Park in gear or neutral

[naughtyfalcon]

Originally Posted by GORDZ

manual driver, leave it in manual unless i'm on a crazy big hill. i usually put the key in, turn the car on then get into the car... dunno why.

i used to do that till one day i forgot to make sure it was in neutral,needless to say my heart rate went up a bit,ever since i never start any car unless my foot is on the brake and its in park if auto and neutral if manual.

[naughtyfalcon]

Originally Posted by FG Turbo Ute

It is a worry there are people that use only the hand brake, what happens if the cable snaps.

it is actually,,don't know where some people learn to drive.

The laziness thing is what amazes me. People are too lazy to shift their car into Park?

Like it's a mammoth task. It's more troublesome doing headchecks and even changing gears. God I'd love to see you drive a manual.

If you think putting the car into Park once stopped is troublesome, try shifting gears all the time whilst driving. Don't tell you'd leave it in 1st as you're too lazy to find 2nd gear.

I still call BS on putting a car in park damaging an auto.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by Shounak

I still call BS on putting a car in park damaging an auto.

That isn't what they are saying at all genius.

If you have ever driven an automatic you will know that when you park the car on an incline and select park, the car will roll back a centimetre or so. When driving the car next, taking it out of park and into drive will result in a god-awful *clunk* which sounds like your gearbox just fell out.

Though if you had read the previous posts, you would have already known that.

Originally Posted by Peuty

That isn't what they are saying at all genius.

If you have ever driven an automatic you will know that when you park the car on an incline and select park, the car will roll back a centimetre or so. When driving the car next, taking it out of park and into drive will result in a god-awful *clunk* which sounds like your gearbox just fell out.

Though if you had read the previous posts, you would have already known that.

I know the slight clunks it makes, but I'm saying it would have a negligible, if any effect on the car. But people are concerned about the effect parking a car in auto would have on the transmission and mounts.

But then, if you'd read the previous posts, you'd have already know that too.

Originally Posted by bodes-sh

well even parking an auto in park still partly stresses the driveline. i don't know if you've ever driven an auto, but as said above, if you just put it in park, then when you go back into gear it makes a wonderful clunk that is felt through the whole car. not to mention engine and gearbox mounts, especially when parked on bigger hills... then again, i guess this applies to manuals too

So in summary I do this to save my auto transmittion

It's just making the sound it makes. Who cares? That's what they were designed to do.

Although in the times I drive an auto, I've generally got my foot on the brake when I move the T-bar, so it's not really a massive earth shattering clunk. Just a slight noise that let's me know I'm in gear.

I'd love to take two brand new Taxi's, one parks in Auto when he stops, the other in neutral and see the effects.

I don't think this zero to negligible effect should dictate safety precautions. People seem to think that parking a car in neutral gets rid of potential damage to tranny and mounts, without taking the potential cost of rolling into account.

That's what I'm amazed about.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Vines5161

The Territory is notorious for making a HUGE clunk when you pull it out of park - there have been threads on it in the T section.

For this reason, we always pull up, put it in neutral, pull on the handbrake (that works very well) and let it roll (ie take the pressure of the transmission) and then put it into park.

Which is exactly what you should do - well done.

[FPV GT40]

Originally Posted by Nostalgia

P - PARK
R - REVERSE
N - NEUTRAL
D - DRIVE
2 - 2ND
1 - 1ST

What part of PARK don't some people understand ?

Pretty much sums up my opinion of this threat.....P For Park...USE IT if you are too lazy to drive a manual car, as it might save my or my families life.

[xy500]

Originally Posted by Peuty

That isn't what they are saying at all genius.

If you have ever driven an automatic you will know that when you park the car on an incline and select park, the car will roll back a centimetre or so. When driving the car next, taking it out of park and into drive will result in a god-awful *clunk* which sounds like your gearbox just fell out.

geez you know your having hard times when your car makes a noise! oh no
a gearbox falling out would make a much louder noise believe me you'd know about it, besides the likelyhood of a gearbox detaching from the engine or the crossmember falling out being incredibly slim - especially if you are insinuating that it would fall out because you took your car out of park?

i drive an auto and a manual, and the auto will always make that noise if you take the car out of park after taking the park brake off or without having your foot on the brake - read above posts and you will find there is a simple solution for this that doesnt involve parking your car in neutral

Though if you had read the previous posts, you would have already known that.

maybe you should try it?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by nugget378

Thank christ I found this thread,I just wouldnt have been able to sleep tonight wondering who parks in gear or neutral..

yep, really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to discuss obviously. keeps me mildly amused for a bit when i get home from work.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by xy500

especially if you are insinuating that it would fall out because you took your car out of park?

