# Using the parking brake



## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

Do you use the parking brake when parking?

Does it make a difference whether automatic or manual?


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## Boca Ratman (Jun 6, 2018)

I do sometimes. It's the only way to have my car running with the lights off. 

Turn lights off, engage parking brake, start car.


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

the new suv 2021 we have has auto parking park..electric..what a pain in the ass..


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## SpinalCabbage (Feb 5, 2020)

I drive a Prius, so absolutely yes I use the parking brake.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

Nope.


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## W00dbutcher (Jan 14, 2019)

Parking breaks between the seats are only good in open parking lots free of all obstacles, 

At 2am..

Smokin pot... 

With snow... 
Woooooohoooooooooo!


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## TCar (Aug 4, 2019)

I did not use it in Florida when i lived there.
Now living at 550 ft. elevation, always on a hill.
So yes i do.
When i do not use it, when trying to go from park to drive or reverse, you can hear the grind of the gears.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

bobby747 said:


> the new suv 2021 we have has auto parking park..electric..what a pain in the ass..


I've noticed that on newer cars. Is there a way to disable it if a car breaks down and needs to be moved in neutral?


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

When on the side of a hill in San Francisco, to take the pressure off of a quarter inch pin in the transmission, I will set the brake BEFORE putting it in park.
Then when starting up, take it out of park THEN release the brake.

It saves some wear on the transmission.*

Otherwise, no.

LoL at auto change t r a n n y to ******.
Must have been the San Francisco reference?
LoL


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## losiglow (Dec 4, 2018)

Yeah, I always do. Just habit I guess.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

I do. Always have. See a lot of drivers who haven't been trained in the art. You see them stop and park. Just as they are about to exit the vehicles it lurches ahead.

Later they wonder why it was so hard to get the car out of park.


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## 3.75 (Sep 29, 2017)

Most people don't but you're supposed to use it even if the car has an automatic transmission. It's not a good idea to put the whole weight of the car on the parking prawl. It's a pin inside the transmission that holds the car's drive wheels in a locked position. It can actually snap and let the car roll. I've seen this on a BMW 5 series once.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Yes, my car has an electronic park brake. First time I went to do a brake job I learned the hard way what a pain in the Azz it is!!!


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Rarely.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

_Tron_ said:


> Later they wonder why it was so hard to get the car out of park.


Then, even later than that, wonder why they're spending hundreds on a bent park pin.
It's a of weight to put on one little pin.


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## colamacy (Oct 25, 2021)

Most of the time you don't need to use it.


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## 0ddj0b (Oct 12, 2021)

Always, hills or flat.
You should never hear grinding from your ******, this probably means that you roll into a spot and turn the car off before it comes to a complete stop, OR your car has moved since engaging the pawl.

Although not listed in any manual, this is the best way to park in you're looking to extend the life of your parking pawl: 
Roll into spot, full stop, shift into neutral, engage parking brake, shift into P, turn off engine.

edit: lol the shortened term for transmission sets off alarms.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Depends.

In florida I usually just put the car in park unless i'm in one of the few rare places that the parking lot isn't super duper flat.

When I'm home in West Virginia 100% of the time. Same with any hilly/mountainous areas.


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

Sometimes when driving auto, always when driving a manual.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Speaking of using the parking brake.


__
https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/c2qc7x


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## CarpeNoctem (Sep 12, 2018)

When I drive a standard I use the parking brake religiously as they can creep in any gear but not with an automatic unless it is a steep incline.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

Didn't anyone's dad teach them how to frikking drive? If it's completely flat, I guess it doesn't matter. Any incline at all - set parking brake.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Ted Fink said:


> Didn't anyone's dad teach them how to frikking drive? If it's completely flat, I guess it doesn't matter. Any incline at all - set parking brake.


Most kids these days don't know who their daddy is.
If they lucky, dad sends a check once a month for child support.
Dads that teach? That is SO last century.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

reg barclay said:


> Do you use the parking brake when parking?
> 
> Does it make a difference whether automatic or manual?


In an automatic on flat ground, no. If on an incline then yes. 

