When I drove a manual transmission I always used the parking break. Now, with an automatic, I never do. I always use the parking gear instead. If I’m parked on an incline (rare in the desert) I turn the front wheels to the curb, but I still don’t use the parking break. It is too easy to forget to release it.
::: Shudder:::
Putting the trans in 1st facing uphill or R when facing down hill can come under the heading of a really bad idea. Placing the trans into those gears under those conditions will cause gravity to try to turn the engine backward. If the hill is steep enough, ever so slowly (you may not even notice) the engine will turn opposite its normal direction of rotation. Depending on the design of the engine, this can cause the timing belt tensioner to compress. When starting the engine the T-belt can then jump several teeth. Again depending on design this could result in bent valves.
(Yes I do know this for a fact, this is my business)
When facing uphill place the car in reverse, when facing downhill place the car in 1st. This way as gravity acts on the car the engine will turn in the normal direction of rotation.
First of all, I live in Las Vegas…and although there are mountains all around, for the most part, a marble would move slowly down most roads.
True story.
My brother was visiting and pulled the car up to the house. It has about a 3 degree rise from the road. He put on the parking break.
I got into the car and it wouldn’ t move. He said, “Oh, I put on the parking break.”
I had no idea how he did it, and I had no idea how to get it off. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to unlock the damn thing.
So my answer is no. Never. And aside from some strong winds in Las Vegas, I doubt I will ever need it.
I never ever park my car and go without setting my parking brake. In fact, it has become pretty much a reflex for me. And of course, the good thing with a reflex is that you don’t forget to set it off when you get in the car and start driving again.
Of course, I made a serious effort to gain that reflex after having to run after my car that I had parked on a slight slope, with no parking brake , and **in neutral gear!!! **:smack:
Man!!! If I hadn’t caught the car, opened the door and jumped in at the last possible moment, the slope was getting steeper by the second!!!
So, the parking brake will never hurt you, but not applying in can!! Big time!!
hmmm.
I sort of agree, no point in taking chances. But, why would rotating the engine a different direction, very slowly, and only 1 degree or so, remove pressure on the timing belt tensioner.
And, when you start the engine, the clutch will be in, or trans in neutral, relaxing any pressure on the engine/timing belt.
I guess it must be a design I’m not familiar with. Or I don’t follow what you are saying.
Always. I live on a hill and drive a vw bus. Even if I put it in 1st or reverse it wil lurch downhill. As for leaving it on; thats impossible let out the clutch and it kills the engine.
I find it interesting that so many folks have mentioned that “of course” you use the parking brake on hills because you drive a manual. I have never, ever done this. And in the OP I was referring to using it when parking. I tried it once on a hill in the park 'round here, but I found it more trouble. There are no big hills in these parts, perhaps if I lived in San Francisco I would have a different opinion, but IMO properly done you don’t need to use the brake. You worried about wearing out the clutch? I have driven manual transmission cars almost exclusively for 19 years and I have never replaced a clutch. So there. 
Always in a car or truck with a manual transmission. When driving a car with an automatic transmission, on hills or inclines.
You are not removing the pressure from the tensioner, you are adding extra pressure that overcomes the spring pressure in the tensioner.
Picture this
You are facing the front of a twin cam engine. Crankshaft at bottom, cams at the top, water pump and tensioner on the left side between cam and crank. Engine tuns clockwise. When running the crankshaft pulls the belt from the cams and and extra belt is tensioned by the spring in the tensioner. (the part of the belt to the left of the crankshaft is more slack that the belt on the right side where the belt is being pulled from the cam to the crank.)
When you park facing up hill and leave the trans in reverse the crank tries to turn counterclockwise. This counterclockwise pull will over time (20-30 minutes) will compress the tensioner. The tensioner will compress before the cams will turn. So you wind up with a bunch of slack between the crank and cam on the right side of the engine and the tensioner is fully compressed on the left side.
When you push in on the clutch, the crankshaft does not move back to it proper position. When you hit the starter the crank spins and skips over the belt result? If you are lucky the belt is in the wrong position and has to be reset. If you are unlucky several valves are bent.
