[Mudhalaipatti]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Hi Mudhalaipatti - Is the first picture (fully engaged) is your typical way of parking and second picture (partially engaged) shows the hand brake engaged on that day only?

The first picture where the handbrake almost touches the wallet is the usual position that I engaged my HB in. And that's when the vehicle started rolling back.

The second picture depicts the position the HB had to be engaged to prevent the vehicle from rolling back. You can see there's a gap between the HB and wallet and this is not my usual HB position.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

On the hill hold, do you know what type of hill hold control is available in XUV700? Generally in manual transmission cars, it needs clutch to be depressed and gear engaged which is the typical way you will move forward in a incline to get it activated.

Great observation. I really don't know the answer to this one. But sure will find out and report later this evening. In the past when hill hold was activated, it was always when the vehicle was in gear and clutch was pressed. I'll find out later this evening and report if hill hold gets activated when I neutral. Also will find out, if without pressing clutch, on an incline and with brakes applied, does hill hold gets activated.

In all some great observations, tips and questions in this thread.

[pandey.jai]

I’m happy that the OP’s family is safe. Unfortunately in India, there is no clear kerb on most roads and that prevents us from parking by angling the wheel towards/away from the kerb, depending on the incline.

I have a generic question to the Bhpians - if you’re going to step away from the vehicle for 10-15mins, do you always keep the car running because of the AC?

I’m probably in the minority but I’ve always followed the principle of “driver out, car off”. I understand sometimes the AC is required while waiting and in those instances, either I stay in the drivers seat or have someone else sit there. I don’t think I’ve ever had a situation where my car was ON without the driver’s seat being occupied.

[harry10]

I believe this is something most of us have experienced even if not in such an extreme situation. Glad everyome came out safe from this scary experience.

That's why my rule of thumb is simple.

In My automatic it's P mode + handbrake.
In my manual it's First or Second gear + Handbrake.
This is to make sure if one thing fails the second will come to rescue. And i do this irrespective of incline or flat surface so it's become a habit.

My father always drives the manual and inspite of me asking him many times he always parks it in Handbrake only.

Also, I know most of us are in hurry due to busy schedules but once you put in the handbrake take an extra second and make sure it's all the way up. Many times we don't stretch it up fully and that's why it can rolled back like in this particular situation.

[Mudhalaipatti]

@ thanixravindran, here is the update on Hill Hold.
It gets activated in the following scenarios when the vehicle is on an incline.

1-Vehicle is in gear, clutch is pressed.
2-Vehicle is in neutral, clutch is pressed.

I tried with the vehicle in gear, clutch released and trying to climb an incline. The vehicle didn’t have the power to climb up, stalled a bit and started rolling back. (It was a bit challenging to check this scenario without the vehicle stalling and shutting off, but managed to redo it a few times to get a confirmation)

Tried with the vehicle in neutral, with the brakes pressed and no clutch. Hill hold didn’t activate and vehicle started rolling back.

And btw the hill hold, holds the vehicle barely for 2 seconds.

Looks like I’m my specific case, hill hold didn’t have a role to play, as I had taken my foot of the clutch for quite a bit.

[Kosfactor]

Good to hear that you are alright!

Foot brake and handbrake are NOT independent, if your handbrake is loose your footbrake will have good amount of downward travel before the vehicle slows down. So as long as your foot brake is fine, your handbrake is also fine and all you need to do is pull it tight whenever you park, especially when loaded. It is going to need more pull for a ~ 2ton vehicle in comparison to a small vehicle.

You do however need to check for slack once a year , unless you swap between vehicles your legs get used to the play in brake pedal.

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

...My whole family was in the car and it was just me and my in-law who stepped out..

Kids love to fidget and so as a rule I never leave leave the car with engine running unless an adult driving license holder is sitting in the driver's seat.
Cars I drive have the conventional lever and I always pull it to the max position that would need a lot of effort to disengage.
Things are complicated if the parking brake is a small button with easy access. May be you have to train the kids (depending on their age ofcourse)

Originally Posted by GTO

.... BMWs have this feature where the "P" position on the AT is automatically engaged when you open the driver's door. I think it should be made compulsory in all ATs. In MTs, they can probably engage the e-brake on door open.