Relying on an auto transmission's parking pawl (transmission shaft lock inside the transmission) to hold the vehicle on an incline can wear it out over time. That thump noise that can be heard and the shake felt in the car when shifting from park to drive on a steeper incline is the parking pawl pin being forced out of the locking wheel inside the transmission, and that's not good for it. My father once had a Chrysler on which the mechanism was so worn that the only way to get the transmission to shift out of park on an incline, if the parking brake had not previously been applied while parking, was to get two or three guys to push the car from behind to release the tension in the pawl and then shift. 

Manual transmission, I always use the hand brake to prevent roll back/forwards.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

UberBastid said:


> Dads that teach? That is SO last century.


You're right of course, but dads need to do this. SO much knowledge gets passed from generation to generation. Do we want our kids to learn EVERYTHING the hard way?


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Ted Fink said:


> You're right of course, but dads need to do this. SO much knowledge gets passed from generation to generation. Do we want our kids to learn EVERYTHING the hard way?


No. We want them to learn from the corrupt teachers unions.
And the corrupt government.

Men have been nutted.
We are pussified.
No bollocks any more.
No detectable testosterone.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Dads have to teach their kids when they're young, before they know everything. By 15/16 years of age it's too late.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

elelegido said:


> Dads have to teach their kids when they're young, before they know everything. By 15/16 years of age it's too late.


Ya know, I remember when I was 16.
I was SO smart
Had it ALL figured out, and my parents were like .. SO stupid. OMFG.
But, by the time I was 20 they were just beginning to wise up.
Five years later ... I had to admit that they were right about a lot of things, and I actually started seeking their advice.

It's funny how things worked out that way.
Don't give up on them, you'll get smarter.


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## kdyrpr (Apr 23, 2016)

I drove a standard for years in which it is a necessity every time. Because of that, I still do, even with my automatic.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

UberBastid said:


> Ya know, I remember when I was 16.
> I was SO smart
> Had it ALL figured out, and my parents were like .. SO stupid. OMFG.
> But, by the time I was 20 they were just beginning to wise up.
> ...


OMG Same!!! When I was 16 I thought my dad was an idiot. When I was about 35, all of a sudden he was a genius! LOL. Hint: He didn't change, I did.


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

Ted Fink said:


> You're right of course, but dads need to do this. SO much knowledge gets passed from generation to generation. Do we want our kids to learn EVERYTHING the hard way?


Whats hard is teaching your wife..she was a good driver bad parking...we fought..haha..i paid a school $70 for 2 hours 4 times. guy says you dont need me bob..i said its a wife and husband thing..take her out a few more time. this was years ago..she drives fast in city block to block..haha. never will get rear ended..


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

bobby747 said:


> Whats hard is teaching your wife..she was a good driver bad parking...we fought..haha..i paid a school $70 for 2 hours 4 times. guy says you dont need me bob..i said its a wife and husband thing..take her out a few more time. this was years ago..she drives fast in city block to block..haha. never will get rear ended..


I have not attempted to teach my wife anything overtly. I do try to set an example that she may want to follow. Have to be subtle. If you're schooling her, she will resist. Same goes for her, she can't change me either! But I do pick up on some of the example she shows.


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

Ted Fink said:


> I have not attempted to teach my wife anything overtly. I do try to set an example that she may want to follow. Have to be subtle. If you're schooling her, she will resist. Same goes for her, she can't change me either! But I do pick up on some of the example she shows.


True Ted..it was funny...


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

bobby747 said:


> True Ted..it was funny...


My wife is a terrible driver
Full throttle to within 50 yards of a red light, then full-on panic stop.
We do brakes on her Expedition every few months.
And fuel consumption? Ha. 

I told her once, on the freeway to "slow the **** down or pull over and let me out." I meant it too.
She said, "I haven't had an accident in ten years."
I said "No. You don't _have_ accidents. You _cause_ them. See that pile of burning wreckage in your rear view mirror? YOU did that."
Hehe. Made her look too.

The only time I ride with her as a pax is when I'm too drunk to drive, and too drunk to give a damn.

She was tailgating once so close I told her that "If I was in that car I'd lock up the brakes and let you buy me a new car."


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

I been blessed she is fearless in the city. I over reareact in passenger seat. When we go out I drive..


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