My son-in-law says that using my hand brake is unnecessary (except on hills) and is harmful to the car. Being a good mother-in-law, I’ve stopped using it as a backup to leaving my car in Park. Is he right about it being harmful?

Your son-in-law is very misguided and wrong. Using the handbrake does not affect your car’s life or reliability. Having said that, in cold climates you will find many drivers not using thier handbrake since under certain conditions it can freeze up. If you parked in a moist, warm underground garage…

As Doc stated, your son-in-law is wrong, wrong, wrong. Using the e-brake is harmful? On the contrary, failure to use it can be harmful to the car (by placing more strain on the transmission’s “park pawl”), and potentially harmful to people and other cars when the car rolls away (through failure of…

I agree with Doc and VDC completely. My suggestion? When your son-in-law is with you AND you park on level ground (note the AND), dispense with the parking brake. The rest of the time, use it if you’d like. The level ground emphasis is because routinely not using your parking brake on hills can cr…

Let me join the chorus. Your son-in-law is wrong. The parking brake is a safety feature, and should be used whenever the car is parked. I apply the parking brake every time I park either of my vehicles. I’d love to hear him explain how using the parking brake is “harmful to the car.” He needs t…

Wow! Thanks I will use it when it’s not raining and/or freezing and the car isn’t in the driveway where he’ll see it because he lives next door. He wouldn’t respond well to being told that he’s wrong, so I should save that one for something where I need it more. I will enjoy using the brake aga…

Thanks!! I’ll use it discreetly and happily.

Wow…thanks. Yes he is knowledgeable about a lot of thing, and a good man. And now I will start using the brake when it isn’t wet and cold. But not in my (level) driveway because he lives next door. My nice car, Sylvia, thanks you too.

He had 3 or 4 reasons which I can’t recall, being in my late 70’s with short-term memory gaps, especially for things I didn’t like hearing. The reasons involved the brakes and the transmission as I recall. Thanks for setting me straight. I’ll use it when weather permits.

Emergency brake

Maintenance/Repairs

missileman August 7, 2010, 4:26pm 5

Your son-in-law is wrong. Use your parking brake.

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Emergency brake

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