Leaving car parked in gear

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Damus
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Leaving car parked in gear

Post by Damus »

Is it necessary to leave your car parked in 1st or reverse with the handbrake intact? I've heard that you should leave it in neutral and have also heard to leave it in gear. When walking thru parking lots I often look inside cars to see what transmission people use (I know, it's lame) and anytime I see a manual, the shifter is usually straight up. I've only seen a few left in a gear. I usually leave mine in 2nd or reverse gear. Also, if you I do leave it in gear, should it only be 1st or reverse, or does the forward gear matter?
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Post by jomotopia »

you will get many varied responses on this.

IMO the car should always be parked with the hand brake and in gear. i have never heard a convincing reason for not leaving it in gear. everybody's always just like "oh well it's not necessary." well when their hand brake fails and their car rolls into traffic they'll probably rethink that.

we have a pretty long thread discussing this: Should the car always be parked in gear?
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jory543
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Post by jory543 »

I've heard too many stories about a car's handbrake failing and the car rolling down a hill and crashing into something. I think you should leave it in gear with the parking brake engaged.
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Re: Leaving car parked in gear

Post by Ecmslee »

Damus wrote:Also, if you I do leave it in gear, should it only be 1st or reverse, or does the forward gear matter?
The engine provides the most resistance in first gear. Therefore you should leave it in first.
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SteveUK
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Post by SteveUK »

And you need to put blocks under the wheels, one in front of each wheel and one behind each wheel, just to be extra safe in case the handbrake fails and the gearbox fails.

Or better still, pay someone to sit in your car when you are not in it with their foot on the brake. (Oh, not forgetting the handbrake must be on and it in gear and the blocks also. )

Seriously though, if it is a steep hill park in gear - 1st facing up, reverse facing down and crimp your wheels to the kerb. If you're worried about the handbake failing get it checked and fixed if needed. On the flat you do not need to leave it in gear. I live in a country where 99% of the cars are manual and where two thirds of it is classed as a mountain and I haven't seen cars rolling all over the place.
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six
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Post by six »

SteveUK wrote:Or better still, pay someone to sit in your car when you are not in it with their foot on the brake. (Oh, not forgetting the handbrake must be on and it in gear and the blocks also. )
Yeah, but if you are gone for a long time, the brake lights will burn through your battery.
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VTECaddict
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Post by VTECaddict »

SteveUK wrote:And you need to put blocks under the wheels, one in front of each wheel and one behind each wheel, just to be extra safe in case the handbrake fails and the gearbox fails.

Or better still, pay someone to sit in your car when you are not in it with their foot on the brake. (Oh, not forgetting the handbrake must be on and it in gear and the blocks also. )
no, no, no. this is what you have to do when you park

set parking brake. put shifter in 1 or R in case parking brake fails. put wheel chocks on front right and rear left in case the brake and tranny fail. put one of these Image on the left front and right rear in case the brake, tranny, and chocks fail. then put one of these concrete dividers Image in front and behind your car in case the brake, tranny, chocks, and boots fail.
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Post by IMBoring25 »

I do like the redundancy, but in cases where the hill is not steep or the car is also braced against a curb, I've been known to use third instead to keep the centering springs from wearing out, especially when the vehicle will be parked for an extended period of time.
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Post by jory543 »

The parking brake is supposed to be used to keep the load of the vehicle off the transmission, even in automatics. But seriously no people even do that and nothing bad has happened, but I like to use it for a precaution if anything plus it feels cool :lol:
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Post by six »

*Correction: Indian Ocean.
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Post by Damus »

Thanks, guys. Good sh*t. I appreciate it.
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Post by Tinton »

paul34 wrote:I just thought of something!

What if an asteroid impacts the Earth near the location of your precious parking spot? Your car will DEFINITELY move away! Probably through the air. Maybe some chains are in order?

Or what if a sinkhole opens up below the car? Living in Florida, sinkholes aren't exactly rare. So what is keeping my car from falling into the Earth?!

I won't be able to sleep tonight because of this. My car is sitting in the garage with nothing but a handbrake and reverse to keep it from falling through the center of the Earth and ending up in China
I went to a defensive driving class last week and I got that same kind of paranoia fear thing for about 4 hours straight. Seriously, the instructor taught us to fear stuff like sinkholes, green blobs of shit falling from the sky, signs falling off their posts onto our cars, etc, etc. I understand stuff like that happens but he seriously tried to make us afraid of it...even though the probability of any of that happening is extremely low. For all I know though, my car could fall into a sink hole tomorrow; in that case I hope my instructor shows up and says "told ya so" :P .

I always park in gear. I never trust the e-brake, its much more likely to fail than the engine/transmission when you're parked. I just got my e-brake fixed, and I always use it, but it DOES get weaker over time as your calipers get worn out.
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Post by Prodigal Son »

Tinton wrote: I went to a defensive driving class last week and I got that same kind of paranoia fear thing for about 4 hours straight. Seriously, the instructor taught us to fear stuff like sinkholes, green blobs of quit falling from the sky, signs falling off their posts onto our cars, etc, etc.
Good grief. No wonder people don't drive defensively if even the people teaching defensive driving don't know what it is.
Just some guy on the Internet. Heed with care.
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Post by Prodigal Son »

If they fell at the exact moment you drove under them they would hit the road with a tremendous crash right behind you car.

Now if they fell just before you drove under them...
Just some guy on the Internet. Heed with care.
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Post by Johnf514 »

Where in PA were you? I'm originally from Harrisburg, near Hershey/Lancaster area.
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