Motoring Discussion > Neutral or In Gear When Parking Miscellaneous
Thread Author: zippy Replies: 16
View Threaded 

New Wed 9 Nov 22 10:29 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - zippy
I have seen a few drivers deliberately leave their car in neutral when parked up.

I was taught to leave the car in first if pointing up a hill or reverse if pointing up a hill with front wheels turned in or out to the curb as appropriate.


(It was in case the brake failed and the car rolled. I know if the hill is steep enough there is a chance even the engine compression could be overcome and the car could still roll.)

Is this not taught anymore?

Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 10:34 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Runfer D'Hills
Automatics left in P when parked and manuals in gear, R if facing downhill and 1st if facing uphill. Couldn’t bring myself to do otherwise. I also turn the wheels towards the kerb if it’s really steep.
(No kerbed wheel jibes required thank you) ;-)
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Wed 9 Nov 22 at 10:35
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 10:44 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - tyrednemotional
....unless it's Paris, where it's neutral and handbrake off ;-)
Reply to this message | Report message
      4  
New Wed 9 Nov 22 10:54 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Bromptonaut
>> Is this not taught anymore?

I was taught to put a parked car in gear, I think initially by my Father. He was a carp driver but his rationale for that was seeing his parent's car start to roll away while he drove them on holiday.

Had 3 Citroens with hydropneumatic brakes where the handbrake gripped the front disc. The BX at least had some history of running off if the disc cooled/contracted and the parking brake lost grip. Particularly careful there.

Current thinking with modern set ups is just to rely on the brakes. Danger of leaving it in gear is that you start it without selecting neutral and lurch forward doing damage to objects or people.

When looking for a car c2015 I test drove a Citroen C3 and automatically popped it into first at the end after applying the handbrake and stopping the engine. The salesman promptly knocked it back to neutral and said we don't do that any more. He was about 19 and there was an implied 'grandad' in his intonation.

I bought a Skoda instead.

The Skoda, and presumably other recent VAG, cars require the clutch to be depressed for the starter to operate.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 11:21 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Zero
Nope, never done it (except on a very steep hill) - Always had handbrakes that work, and the ability to provide sufficient yank on the lever.

Nowadays of course, the auto parking brake goes on and box goes into park when opening the door and turning off.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 12:39 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Manatee
Always in gear on a manual. On a couple of the rare occasions I haven't, the car has rolled away. I had an Audi 100 once that did it in a pub car park. It was on quite a slope too, and was OK when I left it. I concluded that it released when the brakes cooled down.

So I never intentionally rely solely on the handbrake.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 12:57 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Terry
Always in gear on a hill when I drove a manual.

This may be a function of age - when I started driving, a handbrake was a lever that clicked up a ratchet with no obvious connection to anything - usually because cables and pivots were largely non-functional due to corrosion.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 13:17 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - martin aston
Our local high street has a central parking strip where you park at right angles to the traffic. There is a gentle slope across the road. Cars run away on a regular basis, I’d guess half a dozen a year make it as a photo on the local community online noticeboard. How many do it without being photographed is unknown.

They creep across the road and nestle against street furniture or cars parked at the side. It’s a wonder no serious accident has occurred.

Hearsay is that most have the handbrake applied but that cooling brake discs contract. A lightly applied handbrake then lets the car slip away. I am not sure this is the case but it’s a common view and is consistent with cars not rolling away immediately but after some minutes parked.
I have always left my car in gear.

As for restarting I was taught that it was best practice to depress the clutch and in any case some (or all.) modern cars wont let you start in gear.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 13:25 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Robin O'Reliant
I always leave the car in gear. I got into the habit when I owned a Marina and the handbrake bracket came away from the floor. I went six months or so like that before I pop rivetted it back in place.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 16:00 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Bromptonaut
>> I had an Audi 100 once that did it

Oddly the one time I saw and acted on a car running away it was an Audi 100.

Not long after I'd passed my test, possibly around the Jubilee in 1977, and I was sent out in Mum's Mini to pick up a paper. I parked round the corner and walked the last 50 yards. Said Audi was stopped, or rather unoccupied while rolling slowly forward, on double yellows directly outside the newsagents.

Trotted alongside, opened the unlocked door and put my foot on the brake before applying handbrake and then T lever into Park as it was an Auto.

Poshly spoken lady in high dudgeon then appears from the paper shop asking me what the hell I thought I was doing half in half out her car. I just said 'you left it with the brake off' and went into the shop.

She didn't follow....
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 9 Nov 22 at 16:02
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 15:46 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Kevin
In San Francisco when parking on a slope you can be ticketed for not applying the handbrake, putting it in gear or Park AND turning your front wheels into the kerb.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 21:55 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Rudedog
Nope... neutral then handbrake with our manuals. P then EPB with the DSG.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Wed 9 Nov 22 23:50 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Fullchat
Neutral and in gear. Belt and braces.

If parked on an incline front wheels pointing whichever is there nearest distance to the kerb.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Thu 10 Nov 22 10:28 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Runfer D'Hills
You are clearly a fellow driving god Fullchat!
;-)
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Thu 10 Nov 22 10:34 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - tyrednemotional
>> Neutral and in gear.........

...I've been driven by a few people who seem to be unable to distinguish..... ;-)
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Thu 10 Nov 22 11:27 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - CGNorwich
How many people specify manual boxes these days? The argument ois soon going to be pretty academic.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Sun 13 Nov 22 14:41 
 Neutral or In Gear When Parking - Dave_
Working in the motor trade I leave the handbrake on and manual 'boxes in neutral, because I don't know what protocol the next driver to move the vehicle may employ.

In my own vehicle, I always leave it in gear/Park and don't pull the parking brake on mega hard unless on a steep incline.

Always leave vehicles on trailers/transporters in gear wherever possible, apart from Jaguar MkIIs which have a design fault causing first gear to come off the shaft if the car is pulled backwards.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
Latest Forum Posts