Stupid Parking Question

[editguy29]

I have always wondered how should you park a manual trans car? Neutral or first gear? My dad says first gear, but has no reason why. A friend of mine also said first gear and said it is becuase you will wear out you emergency brake. ?????

[bone_stock_240]

First gear definately. If the emergency brake fails, then the static friction in the engine will keep your car from rolling. My last car did not have a working e brake and I could park it on the steepest hills just by leaving it in gear. NEVER park in neutral. Always get into the habit of putting it in gear, even on a flat surface.

[samej82]

I have always wondered how should you park a manual trans car? Neutral or first gear? My dad says first gear, but has no reason why. A friend of mine also said first gear and said it is becuase you will wear out you emergency brake. ?????

I use both. If I'm parking uphill I place it in a forward gear, and apply the parking brake. I don't think you'll wear out your emergency brake, because the car isn't in motion when the brake is applied. You will after frequent use need to retension the parking brakes. As time goes on, you'll notice that you have to pull the e-brake up farther to get the same amount of force, by tension it tightly you can get the same pull in just a couple of clicks.

I park in gear cause I want limit the direction the car could rolls, I always turn the wheel into the curb too, so if i did roll or get bumped the car wouldn't end up down the street but stop at the curbing.

hope this helps somewhat

[editguy29]

So I should park in first with the e-Brake

[bone_stock_240]

To put it simply, yes.

[350zSJD]

when in a flat parking lot I would suggest neutral. If anyone bumps your car no damage will be done to the trans. on hills I would suggest putting it in gear. flat surface, no need to be in gear

[bone_stock_240]

No damage will be done to the trans. Keep it in gear when you are parked. If you do it everytime, then you have much less of a chance of forgetting when it could actually save your car from rolling down a hill.

[evildky]

if I park on a steep spot I pull the brake and put it in gear, on flat, normally one or the other it just depends on how frisky i feel

[C-Kwik]

I only put a car in gear if parking on an incline/decline.

[leper421]

I never put it in gear... my e-brake works just fine. I know I shouldnt, but thats the way I've been doing it for years, and old habits are hard to break. Also I always stall the car after starting if someone put it in gear If its a REALLY steep hill I sometimes do, but I always forget to take it out of gear.

I always turn the wheel into the curb too, so if i did roll or get bumped the car wouldn't end up down the street but stop at the curbing.

Also a good idea, I think the last time I heard/read that was in the booklet I got before I got my drivers permit I always make sure my wheels are pointed straight ahead. Again old habits are hard to break (4 years as a valet parker).

[bmike818]

break your bad habbits, or your bad habbits will break you

like valets are angels....lol

ive seen Valets peel out in reverse with somebody elses car

[350zSJD]

No damage will be done to the trans.

what?

[JCoupe]

All of you guys are retarded...

If you park on a hill and your car is faced UP the hill then you park in 1st

If you park on a hill and your car is faced DOWN the hill then you park in REVERSE!!!

and of course if you are parked on a fairly flat area, typically, it's Neutral, but you can park in 1st....I recommend Neutral though...

And as always....always always always use the E brake when parking manuals.

If someone hits you while your in gear and parked, and your transmission does get damaged, this is why we buy insurance. Now if you do not have insurance then thats just a different story all together...but I would much rather someone hit me and they fix my car, then me hit something else and fix someone elses car plus mine.
Modified by JCoupe at 11:57 AM 7/22/2007

[bone_stock_240]

Can someone explain to me how leaving it in gear and getting bumped will damage teh transmission?? Even if you get bumped significantly hard, and your wheels actually do spin, all that will happen is that your engine will turn a couple of times. Where is the massive drivetrain damage coming from? I would think if you get bumped that hard, a damaged transmission would be the least of your concerns.

http://www.audi-forums.com/8p-....html

http://www.whtc.com/Shared/Aut....htmlgo down to step 8

http://www.essortment.com/home...z.htmlook at step 4

http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.aspgo down to "Watch your hands - the gearshift" section

Seriously, if you guys do not know what is going on, do not try and pass on your bad habits to other people. Even if you are parked on a perfectly flat surface, you should leave your car in gear. If you don't that is fine, and it probably nothing bad will come of it, but it isn't the right thing to do. Leaving your car in gear every single time you park the car will minimize you forgetting at a time when it would actually save your car.

[JCoupe]

Can someone explain to me how leaving it in gear and getting bumped will damage teh transmission?? Even if you get bumped significantly hard, and your wheels actually do spin, all that will happen is that your engine will turn a couple of times. Where is the massive drivetrain damage coming from? I would think if you get bumped that hard, a damaged transmission would be the least of your concerns.

http://www.audi-forums.com/8p-....html

http://www.whtc.com/Shared/Aut....htmlgo down to step 8

http://www.essortment.com/home...z.htmlook at step 4

http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.aspgo down to "Watch your hands - the gearshift" section

Seriously, if you guys do not know what is going on, do not try and pass on your bad habits to other people. Even if you are parked on a perfectly flat surface, you should leave your car in gear. If you don't that is fine, and it probably nothing bad will come of it, but it isn't the right thing to do. Leaving your car in gear every single time you park the car will minimize you forgetting at a time when it would actually save your car.

So, do you disagree with what I said or do you agree?

[bone_stock_240]

I agree for the most part. Just pointing out that leaving it in gear will not damage your transmission, and people should get into the habit of doing it regardless of what sort of incline they are on.

[C-Kwik]

Having handled a large amount of auto claims, I can tell, you leaving the car in gear doesn't cause damage if the car gets hit. In an automatic however, with the car in park, it can wreck the pin that locks the transmission. Even these are few and far between.

Jcoupe, as for the insurance thing, consider that if someone else is liable for damage to your car, you have the burden of proof. This means, that you have to assume the risk of any cost associated with diagnosing the transmission problems and hope there is evidence there that can show reasonable proof that someone else caused the damage. Body damage is fairly straight forward, Mechanical damages can be a headache for a claimant. If it were me, I'd rather no damage to transmission occur in the first place.

[evildky]

getting bumped causes body damage not trans, actually there would be mroe danger to an auto trans in park sustaining damage, in theory you could break the parking pawl but that would take one heck of a hit and the wheels would have to be anchored to the ground

[bone_stock_240]

getting bumped causes body damage not trans, actually there would be mroe danger to an auto trans in park sustaining damage, in theory you could break the parking pawl but that would take one heck of a hit and the wheels would have to be anchored to the ground

I can't even imagine what kind of hit it would take to do that to an auto transmission. I remember when I took a tour of the ford assembly plant in Oakville, one of the first things they do when they roll the pickups off the line is slam it in park when they are doing 25 km/h.

So yeah, transmission damage will definately not occur leaving your standard car in gear when you park. Facts FTW. There is no disadvantage to doing it, other than looking like a tool when you start it up if you forget that you left it in gear.