Parked on an incline. Had trouble getting out of "park." Am I liable to get stuck in park one day?

[Bimwad]

mikebw wrote:
That could also work. The reason I gave the order that I did is because it might take some movement before the parking brake "catches" and you might not be sure if the pawl was taking the force or the brake. Once the car is dead stopped with no foot on the brake then you can be sure, and if the transmission is really a concern for you then shifting into park would be the safest bet at that point.

No, you were correct. Parking brakes can still allow a certain amount of creep after they are engaged.

And repeatedly setting it "hard" is a prescription for cable stretch, if not failure at some point.

Engaging the parking pawl in the transmission first will only result in it binding as a result of that creep, and is what the OP describes. Allow the vehicle to achieve stationary equilibrium before engaging the firmest drive connection, which is through the transmission.

As for the parking brake itself? Automakers wouldn't have going to the trouble and expense in engineering them into cars if they didn't serve a useful purpose.

Anton Yelchin ring a bell?

I personally know someone whose relative was killed as a result of unsuccessfully trying to stop the family minivan from rolling away.

[wave rider]

JoeH wrote:
[quote=rz]
I always use my parking brake, even when not parked on an incline. Just habit, i guess.

I had a manual transmission car first back in the '70's, got used to putting on the parking brake. Then when I went through training to drive buses, it was emphasized. Of course leaving your bus parked on just the transmission in Park was a fireable offense....
Cannot remember if the buses I drove had a park position on the transmission, but that air parking brake knob got pulled first. I once pushed a 35' Jimmy just enough by myself to get it rolling so I could pull into a stop and not block traffic. Pushed from the front stairwell, have been eternally grateful I did not slip and let the empty bus careen down the hill. That would have been a firable offence for sure...

Quite surprised I could move that 16 ton vehicle by myself...

[modelamac]

Dennis,

The parking brake used to be called the Emergency brake, and It will still perform that function. It reduces the pressure on the Park pawl in the transmission, but it is also a mechanical brake that functions when the regular hydraulic braking system fails.

Every car should have a working parking brake. The owners manual tells you to use it EVERY TIME you park the car. I have done that for years on every car I've owned, since the one time my brakes failed 40 years ago.

Dennis S wrote:
I never use the parking brake because I almost never park on a hill. Do I use it before I shift into Park or after?

[JoeH]

wave rider wrote:
[quote=JoeH]
[quote=rz]
I always use my parking brake, even when not parked on an incline. Just habit, i guess.

I had a manual transmission car first back in the '70's, got used to putting on the parking brake. Then when I went through training to drive buses, it was emphasized. Of course leaving your bus parked on just the transmission in Park was a fireable offense....
Cannot remember if the buses I drove had a park position on the transmission, but that air parking brake knob got pulled first. I once pushed a 35' Jimmy just enough by myself to get it rolling so I could pull into a stop and not block traffic. Pushed from the front stairwell, have been eternally grateful I did not slip and let the empty bus careen down the hill. That would have been a firable offence for sure...

Quite surprised I could move that 16 ton vehicle by myself...
Oh yeah, it can be surprising how little it takes to get one moving. As for a Park position, it depended on the bus. I drove some old '69 GMC "fishbowls" one year that just had two forward gear positions and reverse and neutral between. Some of the newer buses did have a Park position.

Other buses I drove had manual transmissions, school bus bodies and an old GMC highway coach. The school buses had a big lever to set the parking brake.

[Dennis S]

That's weird. No one I know uses it for normal parking. Ever. I'm

[Racer X]

mrbigstuff wrote:
yep, I park on some decent hills around here (not SF-like, though), and can get by with doing what norse recommends. occasionally use ebrake if I think it needs it. i also angle my wheel against the curb.

I had to buy an ebrake cable in one of my cars when I snapped it right off after using it (auto trans), cost me $500 to replace. I'm judicious now about its use.

$500? Mine are dirt cheap, and a 15 minute job.

[JoeH]

Dennis S wrote:
That's weird. No one I know uses it for normal parking. Ever. I'm

Too many people have got used to the "throw it in Park and leave" method of parking. It works most of the time, but when it doesn't the results can be fatal.

[mikebw]

I have always used the parking brake when I park and have never had one break, and I tend to keep cars until they are no longer worth fixing.