As an ex-owner of a much missed used 1986 SAAB , which had to be parked in reverse to get the key out, I was wondering what the best way is to park my new P5. (1) In Neutral, with E-brake? (2) In gear or reverse with E-brake? (3) Or in gear/reverse without E-brake? I've been using option 1. Thanks!

 

I've sorta wondered this myself. The way I do it is as soon as I pull into the driveway, I put on the parking brake and put it into 1st. That way, I've got twice the insurance against rolling, the parking brake is set, if it fails the gears will catch the car (I hope ) I think that it's important to make sure the parking brake is well set before letting your foot off the clutch, that way the car doesn't settle backwards and put undue pressure on the gears in the tranny.

 

And turn your wheels in to the curb!

 

That depends on which way you are facing. Downhill, in. Uphill, out. If in doubt, let it roll. If it only goes a few inches before hitting, you are pointing the right way.

As a side note, in San Francisco, if you park on a hill without curbing your wheels (the correct way), it's a $500 ticket (or it was the last time I got a parking ticket in S.F. 15 years ago...not for that offense, parking in a crosswalk, 2 feet into...they print all the offenses and fines on the tickets).

 

I always make it a habit to park the car in gear. I usually shift it into 1st or 2nd after the car has shut down, and pull the ebrake.

 

I heard that in winter, gear is better then e-brake, since the e-brake might get stuck if it's too cold or something.....

not sure if this is true or not.

 

to get the car in gear after it is parked and the engine is off, do I need to press the clutch down?
I've noticed it to be really really hard to get in gear if the clutch isn't pressed down while the engine is stopped.

 

Stuck e-brakes can be really nasty But usually if e-brake gets stuck it's a sign that you haven't used it enough. I almost always use e-brake with 1st gear when i park my vehicle and haven't got any problems in winter

 

You usually do not have to press the clutch down to get the car into gear when the engine is off. But it makes good practice to do it anyway.

 

well make sure u do one of the above, one time i parked my car, even with e-brake in neutral, and 10 minutes later found that it had rolled down my driveway, luckly it stopped.

-Jason

 

I have always just put mine in first. My sister has a probe and was always replacing her brakes. The people that replaced them told her that it was from using her brake while parked.

 

I always pull my e-brake and then put the car into gear so I have that extra added insurance....

 

I was just going to say that!

 

The only time you don't use the e-brake is if you are storing the car. The brake may rust in place and seize.

To recap.

Always use your e-brake when parked.
Place the car in first or reverse depending on the grade.
Curb your wheels on a grade.
Don't use the e-brake when storing the car.


Stocker

 

Here is something to think about...


If you park in a parking spot lets say the the grocery store and your car happens to be towed away if you had your car in first then you engine is now F^cked. Reason is that most people leave their cars in first and when they tow it the jack@$$ tow guy always tows it with the rear wheels off the ground. well what ends up happening is that your drive wheels rotate the wrong direction and this is turn makes your engine spin backwards. By the time you get your car back you will notice a little performance degradation. "your car wont start" From then on you will be like fred. "use your feet"

Just something to think about.