Steven5210

So I didn't use the handbrake when I parked and my friend said that it's bad for the car. I thought it's only for parking on hills or slopes. My car is automatic what is your guy's opinions.

reaper702

not necessary but if you read the manual i think it will tell you to put the handbrake first then put it in to park or it will cause more stress ont he tranny. atleast it was in my mom's accord owner manual and it is auto too.

Steven5210

hmm yea it kinda makes sense but I usually put park then handbrake It kinda rocks back n forth a bit when I don't use the handbrake!

mInI m3 Hondeezy

Only necessary if on a slope.

RICO_

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mInI m3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only necessary if on a slope.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Agreed. If you're on a decent slope then put the e-brake on and then put the car into park, or put the car in park while keeping your foot on the brake and then put the e-brake on and release the regular brakes to stop the car from "rocking back" when you're on the hill

If you're on flat surface it's not necessary though.

jascon

in the owner's manual it says to use the handbrake first, and then to put it into park. i guess its better to have the stress of the weight of the vehicle on the brake, rather than on your transmission

axtran

some people park manuals and just leave them in 1st

The Answer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by axtran &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">some people park manuals and just leave them in 1st</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's equivelent to putting an auto car in park. Sure as **** though, you better not leave it like that on a hill....

RICO_

Yeah first gear is a particularly weak gear in terms of parking on a hill. Most dealerships (even though their not on hills) park manual cars in 4th gear or even reverse sometimes cause it's the strongest gear.

Of course if you park on a hill you could always just turn your wheel away from the curb if facing uphill and toward the curb if facing downhill. Driving School 101

Lance Hardwood

I have an experience to share re parkimg manual cars.

I got my provisional licence in May 2013, and had bought a manual the previous year to learn on. I learnt via an instructor, who taught me to ALWAYS use the handbrake. Seeing as she was an NRMA instructor (NRMA is a very renowned Australian company involving anything with cars/roads). I also realised that, if I didn't use the handbrake, the vehicle would 'bounce' a bit, EVEN ON FLAT GROUND, when closing doors, exiting the car etc.

Fast forward to April 2014, and I had parked my car out the front of my house, which is on a VERY slight incline - not anywhere near steep enough to clutch start a car. I had put up the handbrake, but had accidentally left it in neutral.

Wake up the next morning... And the car has rolled back.. Luckily, I hadn't parked very straight, so it hit the kerb before any other car/animal. The handbrake cable had snapped. Ever since then, I have left my car in gear without the handbrake and have had no problems.

I am NOT a mechanic, but recently (past 3 months) I have started to really take an interest in it - I have loved cars since a young age (until I was 9, my dad had a job test driving cars for Sports Illustrates), but never really understood the mechanics. My neighbour gave me a book from his apprenticeship, and one of my best mates' dads is a mechanic so I have plenty of chats with him - as well as with the mechanic I go to

Now, let me reiterate - I AM NOT A MECHANIC AND MY UNDERSTANDING OF CARS IS FAIRLY LIMITED. However, anyone who has driven a manual car may see the logic behind my reasoning.

Handbrake cables can break fairly easily - it is not common, but it is certainly not unheard of. Comparatively, it is VERY DIFFICULT to snap even one of your gear teeth, let alone multiple ones.

If any one still reading this (good on you, I would have given up after the second paragraph...) has a manual car, take it to the steepest hill in your vicinity, and hold it in place with your clutch (DO NOT DO THIS FOR MORE THAN A FEW MOMENTS - rotating pressure plates that are rubbing against each other but not fully engaging will wear out VERY quickly.. And leave a putrid smell)

Assuming you treat your car with respect, your car would have held itself in place - keeping in mind, this ISN'T with the pressure plates fully engaging - merely STARTING to, as obviously you can't engage a gear without giving it some gas - thats why stalls happen.

