You shouldn't feel too worried about Grover... I park normally in front of my house on a MUCH steeper incline (facing downhill) than your driveway and feel no worse just having it in first and the ebrake.

Man, and I thought *I* was neurotic about my car...

 

Are there any holes in the chocks? Usually, there are. If so, put a rope through them and they'll be a lot quicker to remove....

Rawhyde

 

one time I parked on a hill with the MINI facing down the hill. I put it in gear and used the e-brake. I was sitting in it eating before I went in to my daughter's volleyball game. I was in the MINI for about 15 or so min. Within a few minutes the creaking started. I started feeling very uncomfortable as the noises kept creaking. So I moved and will not park on a slope again. The slope I was on looks steeper than the one in your pic. Quite a bit steeper.

 

umm.... they aren't the only ones.

 

update:

as you probably figured... I stopped doing the chocks. it was a PITA and it actually sounded worse when I would take the chocks out in the morning and ease off the brake. So now I just pull up in first, keep foot on brake, apply hand brake, turn the car off, let off clutch then foot brake and still get the slight creak backward, which I don't love, but hopefully I won't be on this sloped drive much longer.

 

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents here. My Mini is usually parked in the garage, but is occasionally parked on our sloped driveway.

My procedure is as follows:
1. Pull up to driveway, 1st gear, feet on brake and clutch.
2. Pull parking brake.
3. Slowly release brake pedal, until all the pressure is on the parking brake.
4. Turn off vehicle, release clutch (keep it in gear).

I do this because I'd rather have the parking brake take the load, and not the transmission. It's designed to take the load, afterall. I don't like the idea of putting the load on the transmission when the engine is off - I've seen the engine torque around on its mounts this way.

Something else that might help is to break-in your parking brake, so that it holds better, and holds evenly from left to right. This procedure is actually shown in the owner's manual. When coming to a stop in a safe area (no other vehicles around, and not on slippery surfaces), pull the parking brake (button held in) slowly and bring the vehicle to a stop from a slow speed (I usually do about 5-10mph) using just the parking brake. Release parking brake, and continue to drive normally. You may want to repeat this procedure a couple more times if you haven't done it before.

I noticed that my parking brake holds a lot better after doing the procedure above. Less groaning and the parking brake 'bites' sooner. If memory serves me right, the owner's manual even suggests that you do this procedure occasionally so that the parking brake continues to work well.

Anyway, this looks to be more than just 2 cents worth - so I guess I'll shut up now.

 

Not sure if you can tell the steepness of the hill, but this is where I normally park after work until I pull into the driveway at night...

Never had any problems in the 6 months I have had the MINI so far.

 

^^ wow Sheenabea, your MINI looks great... have you been detailing it? if so, what products are you using?


hey AKIndiMini... thanks for your 2 cents. actually i think the order of your procedure is quite helpful. i tried it today... after pulling the parking brake, i let my foot off the brake and then turned the car off and released the clutch. this seems to make a difference. better than my original order of turning car off, letting clutch out and then the brake.

hopefully i haven't been putting a lot of load on the transmission

 

Yeesh newbies I guess we should have mentioned this before you take delivery, you shoupld anchor a rope in the driveway you pull up, have a member of your pit crew secure the rope to the tow hook, then shut the car off and raise the rear as not to put undue stress on the downhill side of the oil pan fuel tank, and washer-fluid, brake and collant resvoirs. Also you should be backing in every other day so the tires recive equal wear form the lift and pavement.

I certainly hope oyur keeping track of left vs. right turns.










Seriously pull up, brake car off P-brake (if you set it full the car wont go anywhere) ease of brake set and leave in first. The rocking you dislike drives me nuts as most auto tras car will rock when I release the foot brake even on flat surface and when a car is in park it is often unessacry to utilize the emergecy brake.

 

Thanks mini_dreams! I do try to detail it as often as I can... In terms of products... nothing too fancy actually. I use the Mr. Clean AutoDry spray system (and soap) and then use "ICE liquid wax" on all the body and plastic (including trim pieces). It gives this shiny look everytime!

 

i dont think it really matters if you clutch-out before the e-brake's slight
play especially if you're driving your car everyday the mounts aren't
going to deform with memory.