I met a friend for dinner last night. I was running a bit late, so quickly I pulled into the restaurant parking lot, parked and got out.

About 30 min later, one of the waiters is walking around asking if anyone owns [my car], and that it's blocking the lane in the parking lot. I go outside and, sure enough, my car is in the middle of the lane. I had parked it on a slight upslope, left it in neutral (which I usually do unless the slope is steep) and pulled the parking brake up, but not all the way up. Since I had turned the wheels sharply to pull into the spot, the car just rolled out along the same path until it reached the zero gradient lane and stopped.

Wow, did I get lucky or what? Didn't hit any other cars.

Lesson learned. Leave it in gear even on slight slopes, and pull the parking brake up all the way.

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2001 Honda Accord

I always leave my car in gear...even on level ground.

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This happened to me once... On a slight incline, in a rush, parked and quickly went to my trunk to retrieve some bags only to realize that my car was starting to roll in my direction. Thankfully I was able to backtrack quickly and engage the handbrake. Lesson learned!

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BMW 328i e90
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My light is broken on my dash. The switch is, and I drove about 10 miles with it slightly up.


But glad to see you got away with it, I always park it in gear just in case something bad like that happens.

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1991 Honda Civic DX 308k
2000 Honda Civic EX 82k

I always park in gear for exactly this reason. I don't have much trust in the hand brake.

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2003 Acura 3.2CL Type-S MT
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A friend with the same car as me woke up to her car in her garage.

She had parked it outside, near the end of their driveway. Their driveway slopes downward towards the garage. She never parks in gear.

Always park in gear.

I never made an exception to this rule and I don't see why anyone would, it's so simple, it takes maybe two seconds to put the car in gear before getting out, and it prevents costly stuff like that.

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95 VR6 Golf Sport

Yeah, you're right, there's no real downside. I'll start parking in gear even on level ground. Guess I'll have a few stalls from clutching out not realizing it's in gear until it becomes habit.

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2001 Honda Accord

Clutch in, shift to/verify you're in neutral, then start the car.

That's the sequence I go through when I start my car, after accidentally clutching out while in 1st a couple times.

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95 VR6 Golf Sport

cough## ever started a car in 1st without clutching in?? cough##

I always leave my car on gear. However, I don't always use the parking brake as it is known to get stuck in certain conditions.

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All information given in good faith but not guaranteed!

Can you please elaborate?

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2001 Honda Accord

I'm speaking of my own car, not generally. It happens when certain conditions are met. Once, when I tried to release it by force, the lining on the brake shoes fell apart and the pieces wedged themselves inside the brake drum, effectively immobilizing the car. I have also come down snowy, curvy hills with one of my rear wheels locked, which was not very fun after couple of bends. Anyway, I know that if you don't use your parking brake, it might not work when you need it, but I try to avoid using it when it is not necessary.

As for my parents' car, especially in winter, some parts tend to break, so I avoid using the parking brake when it's really cold.

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All information given in good faith but not guaranteed!

When I start my car, my hand automatically goes from the ignition to the shifter, pulling it out of first, all in one swift motion. It's a habit that's so engrained, the few times I've parked out of gear, I clutched out while I accidentally shifted to 4th gear

And shifting the car into gear really takes no time at all. You can shift it while getting out of the car. I usually put the car into gear with my right hand while my left reaches to open the door. Split-second at most.

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2003 Acura 3.2CL Type-S MT
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Never in gear on flat ground in the SouL. Other cars that have a weak handbrake, I used both.

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'12 Chevy Sonic 1.4T 6MT
'08 Giant Trance 1

When I park in my garage, I'll roll into the garage in 1st gear, step on the clutch and pull the shift lever to neutral as I step on the brake pedal to stop. As soon as I'm stopped, I'll press the electronic parking brake button and release the brake pedal. Then I shut the engine off. After the engine is off, I'll usually just pop the shift lever into gear without stepping on the clutch. That's my normal routine and I do it all within two or three seconds without even thinking about it.

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