A great inconvenience to the gutka chewing seth who constantly opens his door wide to unload a mouthful on the go.

[gharika]

It seems that a combination of hill hold assist and handbrake helped to keep the vehicle still for 8 sec and then the hill hold disengaged (can be easily tested) at which point the handbrake alone was not sufficiently engaged.

[The21st]

I am new to driving, so correct me if I am missing something.

My 2012 Swift VDI handbrakes fail to hold the car in an incline.
It works fine on normal situations.
If I am parking infront of a hotel at a very steep incline, handbrakes fail terribly in holding the car( I always check whether it is working or not keeping the engine on as a precaution)
In such cases, I usually rely on gear and would use a brick as a safety measure.( Someone else would do the 'brick work' with me in the driving seat )

I always engage in 1st gear as the reverse gear won't engage properly at times in Swift. I don't want to take a risk.

[goenkakushal]

Originally Posted by mikem

Attachment 2277180

Curbing the steering/wheel is the LAW in San Franciso. I've always turned the steering and curbed the wheel whenever parked on a slope/incline. Your experience just rubs it into my head even more! Thanks for sharing.

I follow this whenever there is a steep slope. I generally steer the wheels toward the curb. In this pic I observed vehicles facing uphill had the wheels turned opposite of the curb.

Can someone explain why?

Originally Posted by The21st

My 2012 Swift VDI handbrakes fail to hold the car in an incline.
.

As hand brake engages the rear brakes this is a common problem in vehicles with Drum brakes at rear, they are not as strong as disc brakes.
Cars with Disc Brakes at rear hold the wheels well.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

I follow this whenever there is a steep slope. I generally steer the wheels toward the curb. In this pic I observed vehicles facing uphill had the wheels turned opposite of the curb.

Can someone explain why?

"I generally steer the wheels towards the curb" --- ONLY WHEN FACING DOWNHILL.

That picture is correct. What happens if brake disengages, the vehicle will want to roll down, in the backward directions it's facing, and the curb side front wheel will hit the curb and stop the car from further rolling down. That's why these people have turned their wheels away from the curb, since they are facing uphill.

Similarly, if the vehicle is facing downhill, they will steer the wheels towards the curb, so that when it wants to roll down, it hits the curb and stops.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

.. explain why?

The aim is to stop rolling with minimum possible movement.

Steered wheels pointing towards the kerb when parked downhill, and away from the kerb when parked uphill, achieves that.

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

...

Scare of a lifetime !

Glad all safe, but it's completely your mistake. You MUST slot the car in the first gear. The parking brake is secondary protection, it's braking is not very strong. You must always slot it in the first gear and engage parking brakes, whether you're parking it for 10 minutes or 10 days.

[goenkakushal]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

away from the kerb when parked uphill, achieves that.

I understand the point.
My view in case of uphill parked vehicle with wheels away from curb. In USA, curbs are hardly 3-4 inches, which is very easy for the wheel to climb in case of steep slope. Assuming that happens the vehicle will roll backward towards the road.

As against that if wheels are towards the curb when parked uphill. Assuming vehicle starts moving it will roll backwards but towards the curb and not towards the road.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

... In USA, curbs are hardly 3-4 inches, which is very easy for the wheel to climb in case of steep slope. Assuming that happens the vehicle will roll backward towards the road.

As against that if wheels are towards the curb when parked uphill...

While it's never a good idea to rely on a single safety system, esp. in a scenario where failure is likelier (steep slope), it's still safer to follow the recommended practice.

Car parked uphill with wheel facing away from the kerb will travel maybe a half rotation of the wheel before hitting the kerb (much less if one parallel parks as close to kerb as possible), while one parked with wheels facing the kerb could potentially travel the full turning arc of the car before hitting something.

More travel, more chance to gain momentum, worse impact. The second scenario is likelier to cause the car to jump the kerb and cause more damage (could hit another car, a pedestrian or property).

[Sumer]

Our Automatic driving friends should be advised never to rely totally on the P mode in the transmission. It is a small Parking Pawl which is not designed to hold the entire weight of the vehicle from rolling. There is a high chance of it breaking in such situations.