# Why do automatic cars have a "park" setting, but manuals don't?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-automatic-cars-have-a-park-setting-but-manuals-dont/145008>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 26, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-automatic-cars-have-a-park-setting-but-manuals-dont/145008 "2002-12-26T19:09:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-automatic-cars-have-a-park-setting-but-manuals-dont/145008/21 "2002-12-27T04:35:17Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Farmer2 \*  
> \*\*Surely the car is hard to get going when parked in a low gear, but what about theft? I’ve never really owned a stick, but have driven then a few times. I would think it would be easier to steal a manual car than an automatic.
> 
> The thing with auto’s is that the shifter is tied in with having to use the brake to shift (not all cars, but most) along with the key lock that holds the steering wheel in place.  
> \*\*

The devices you speak of are called shiftlock, and keylock.  
Shiftlock requires you to have your foot on the brake pedal in order to shift out of park.

Keylock requires you have the trans in park inorder to remove the key from the ignition.

Neither of these are an anti-theft item. They are both idiot preventers. Shiftlock prevents idiot from shifting out of park and steping on the gas instead of the brake.

Keylock is for those particulary brain dead yahoos who can’t seem to remember to put the car into park before leaving the car. Seems they kept comming back to find their car at the bottom of the hill, when they left it at the top.

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-automatic-cars-have-a-park-setting-but-manuals-dont/145008/22 "2002-12-27T04:46:34Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by catmandu42 \*  
> **Actually, the best reason to use the handbrake with a manual transmission (excluding being parked on steep grades) is that it helps keep your brakes in adjustment.**

Not on all cars. And (I believe) typically only with cars where the hand brake actuates on a set of drum brakes. Every 4-wheel disc brake car I’ve had did not need any “adjustment” from the hand brake. However, the hand brake mechanism did adjust _itself_ (different from adjusting the brakes).

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**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-automatic-cars-have-a-park-setting-but-manuals-dont/145008/23 "2002-12-27T08:28:16Z")

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I used to have an MR2 with no parking brake. I left it in gear when it was parked, but if I parked on a hill, it would slowly jerk its way down to the bottom like **Anachronism** ’s Escort.

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