Does not using the emergency brake when your car is regularly parked on an incline cause any potential long term damage?
Yes. And soon after that near term damage from whatever the car rolls into.
If it is an automatic transmission the only long term damage I see is that the parking brake, due to lack of use may lock up if you need to use it.
We’ve had lots of discussions about the emergency/parking brake use. Modern transmissions do a fine job of holding a car in place on an incline, but regardless of whether it might be harmful, don’t rely on it alone. Turn your wheel into the curb, apply the PB or chock the wheel with home made blocks; what ever works. Put the car into park after the other means are applied to take pressure off the the mechanism.
I have a sailing friend whose motto is, if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot of them. We sailors always plan on something going wrong. So use more than the transmission on an incline, and the more the better. When you might be worried about a parking brake freeze up, have another back up plan.
Guys, this is a Prius. It’s transmission is not remotely like an automatic or a manual. It is more like a differential (between the gas engine and the electric motor).
I don’t care what it is. “Emergency brake” is a misnomer. It is a parking brake. I can’t ever figure out what anyone thinks they gain by not using it.
“With this mechanism, when the driver presses the Parking switch located on the top of the transmission
shift assembly, the ?P? position control actuates the shift control actuator located in the hybrid transaxle
in order to mechanically lock the counter driven gear, which engages the parking lock.”
It still has a PARK setting…it’s mechanical and should not be trusted alone…what’s the difference ?
In Bangor Maine there is this parking lot that causes two cars per Winter to roll into the river. Don’t count on park when there is any water nearby, or hill.
What is an emergency brake? Your car should have a parking brake, but I have never seen an emergency brake.
Get up to speed on the freeway and just try stopping your car with that brake. It is designed to keep your car from rolling when parked on an incline not to stop a car.
The only risk of potential damage is when you don't use it. I might add that not using it regularly can result in it rusting and becoming unusable. [b] Use it or loose it.[/b]Is that down by the Kenduskeag Stream or by the town pier ?
That’s funny, both of my cars (according to the manual) have a “parking/emergency” brake. They do exist. In fact, since they are electronic on my cars, they have specific programming for emergency brake mode. I don’t know why some here insist that it’s only a parking brake and not an emergency brake too. You can bet that I’ll be using it if the main brakes don’t work. I’ve also used it when my son (who is learning) was driving because I couldn’t get to the main brake.
In any event, I do agree that it should be used when you park, every time you park, and I do so.
It is called a parking brake for a reason. I guess it could be used in an emergency but usually being on the rear wheels and hard to modulate the pressure makes it not very good at much besides locking up the rear wheels.
Not using the parking brake on an automatic when parking on inclines routinely also causes unnecessary wear to the parking pawl. One day you may come out and not be able to get the tranny out of “P”.
Regarding the terminology argument, is it a parking brake or an emergency brake, I say:
if I’m using it to hold the car while parked, it’s a parking brake.
if I suddenly lose my regular brakes, it’ll be an EMERGENCY BRAKE! The emphasis is me screaming in terror as my vehicle careens down the offramp into traffic after my hydraulics failed. This actually happened to me many years ago.
I for one will not hesitate for one nanosecond to use it in an emergency because it’s called a “parking brake”.