I use it religiously. It’s great for pounding in the nails.
I can accept that they may be more prone to this problem than an automatic would be, in the sense that it verges on a physical impossibility for an automatic in Park. But do you really feel that a manual transmission car parked on a tolerable level surface has a meaningful chance of “popping” out of gear? I would have said that this would be exceedingly rare and indicate some sort of serious transmission problem.
[hijack]i drive a manual and have never heard about using a parking brake on a hill start… can someone explain this?[/hijack]
The theory is that you need the parking brake to keep you from rolling backward during the time between releasing the regular brake and when the clutch engages. But with a little practice, the operation can be done quickly and smoothly enough that the parking brake isn’t needed.
When your car is facing uphill, you need to be able to get it moving without rolling backwards. Since you need to let off the brake to apply gas, you are faced with the problem of gravity pulling the car downhill while you apply gas and release the clutch. The amount that you roll can be minimized by letting the clutch out quickly as you give it gas, but this is hard on the clutch, and at best, reduces the rollback - not eliminating it.
Using the parking brake (and by that, I mean the emergency/hand brake, not a locking foot-pedal type brake), depress the release button so that it doesn’t ratchet into place as you pull it - this brake will hold the vehicle in place on the hill as you release the brake pedal and let the clutch out while giving it gas. As the clutch starts to engage, release the hand brake accordingly. The result: a smooth transition from stationary to moving without rolling back, and without using the clutch to “catch” the vehicle.
Where this becomes even more important is in winter driving, as any rapid engagement of the clutch is more likely to make the wheel torque exceed available traction, causing your wheels to spin. When starting uphill on ice or snow, you want a smooth controlled application of wheel torque.
When your car is facing uphill, you need to be able to get it moving without rolling backwards. Since you need to let off the brake to apply gas, you are faced with the problem of gravity pulling the car downhill while you apply gas and release the clutch. The amount that you roll can be minimized by letting the clutch out quickly as you give it gas, but this is hard on the clutch, and at best, reduces the rollback - not eliminating it.
Using the parking brake (and by that, I mean the emergency/hand brake, not a locking foot-pedal type brake), depress the release button so that it doesn’t ratchet into place as you pull it - this brake will hold the vehicle in place on the hill as you release the brake pedal and let the clutch out while giving it gas. As the clutch starts to engage, release the hand brake accordingly. The result: a smooth transition from stationary to moving without rolling back, and without using the clutch to “catch” the vehicle.
Where this becomes even more important is in winter driving, as any rapid engagement of the clutch is more likely to make the wheel torque exceed available traction, causing your wheels to spin. When starting uphill on ice or snow, you want a smooth controlled application of wheel torque.
I’ve driven both manual and automatic cars, but I always use the parking brake. Better safe than sorry.
Besides, if you’ve ever driven in SF, just looking at the hills is enough to awe you into using it the rest of your life.
Every single time in a standard. Almost never in an automatic - only on hills.
All the time (I drive an automatic). I was taught to drive by my dad, who for most of his life has driven a manual. It’s more of a habit than anything. As a result, I always feel uncomfortable when I’m with a driver who doesn’t use it and their car lurches after they take their foot off the brakes.
I know I’ve pissed my mom off a couple times because she never uses it and has driven away with it still on. I insist that it’s her fault for not checking first–there’s a dummy light on the dashboard for it.
Others have explained this, but I would add that starting on a hill is a standard part of the UK driving test. If you roll back at all, you fail. Using the parking brake (or hand-brake, as we tend to call it as it is used for much more than just when parking) is by far the easiest way to prevent roll-back. The only alternative would be to use your right foot to cover both brake and accelerator. This is do-able - I believe that rally-driving requires this technique - but not easy.
As for me, personally, I use the brake in manuals, very rarely in automatics.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that on many cars, setting the parking brake adjusts the rear brakes. I had a friend with a Firebird; her rear brakes never wore. Turned out that since she never used the parking brake, they were way out of adjustment.