DoctorEdgeWild · 09-12-2021 10:56am

Always, always, always in gear. Learned to drive in absolute heaps, and have continued to drive absolute heaps for the last 20 years!

Bob Gray · 09-12-2021 11:28am

This is a great thread.

Always in gear for me, with the handbrake on. I've had this debate with many friends over the years, the main argument being "Would you not be worried you'd forget the car is in gear and jump forward when you turn it over", which is a great point but I'd rather my car jump forward and possibly only do damage to my car and the stationary one in front than roll down an incline and hit moving traffic.

09-12-2021 11:33am

Conversation I had with me father when I sat into the car for me first lesson.

"Look down to your left, do you notice anything?"

"No."

"The car is in gear, always leave it in gear when parking. Now, foot in on the clutch and start her up."

colm_mcm · 09-12-2021 6:00pm

Ye’ll probably think I’m making this up after seeing it happen last week too, but today my neighbours newish Merc got rolled into by a ‘parked’ new Passat.

Nice bit of damage to the wing and door.