i was just browsing through the RDX manual recently and the manual kinda stated that one shld engage the parking brake prior to putting your AT into "P"? question is: do you do it in "N" (as I always do in manual) or while in "D"? in fact, does it even matter? (FYI my rdx is my first AT vehicle!)

never occurred to me that it works that way. ive always engaged the parking brake after ive set the AT to "P" and have had no problems ever since.

in fact, most times, i dont even engage the pkg brake at all as i sometimes forget to disengage it (besides, i live on very flat areas anyway). thankfully our RDX has a reminder for that.

thanks!

 

I have had my RDX since September and can honestly say that I have never used the parking brake..lol

 

Maybe if I were on a very steep hill.



m

 

Usually when parking on an incline, you want to stop by using the foot brake and go to neutral then set the park brake. Then take your foot off of the foot brake and make sure that the vehicle is stationary, then put it in park!
The reason for this is, if you just go directly to 'park', you end up putting ondue stress on the transmission gears/mechanisim when the vehicle's weight is resting on the park gears, before you put on the park brake.
Is thought to reduce to life of the tranny. Also its harder to move the gear lever out of park when you have the vehicle weight 'resting' on the park gears, that movement wears the gears too.

 

This is exactly what I do whenever I park, even when I'm not on a steep incline. But yes, I do agree this relieves stress on the transmission.

 

I'd say that's a good idea.

 

Exactly. I always use the parking brake, hill or no hill. But, It's very important to use it on a hill to avoid massive strain on the tranny. As wspy states, engage the parking brake and slowly release your foot from the brake. Allow the car to "settle" and then put in park. Now there is no direct stress on the tranny and it will be easy to get it out of park.

 

I left out the word "neutral." Put in neutral, put parking brake on, let car settle, and then put in park. All in a matter of seconds but well worth it to maintain your tranny's life as well as peace of mind your vehicle is securely parked.

 

I'm glad to hear others think this way too. Nothing annoys me more than to see someone stop a car, throw it in park and jump out... while the car bounces to a stop against the tranny. It's one major reason I never let anyone valet park my car. I can't figure out why so many AT drivers think this is ok....and they go off and teach their kids that it's ok too.

Mike

 

Not that I'm the type to throw it in park and hop out right away, but this is good to know. I always used the park brake on hills, but rarely on level roads, and it was always after I put it in park. Thanks for the great tips!

 

interesting post. ill follow this from now on too.

just to summarize, it's essentially a) brake on the pedals, b) shift to neutral (while foot still on brake pedals), c) then engage parking brake (with the other foot), d) then move to "P", e) then remove foot on both the parking and brake pedal. whew! that's a lot of steps to relearn

 

I always use the parking brakes. I do the following (and with practice it's virtually non time consuming)

come to a stop, put car in to neutral and apply ebrake (foot brake for the rdx), release brake and put car in to park. This way the car will never sit putting pressure on the parking fork and also prevents ceasing of the ebrake.

 

Never.....and even less when there is cold weather..