For the past 11 years I've been driving an automatic, and it's the first automatic I've owned, previous cars were all manual. I ordered my MCS with the 6 speed manual, so I have to get used to it again. Question for you: is it best, when parking, to leave the car in gear and set the hand brake? Or just leave it in gear and not set the brake? Or leave it in neutral and set the brake? (Obviously I wouldn't leave it in neutral and not set the brake.)

My driver's ed teacher (back in 1978 or so!) said to always use the emergency brake; his reasoning was that it was much cheaper to replace a brake cable than to deal with an accident. I think I have always used the brake AND left the car in gear; is that recommended? TIA.

Tony

 

I always leave my car in a low gear like 1st or reverse, and very rarely use my emergency brake, unless parked on a hill or something. Don't know if that helps, but I have yet to have any sort of incident...well except that time the low compression on a worn out Geo Tracker allowed it to slowly enter into the Snake River while I was fishing...

 

I also learned to set the emergency brake but not to leave it in gear unless its on a hill...
I'm curious to know how right this advice was...

 

I always leave my car in First Gear with the park brake on. The reason for this is to keep the pressure off the transmission. If for some reason the park brake does not hold the car in place then you have a back up. But keep in mind you are not putting any wear or tear on the brakes in any way shape or form. use the park brake, that is what it is designed for. It will not cause the brakes to wear out any faster!

 

I leave my car in gear and only use one click of the E-brake when on flat ground, slight incline I'll leave it in gear and use two clicks. Any more of an incline, leave in gear and three clicks. I don't know if thats a characteristic of all MINIs, but my E-brake is STIFF! I like it like that.

I know that when autoxing or track racing, or even spirited road driving when using your brakes heavily, I know its not good to engage the E-brake. Because of all the heat in the brakes, if you engage the E-brake that causes the brake pads to be in constant contact with the hot rotors. This leads to brake pad degeneration and the heat can resinate to the brake lines, boiling the brake fluid. So if you're at the track, find the flattest place possible and just leave it in gear and turn the car off.

 

First gear and a few clicks of the e-brake. Go lighter on the e-brake if you've just been lighting the brakes up shortly before parking.

You should probably chock the wheels against the curb as well if you're parking in a hillier part of the Bay Area

 

Put into gear and use handbrake.The reasoning is if one fails the other is a saftey.Double bagging it.

 

We have a winner!

Matt

 

Get used to using the handbrake every time you get out. If, for some reason, you briefly step out to get something while the engine is running, you don't want to watch your MINI roll away from you... (fortunately it was a very gentle driveway slope and I got it stopped right away. )

 

I've always used the ebrake along with 1st gear, it's a habit now. I grew up in GA, hilly conditions call for that. Now in FL i get made fun of for using the ebrake. "It's flat here, where is the car going"? Personally I don't really care what people say, the ebrake is there for a reason.

 

1st gear & eBrake, SFO. anywhere.

 

I just leave it in 1st gear. When I've left the e-brake on, DH asks my why I'm doing that. If I'm on an incline, then I will use the e-brake.

Have fun with your new car!

-Holly

 

+1 on the "double bagging" analogy.
Personally I like to do it in the order of e-brake, release foot brake, then put in first gear. Reason is that when I park on a hill, the car will move a little after I pulled the e-brake and release the foot brake, and by putting it gear after the car is settled, you're not putting any pressure on the gears.

There was an incident where a guy had just parked his car on the side of the road and went into a store, his car then started to roll back slowly, but eventually picked up some speed. My friends and I were walking by and tried to hold it but it was too much for the four of us. Apparently the guy put it in gear but didn't pull the e-brake, and some how the gear shift slipped out of gear.

 

This is from the world of auto transmissions, where a metal hook engages into a gear. This is to lock the transmission and isn't designed for huge loads over and over.

In manual transmissions, the gear train can take the force of the highest acceleration the engine is capable of generating, so there's no problem with pressure on the gears.

Matt

 

Excellent explanation, now I know I can leave it in gear and pull the e-brake w/o worry. Thanks

 

I've always used both gear & e-brake. When parking on a hill, I was always told to turn the wheel towards the curb. In the event of a roll, the curb will stop the car.

 

Thanks to all that replied. I was initially concerned that leaving it in gear might damage the gears/transmission, or that leaving the brake on might damage the brakes - which is why I asked the question. Consensus seems to be that those fears are unfounded and that the only thing I need to fear is the car accidentally moving, which means I should do both things: set the brake and leave it in gear. Thanks again.

Tony

 

I don't know if this is true, but I was told that the parking brake "auto-adjusts" to maintain correct cable tension to the brakes. So if you don't use it, it wouldn't adjust Anyone know if this is true?

I lived in SF long enough for it to be habit - 1st or reverse + hand brake.