Yawn.

Yes that is exactly what I am insuating. I was under the impression that gearboxes are only held in by zip ties and that the slightest clunk could make them fall out.

Thank you for clearing that up.

:

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by nugget378

Thank christ I found this thread,I just wouldnt have been able to sleep tonight wondering who parks in gear or neutral..

Phew! I thought it was only me!

But for the sake of a discussion cos we are pushed for topics,

I leave it in 1st, hand brake off and two bricks under the back wheels ............ great for quick get aways!

Now we can all get some sleep!



| [/url] |

[xy500]

Originally Posted by Peuty

Yawn.

Yes that is exactly what I am insuating. I was under the impression that gearboxes are only held in by zip ties and that the slightest clunk could make them fall out.

Thank you for clearing that up.

:

i still don;'t understand what the heck your post was about in the first place then... you dont like noises?

[Airmon]

I'll get the nails, who's going to get the hammer and the cross?

This is turning into another "What If" thread. No I dont expect my handbrake cable to snap, for the same reasons I dont expect the doors to fall off, or for the bonnet to detach and cut off my head at 100km/h, or for my seatbelt to rip. If it's a slight or moderate hill I'll put the handbrake on, or if it's in my driveway (50m off the road behind a gate and FLAT) or in a very flat carpark then I wont.
Sometimes in the BA when I'm doing the whole Foot brake, Handbrake, Neutral, off foot brake, into park procedure I'll forget to put it into Park.

And the day my car rolls into another because my handbrake failed I'll come on here and start a Poll with "Who has Comprehensive Insurance and who doesn't", because I'll be glad I do, and it'll give you all other people to crucify.

[WindsorXR]

I can't stand getting in a car after someone else to move a car in a hurry, only to look like an idiot and try jump the car when cranking.
I usually check though.

I only ever park the car in gear if im on an incline.

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by Airmon

This is turning into another "What If" thread.

It was just a heap of dribble from the start,and went downhill from there..

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by xy500

i still don;'t understand what the heck your post was about in the first place then... you dont like noises?

Yep, that must be it.

[davonafairlane]

Trusting a handbrake? You have to be joking, I always park a manual in gear and an auto in park. I've got 2 80's model inspired disc brake handbrake cars, the handbrake is a bit of joke in both of them, works well untill the pads and discs glaze. Cars don't roll in park and seldom role in gear unless your engine is low compression.

And other then the risk of starting the car in gear in a manual I can't see any damaged being incurred

[irlewy86]

I'm a very cautious parker.... ever since I had to chase the BF down the driveway.

[FGII-XR6]

if you were taught to drive properly youn would leave it in gear or park . to pass a driving test you are supposed to this ( regardless of if the examiner ignors it thers are the rules in NSW at least ) it is safer to have 2 means of holding the car than one. so basically if you don't use your gears to help secure the car ( or park in an auth after all thats what it is for ) you are a poorly educated driver

[Smoke Pursuit]

I always leave cars in gear or park, i dont ever leave trucks or tractors in gear however...

[Silver Ghia]

Cant get over some of the thoughts in this thread and the generalisations made regardless of the type of transmission and where the car is parked. The first post also did indicate this was applicable to manual drivers only, but it expanded and got confused by those including automatics.

There are about four different discussions going on here, how to correctly select and de-select Park on auto cars (Big Trev and Bunyip Chaser did well here), what to do whether its a manual or auto, or if its on a hill or on the flat ground, etc., The situations are different, and the driver should decide on the best option depending on the particular situation. Except there are many who wouldnt have a clue and are just in the habit doing what they normally do.

If its in a locked garage and no kids or pets are around at all, the door is shut, the floor is level, where is the car going to go? Also some have no mechanical sympathy with the load on the shift and transmission components when pulling hard on the lever to take it out of Park position.

And what happens to the gearbox when the car gets bumped solidly in a carpark by an errant 4WD which happens more often than the cable breaking?

When on a hill, I have it in First gear (manual) or Park (auto), the handbrake on securely, and the wheels pointed toward the kerb in case it does roll. Havent read that in this thread yet, perhaps drivers dont get taught that anymore (wheels pointing into the kerb). Depending on the car, reverse is normally a taller ratio, so first is better, as the engine can rotate both ways.

