[Briarean]

The “P” on an automatic transmission stands for the PARK setting. When the gear shifter is in PARK, the transmission ‘gears’ are locked, which restricts the wheels from being able to spin forward or backward. Most vehicles also require the car to be started while the transmission is in the “PARK” setting for safety purposes.

When you shift, into “P”, a parking pawl (pin/lock on the transmission output) engages and locks the output shaft of your transmission. The pawl disengages when you shift out of “P”.

When you shift into “P” first, lift your foot off the footbrake, and then engage the parking brake, the weight of the car rests on that tiny metal bit we call the parking pawl. If it breaks, that broken piece can jam up some crucial parts of the transmission.

Sources: Internet

[vinya_jag]

Voted Others:
I have no clue what our Octavia does. It is fully ‘by wire’ tech. It has one brake for drive assist and another as a handbrake. And they suggest to have them both on, when stopped. Which I do

Otherwise, I religiously follow 1st gear + Handbrake for flat and inclines. Also, I turn the steering in a way that the car would roll towards the kerb and settle there when parked on inclines and declines.
Also, if I am scared, I keep a stone behind the rear wheels

[PrasadS]

Sadly cannot vote yet.
I always keep the handbrake on, without slotting onto any gear on my Rapid/Same on father's Innova.(Except wherever the car is on a slant)
My father uses 1st Gear/handbrake on his Innova and even on my car as a habit regardless of the terrain.

I stopped slotting onto gear due to an advice from a friend who had a Laura and now an Octavia. He said that slotting onto a gear while parking puts pressure on the mechanism and leads to more wear and tear, the handbrake is more than enough. I follow that and no issues in past 6 years.

I would encourage the use of handbrake everywhere, especially for newbie and less experienced drivers. I've seen scenarios where they don't use handbrake, directly slot into neutral to start car, the car starts rolling and they cannot break due to the hard break of a un-started car.

I release the handbrake after starting the car and when I'm ready to move, i use it extensively even during stop start traffic putting the car in Neutral.

[Cresterk]

Long ago, I had heard from a friendly mechanic who used to service our Esteem, it's better to put the car in the 2nd gear and not to engage the hand-brake unless necessary. His logic was the tyre's life increases (marginally) when you do not let the hand-brake's friction rub with the hot rubber.
How true is this, I do not have any conclusive data/analysis, though I still follow his advise religiously when I park on flat surfaces in known areas.

There is no logic in this. Personally I use both the handbrake and 1st gear because hyundai has provided the i20 with a very weak handbrake that is just there for namesake.

[RunGaDa]

When parking on an incline I don’t trust the hand brake. I have asked many times by my Ecosport’s hand brake does not work for more than 10 degree inclines. Luckily my parking is flat and it does not require hand brake.
But I feel safe only after applying it.
So my vote is paking brake, first or second gear (on an incline)
It’s also important to turn the wheels inside towards the road end when parallel parking on an incline or decline. SFO city mandates this and penalizes who don’t do it.

[Mortis]

Neutral+ parking brake most days at home or on flat surfaces outside.

1st or R + brake on slope

Only 1st during monsoons IF the car isn't going to be used for a few days otherwise the rear drums get a bit jammy

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

. Personally I use both the handbrake and 1st gear because hyundai has provided the i20 with a very weak handbrake that is just there for namesake.

It has to be a maintenance issue, parking brake as far as I know is a regulated item as per MV rules , it will stop the wheels from rotating (engine off) when applied - if maintained correctly.

A slack in parking brake may also mean slack on service brakes, not noticeable often as we are used to how it behaves, so it's best to have it inspected.

Certainly we are advocating parking brake + gear when possible.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

It has to be a maintenance issue, parking brake as far as I know is a regulated item as per MV rules , it will stop the wheels from rotating (engine off) when applied - if maintained correctly.

A slack in parking brake may also mean slack on service brakes, not noticeable often as we are used to how it behaves, so it's best to have it inspected.

Certainly we are advocating parking brake + gear when possible.