Now, ask yourself this - if your car can hold itself on a hill WITHOUT the pressure plates being fully engaged, how much stronger would it be if the plates were FULLY engaged ?

When you leave a car in gear, the gear teeth mesh into their sprockets and DON'T MOVE once in there - it takes an incredible amount of power to spin your crankshaft.

Now, as strong a force as gravity is (and even then, it is nothing compared to the power of the combustion of petrol), it CANNOT MAKE THE PISTON MOVE BACK AND FORTH - it can only pull it in one direction. The power of an engine comes from the CONSTANT RECIPROCATING motion of the pistons, which in turn keeps the crankshaft spinning, which in turn... You know the rest.

Of course, doing as I did and not leaving a car in gear and relying solely on the handbrake, you are leaving ALL the load on the handbrake. Albeit, handbrakes don't commonly snap in that circumstance (they normally snap when pulled too hard too often), however by relying solely on it and not leaving a car in gear your drivetrain is DISCONNECTED from the engine, leaving the wheels at gracity's mercy.

When a car is in gear, the ONLY thing that can power it is the CONSTANT RECIPROCATING MOTION of the pistons - which, as logic dictates, gravity CANNOT power.

So, to those of you who kept faith with me all the way through this long post - thank you, and I hope you learnt something :-)

**DISCLAIMER: as previously stated, I am NOT a mechanic - so, if your mechanic has a different view to mine, side with him - he is a mechanic for a reason

Lance Hardwood

Please don't take this as an attack at your opinion, butI'm sorry, that advice about 4th and reverse being the most powerful gears is only half right - 4th is nowhere near as powerful as 1st... If it was, why can't you take off in it and why is it not as 'responsive' (quick to accelerate) ? The 4th gear cog is much smaller in diameter than the 1st gear cog which means its power output is nowhere close to 1st gear's output.

However, I agree 100% that reverse is a powerful parking gear

Ronin1

Here's the deal. An automatic transmission has a part which used to be called a Pawl for the specific purpose of taking the load when it is placed in "Park". If you are on much of a slope and do not use the hand (Parking) brake, you may have difficulty getting out of park and/or hear some noises you may not like because of the load on this part. While I can not say that the Civic's part is any stronger or weaker than the part in other vehicles, they typically are not that strong. Transmissions are expensive, a lot more expensive than parking brake cables. I simply use the hand brake all the time. That way I don't forget it when I really need it. Honda does not seem to have the problem that Ford has had over the years of their automatics slipping out of park and into reverse...you see them on the news as someone tries to jump in to stop it from running around in circles. Unless you never park on a slope, getting in the habit go using the hand brake might just be the better practice.

silvertaxasteg

That's not so universal: here and here. Reverse for the Integra has a 3.0 gear ratio; however, 1st has a 3.23 gear ratio, meaning it's slightly "taller" if driven in 'reverse'. Either one should get the job done.

Bam. Right here. Always use your parking brake, let off of the brake pedal, then put the transmission in park. If you just slam it into park and go, results range from breaking the pawl (requiring major transmission work) to complaining that you have to hang from the shifter to get it out of park.

I get all butt hurt when I see someone come to a screetching halt into a parking spot, hear the shifter hit park, and watch the car lunge forward or backward several inches. But hey, it's their transmission.

av911

Agreed.

My routine is:
- Put it in Neutral
- Pull parking brake
- Shift to Park

Every time I get my car serviced, those ***** always only leave it Park. Luckily, I don't bring my car to service that often.

97emsedan

Perfect!!

lazlong

I've had 14 standard cars and never had a parking brake cable break. Stretch but, no breakage.

The parking gear and pawl aren't meant to be used in place of the brake so, if there's any chance of it rolling use the brake. I just got in the habit of putting the brake on every time whether manual or auto.

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

I've started pulling the hand brake before shifting to P because if I don't, sometimes I get a semi-loud clunk when shifting from P to R or D. Even when parked on a very slight grade.




Because dem SanFran hills