[ruthie]

On NPR (US National Public Radio) there's a great show called "Car Talk" with two brothers who are funny as heck. People call in with all kinds of hilarious questions about their cars and scenerios which you cannot believe. Recently, a woman called in saying she had a wager with her husband that it was better when parking the car to use both the emergency brake and leave it in gear. The husband thought that it was unnecessary wear on the car to leave it in gear when parked. What do you think the brothers' opinion was? Do you put your car in gear when you park? Or do you just use your emergency brake?

[MiniMan7]

I put it in first gear and the emergency brake on. Is that bad for the car?

[oldnell]

What's an emergency brake when it's at home?

When I park, I use the handbrake and leave the car in neutral. If I'm on a very steep hill, I'll put it in first or reverse, depending on which way the car's pointing.

[dmac5]

Actually, you should put the car in gear and use the hand brake. And if on hills, turn the wheel away from the curb.

[ruthie]

Well, I've always used my emergency brake when parking, no matter where. But recently, I was distracted while parking my Mini and forgot to put my E brake on. The driveway had a very slight incline and when I came out later, the car had slid backward about 20 feet!!! Stopped only by the grassy lawn. Yikes.

The brothers said you should ALWAYS use both, no matter what the circumstance. It's BETTER for the car. Less stress. And, they went further to say turning the wheel inward when parking on a steep hill.

Hey, we live and learn.

[ruthie]

Sorry, I meant to say turn the wheel outward from the curb on a steep hill.

[oldnell]

Surely the direction in which you turn the wheel depends on whether you're facing up or down the hill.

Good point, though.

[ruthie]

Quote:

Originally posted by oldnell
Surely the direction in which you turn the wheel depends on whether you're facing up or down the hill.

Good point, though.

Yes, so true Oldnell. And, turning the wheel is very important, no matte what direction you are headed.

[dmac5]

Good point! Of course my entire life has always been uphill both ways, heh.

[nonsequitur]

"Both" is the proper answer; agree with Car Talk ("Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers") -- unless you are not driving on the street.

Should you take up track days, autocross, or are driving where lots of heat has been put into the brakes (huge trailing downhills behind a truck or something), then don't set your brakes because they may "weld" tight.

I'm fairly certain that the MINI uses separate shoes for the Emergency Brake (Hmmm, I've not checked this yet), and if this is true, then the above caution doesn't really apply (but it was a big concern on older cars).

Still a good practice because you may employ the handbrake to help rotate the car in low speed situations (on the course only, this is not OK on the street!) so these shoes could be hot.

[chiph]

One of the problems that early MINIs had was the e-brake would sometimes let go. There were a few owners who returned to find their cars several hundred feet from where they had parked them (usually with a few new dents). So it's a good idea to put your car into first/park as well as setting the emergency brake.

Chip H.

[vespa]

I've found that the brake requires a pretty firm pull. This is my first manual transmission car with disk brakes so that may be the reason it feels tough to me. I have, on a few occasions, pulled the brake pretty hard when parked on level ground and then inadvertantly moved the car with my foot while getting out. With the old Honda I could lock the tires at 40mph on the with a pull like that but the MINI won't even engage the pads. It will hold strong on even the steepest of hills if I pull it extra hard, but the casual pull in the garage leaves the car completely mobile.

Anyway, there's certainly no harm in putting it in gear (what bozo ever started that rumor anyway?). That said, I only do so on very steep hills or when I'm in too much hurry to bother with the brake.

[JugMan]

I found that there was a lot of play at the actual handle (the attaching of the wire to the handle) and had that sorted out with a few turns of a bolt. While in the "disengaged" position, you tighten the wire so it's not LOOSE, but not tight either, that way, the lever is more responsive.

Jug

[mrhollio]

Click and Clack are great! I agree that both (the E-brake and 1st grear) plus turning the wheels are the way to go... especially after watching my old Jeep roll down the driveway, cut across the street just ahead of a car and jump the curb!

[MiniMan7]

I always use the E-brake, even if its an automatic. Just feels safer.

[ncdave]

Curiously, when I park my Spitfire on a hill, I just need to leave it in first gear without the handbrake and it holds just fine. My MINI though will roll backwards if left in first with the handbrake off. Not a big problem, but I do need to use the handbrake as well. Still, I wonder why that is.

[HonoluluDoug]

What we're calling the emergency brake here I've always called the parking brake. Which is what I engage when parking. Also put it into 1st.

Once my (ex-)wife reported her truck stolen, but what had happened is that she forgot to engage the parking brake or gearshift and the thing rolled out into the street where the police found it and towed it. Just sharing a little ha ha...

And don't worry dmac5, when you get to be my age, it's all downhill...

[MiniMan7]

Quote:

Originally posted by HonoluluDoug
...

Once my (ex-)wife reported her truck stolen, but what had happened is that she forgot to engage the parking brake or gearshift and the thing rolled out into the street where the police found it and towed it. Just sharing a little ha ha...

...

lol... I've seen a few trucks roll backwards a few times when someone forgot the parking brake.

[sjbartnik]

Saying that it's unnecessary wear on the car to leave it in gear is absolutely ludicrous. But anyway, I prefer to leave the car in gear and put the handbrake on. Then I can be sure it's not going anywhere.

johnewald, on the MINI, the handbrake operates the rear disc brake calipers mechanically rather than hydraulically. This is in contrast to some other cars with rear disc brakes that actually use a miniature drum brake setup for the parking brake. The MINI doesn't have separate shoes for the parking brake.

oldnell, whether you are parked facing uphill or downhill has no bearing on what gear you leave the car in (though as you rightly said, it does matter which way you turn the wheels).
If you really want the best holding power you will always leave the car in the lowest gear, which will either be first or reverse (and I would wager on the MINI it's reverse) regardless of whether the car is parked on level ground or facing uphill or downhill. This will allow maximum holding power from the engine's compression.

[AidenL]

I do both.....