I didn't vote as I would answer both, depending on where its being parked.

And if the hanbrake isnt working properly or you dont trust it, go find another park which is more level, or get it fixed. BA's there is no excuse either, they do work when adjusted properly.

Reminds me a bit on the poll which discussed whether members pushed the button in when they pulled up on the handbrake lever, except that was clouded by mainly automatic drivers who have a different ideas to well experienced manual drivers.

[TUF_302]

I totally agree with silver ghia, there is so many different things to consider when parking, basically its common sense, which most people dont have much of these days sadly, me personally,i leave my car in gear with the handbrake one just incase it fails, as i live on a hill side, but when ever one of my cars is in the garage i dont always have the handbrake on, as its level and no young kids around theres nowhere for it to go!

[Jack91]

They tell you to leave it in neutral when you take a driving lesson and your provisional test (did for me anyway). If you're on such a hill that the handbrake wont hold you, (the car wouldnt be roadworthy anyway), and you leave it in gear, once it starts rolling it wont start but it will go a lot faster.

[boss-290]

In some of the Hyundai's, you cannot remove the key from the ignition unless you have the car in park.

[FGII-XR6]

Originally Posted by 93_eb_fairmont

once it starts rolling it wont start but it will go a lot faster.

it will never go faster in gear without the engine running as it has to overcome the compression to move that acts as a brake

[GT0132]

I always stick her in 1st (manual) whether or not its on the flat....Just a habit and good policy in case forget to apply the hand brake, not that the hand brake on the BA's are any good

[WindsorXR]

I nearly saw a mates 2-3 year old kid get run over by an old car, coz someone left it in gear and the next person to go start it didn't check and the car kept cranking and was fair close to running the bugger over, til his father grabbed him outta the way.

We don't get taught to keep the car in gear in Victoria. Or at least I didn't get taught this. It's pretty rare we use two means of holding the car at work as well, even with an auto. It's usually just Park and no handbrake.

But I could possibly start using both soon, if I can be bothered!

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by boss-290

In some of the Hyundai's, you cannot remove the key from the ignition unless you have the car in park.

Same with a Ford Focus (or Festiva...whatever they're called ) I had as a loan car from Ford while mine was in being serviced.

Got home, stuck it in neutral, tried to pull the key out, wouldn't budge....Got the owners manual out of the glove box to find out why?...Stuck it in P all was fine, key came out easy.

[FPV GT40]

There should be absolutely no difference as to whether or not there are kids around, the ground is flat or hilly, it is a full moon etc etc, why leave yourself open to the possibiliy of things going wrong.

Here is the correct way of parking a manual car (regardless of who is around, where it is parked, or what zodiac sign you are under)
-Stop the vehicle using the foot brake
-Hold the vehicle stationary with the foot brake and the clutch depressed
-Firmly apply the hand brake
-Switch the engine off and remove the key
-Shift the gear leaver into first if facing up hill and reverse if facing down hill
-Release the clutch
-Exit vehicle. and you are done!!!! As recommended by the manufacturer of your vehicle everything else is BS and excuses and bad driving.

Automatic
-Stop vehicle using foot brake
-Put shift leaver into Park
-Apply hand brake firmly
-Release foot brake
-exit vehicle.

Why bother making a decision like 'its flat I leave it in neutral'??? What benefit do you get except for increasing your chances of making a mistake?

[geckoGT]

On my drivers course for paramedic, we were failed if we parked an automatic by going straight to park. The correct process is foot on the brake, apply handbrake, foot off brake and allow vehicle weight to be supported by the handbrake then place it in park. The park lock on the transmission is designed to take the weight of the car rolling against the drag of a park brake, it is not designed to hold the weight of the vehicle day after day. Also there have been a few instances of ambulances that have been parked on hills incorrectly and when re started, can not be shifted out of park, embarrassing (not to mention potentially deadly) when you can not respond to an emergency. So if you think parking with the weight of the car on your trasmission will not hurt it, keep going, I bet you don't push the button in on the handbrake lever when you pull it on (hearing those teeth that lock the handbrake getting worn down).
I know when it comes to the correct operation of a vehicle and was it better for vehicle longevity I will believe the Police driving instructors that taught me to drive 4t worth of Ambulance at high speed and in all conditions with negligable risk to myself, my patient, my partner or the public, this includes parking the 4t monster.