BusyShifter

Parked in neutral on a downward slope, pull the hand break to the point that there was no movement, but my car rolled anyway after I left .

aaronng

Well, my Accord Euro starts when in 1st with my foot nowhere near the clutch pedal. I've tried it. Luckily I was holding on to the brakes!

psteng19

Those of you concerned about stressing the tranny by resting the weight of the car on it while parked on a hill need not worry.

The engine goes through far more stressful conditions during combustion. You aren't going to damage a thing.

slats

So that guy is an idiot for asking our advice or for not being satisfied with the other thread? Sorry for the joke, I just hate it when people talk down to new members for no reason whatsoever.

slats

Thanks for sharing

GIBSON6594

I never called him an idiot or talked down to him, he is new and I just was letting him know how things work around here. Read it again, was I ever cruel to him? The idiot comment was towards you, for your joke, but I retract it, as you did.

And i'm still sticking by what i said, in the absolite nicest way possible. He should have bumped the original thread he said he found instead of starting a new one.

(sorry about the backseat modding Bond and CG, it just sort of erupted...didn't mean it to happen as i'm sure you can see.)

jpt

gibson is right, but since some wrong opinions have been posted on this thread i'll add the right one:

Park in gear every time. In our car, use reverse (the gear ratio is a touch shorter in reverse than first, but first is okay too -- which way you are facing on the hill does NOT matter). Leave your parking brake up too.

If your car rolls away for any reason and hits something and it was not in gear OR the handbrake was not set, your insurance will raise your rates as for an at-fault accident. You are considered negligent if you have not done both of these things.

You will not damage your engine by parking in gear. The force of gravity on the car is not even enough to move the pistons (this is the reason to park in gear in the first place) -- how could it possibly compare with the stresses of actual driving? If you want to eliminate the tiny amount of strain on the clutch (and replace it with a tiny amount of strain on the rear brakes, though the tiny amount of strain will not wear either part any appreciable amount) you can set the parking brake while keeping your foot on the foot brake.

You will not start the car while it is still in gear unless you mod your car to circumvent the safety cutout -- I never put my stick in neutral before starting, because I cannot start the car without the clutch pedal fully depressed whether the stick is in neutral or not. Try it and see! Our car doesn't require it, but it's a good idea to have your foot on the brake too.

fdl

Let's try and stay on topic. I'm going to merge the 2 threads.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

This is why you're supposed to turn your wheels when you park on a slope. If the parking brake does fail, then the tires will touch the curb and the car will come to a rest.

fdl

Driving 101. Its also the reason to put your car in gear when you park

fdl

I never start my car in neutral

Clutch in, and start in whatever gear you want. Then move to neutral if you want to take your foot off the clutch.

anticd70

Flat ground = neutral w/ ebrake.... people that put it in 1st or reverse on flat ground are idiots....however on a hill facing up 1st gear w/ brake and wheels toward the curb...down hill reverse w/ brake and wheenls toward the curb. Now a days car ebrakes tend not too fail

fdl

Idiots? Better to be safe than sorry I say. Plus, it becomes a habit and then you dont need to worry about it. Sometimes its hard to tell when there is a slight inclne or decline.

cmschmie

Wow this thread has been going on for a while.

I use first + e-brake.

I will often use stop blocks front and back just to be safe

SoCaliTrojan

I start with neutral and e-brake. I do park with the car in gear, but I switch to neutral before starting. It's easy enough to start the car with the clutch pedal in, but if you're distracted (like trying to hit the stupid "OK" button on the navi), it's easy enough to not notice your foot slowly lifting up off of the clutch. My baby brother has seen my car jerk forward 3 times...enough to warrant jokes from time to time.

Why start it in gear anyway? I like to sit for a minute to let all the oil start flowing through the engine again...and I'd be crazy to keep my foot on the clutch that whole time.

Besides...what's the difference with the car in gear and not in gear if the clutch pedal is in? They'll both roll.

SoCaliTrojan

The parking brake handle just manually engages the rear brakes. I believe the loosening of the brake handle is due to the cable, which can be retightened (at least on older cars).

jpt

You've obviously never been drunk enough to stumble/lean into a car! Gravity is not the only force that can act on your car while you are not around to supervise it. Preventing your car from rolling when you park is your responsibility no matter how unlikely you think it is, and just as importantly, there is no reason whatsoever not to put the car in gear when it's off.

Whether your car is facing up or down hill has no bearing on whether you should pick first or reverse. When the engine is off, there is nothing that makes it harder to spin backwards than forwards. Therefore, maximum braking efficiency will always be achieved by using the shortest possible gear ratio -- in the TSX, that's reverse although first is extremely close (3.27 vs. 3.58).

And emergency brakes have always tended not to fail. It's also true that engines tend not to lose compression suddenly while parked, so setting the hand brake when parking shouldn't be necessary at all. But it is irresponsible and negligent not to take both of these zero-cost safety measures when you are not able to supervise your car.

jpt

The cable will eventually loosen over time in all cars; the cable has to be under very high tension in order to squeeze the brake pads against the rotors hard enough to keep your car stopped, and any flexible cable under tension will eventually stretch.

jpt

Heh, you're crazy to sit there anyway :P This car warms up ridiculously fast (faster than my 1.5L civic did, amazingly).

We're talking about where to leave the shifter when you're not in the car, not when you get in and start it. Do whatever you gotta when you're in the driver's seat

mjtsx

With regular inspection and adjustment, and replacement if necessary, there is really no reason to worry that the brake cable will fail. If a car is neglected that badly, it probably doesn't matter whether the driver engages the brake, gear, or both when parking; that car probably has other problems and shouldn't be on the road. For the record, I sometimes use the brake only, and sometimes leave the car in first and use the brake.

BusyShifter

Lesson learned, the hard way .

goddsmack

lol...me too, all it takes is one incident to mold you sort of speak.

My very first manual car, came home one night from the gym and parked it on my driveway, which is on an incline. Pulled the rear brakes and went in to take a shower. Then came back out to go out and when I started to open the garage door, my car wasn't there. I started cursing and thought my car was stolen and stolen in a matter of thirty minutes. Mind you it is dark outside. Then I walk a bit more torwards the driveway and what you know, my car had rolled out into the middle of the street and just sat there blocking the road. Thank god, it didn't roll into a car or anything, but from that day on, my manual cars are put into gear when I park.

offset_98

If I'm on any sort of grade I do both. In my garage I do gear only. In parking lots I do both.

tsxonteins

i leave mine in third just in case i forget that i have it in gear, it wont leap forward, and also, it wont roll backwards since it's in gear.

slats

Don't mean to argue but the owners manual even says to put it into 1st when facing uphill. Which way you are facing DOES matter.