It has been that way since the day I bought it. Tried complaining at the service center multiple times but they just use it as opportunity to do 'rear drum brake overhaul/inspection' and then return the car with marginal improvements which last about a month. I think it's just this way by design. It holds okay on normal roads but on any slope I need to yank it up with all my strength and then put it in gear for added peace of mind. The normal brakes work great though, even in reverse.

[Kiran Melkote]

Originally Posted by RunGaDa

When parking on an incline I don’t trust the hand brake. I have asked many times by my Ecosport’s hand brake does not work for more than 10 degree inclines. Luckily my parking is flat and it does not require hand brake.
But I feel safe only after applying it.
So my vote is paking brake, first or second gear (on an incline)
It’s also important to turn the wheels inside towards the road end when parallel parking on an incline or decline. SFO city mandates this and penalizes who don’t do it.

I had the same problem with my Ecosport and I asked an ex-ford engineer and he said that the parking brake for my vehicle (Ecosport AT) will only work if I press the brakes first, then engage the parking brake and then take my foot off the brakes.

Checked the manual and it says the same thing.

Try, maybe this will help.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Kiran Melkote

I had the same problem with my Ecosport and I asked an ex-ford engineer and he said that the parking brake for my vehicle (Ecosport AT) will only work if I press the brakes first, then engage the parking brake and then take my foot off the brakes.

Checked the manual and it says the same thing.

Try, maybe this will help.

I wonder if this is just a way to get away with substandard handbrakes by making it seem like a feature. Imagine your brakes fail and you pull the ‘emergency brake’ just to have to mildly slow down your vehicle.

[lsjey]

I use only the parking brakes and put the gear in neutral position. IMO the parking brakes are enough unless the incline is big.

The key thing is to be aware of the style of parking of other drivers who use your vehicle. Let me provide a couple of examples.

1. When I park a vehicle I use only the parking brake. My late father in law only used gears. When I took out his omni, I parked using the parking brake. Later when he came and took the car for an errand, a traffic cop stopped him and warned him that smoke is coming from the tyres. Luckily only the brake pads got worn. He had not released the parking brake.
2. I used a driver to take my family out in my brand new Honda City recently. His style is to use both parking brake and the gear. So when I start my car thinking that the car will be in neutral, I almost hit a wall. The thing is we are forced by OEMs to depress the clutch when we start the car. But guys like me, immediately move our feet off the clutch. We don’t keep it pressed.

Humans are creatures of habit. So we should build in enough awareness on the style of parking of other drivers who may use our vehicles.

Regards,
Lsjey

[Gansan]

If the surface is level I engage first gear, no parking brake. If there is a slight slope, depending on the direction of it I will engage first/reverse gear as well as the parking brake.

[Kiran Melkote]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I wonder if this is just a way to get away with substandard handbrakes by making it seem like a feature. Imagine your brakes fail and you pull the ‘emergency brake’ just to have to mildly slow down your vehicle.

As per my understanding, they are simply "parking brakes" and not "emergency brakes"

They apparently 'lock' the brakes once applied on a stationary car - or this is apparently the current design. Engineering grads can probably help us understand this better.

Attached a screenshot from the ecosport manual about how to use the parking brakes.

[Ravi Parwan]

I voted for gear+parking brake.

I have had an issue recently when the rear drum brakes jammed, due to moisture and rains. mechanic had to hammer the drums to enable the drums to rotate else the rear wheels were jammed. Had to replace the drum shoes on both the rear wheels as they were damaged.

So on plain surface, use the first or second gear and/or the parking brake. On incline use gear + Parking brake. Some people use second Gear as it has a lower ratio than first which can allow the engine to turn given sufficient weight due to the incline.

Although newer cars don't crank, but I remember older jeeps could be started by putting in the key, depressing the clutch to allow car to roll and then just release the clutch and the car would start without engaging the starter!! Look ma, no hands!!

All in all, it is always better to make engaging the brake and putting the car in gear while parked. while it does put pressure on the transmission, that is within design norms and is way better than having the car roll away unintended.

[Raghu M]

1st or 4th, it's a gear. I see no difference in which gear you slot while parking. The intention is to lock the wheels and not move freely. When on inclines, I use both the hand brake and slot it in any gear. In my apartment, I generally use my hand brake but if I am travelling out, I just lot it in any gear and leave.