I have a 2008 Honda Civic. I love the car. In all the years I have had cars, I have never used the parking brake. My thoughts are that they are suited for pakring on a steep incline where there is the possiblity of the car going downhill when out of gear. What do you think about it? I park on a very gentle incline at home. Should I use the parking brake or not? Just want to see what other readers think. I appreciate all the great advice you people give here. It is the best!
Driver’s Ed taught us to use the parking brake whenever parking. No exceptions. That has always worked for me. We were also taught to put the car in either Park or in gear when parking, along with setting the parking brake.
If you DON’T regularly use this hand brake, the parts tend to get rusty and jam, rendering the brake useless. It’s a use it or loose it type thing. Also, many brake designs depend on using the parking brake to ADJUST the brakes being applied…
I little education goes a long way. It can also make saftey first. It is stricly a safety issue. Use the park brake in addition to having the car in gear(Standard shift)or park(automatic). They will work together to give you two times the probability of the vehicle being where you parked it when you return for it. If you use one without the other, if one fails the car could be somewhere else besides where you left it. You may end up liable for damage to property or feel really bad for personal injuries incured. This is a problem that has been happening way before the combustion chamber engine was ever developed and put into an automobile form.
It is a use it or loose it. You don’t use it and it can rust up and not function. Then what are you going to do on a steep hill?
You should use it every time you park. First it will help keep it in good condition and it can prevent the car from moving when you are not there. BTW moving when you are not there is not a good thing for a car to do.
You did not say if you have an automatic or manual, but the advice is the same either way, but for different reasons.
With a manual, even on a not so steep hill the car can move even in gear. With an automatic placed in park, it will not move as long as it is in park and fully functional, but that “Park” position on the automatic transmission is really designed as a backup to the parking brake and can stick in park or brake and not function at all. It is not designed for everyday use without the parking brake.
On many cars that’s (especially if it has drum rear brakes), that’s the ONLY way the rear brakes are adjusted. Every time you engage the parking brake the rear brakes adjust. Disk brakes automatically adjust every time you press on the brake pedal.
I always use it, and if you live on a slight incline you should use it.
parking brake should always be used.
if you dont use the parking brake you are putting to much stress on the transmision regardles if it is manual or automatic.
the right way to use the parking brake is this.
you engange the handbrake after the car has stop then you realease the footbrake and wait until all the weight of the car rest on the rear brakes , then engage gear.
Best answer, Mike. Good job. Some months ago, my Toyota dealer recommended adjusting my rear brakes, which to me was like waving a red flag at a bull, since I knew they were automatic adjusters. After posting here, and no one knew for sure, the service writer found out the parking brake is what adjusts the rear brakes. They used to have an adjuster system that adjusted when you backed up, but brakes were getting over adjusted which reduced gas mileage. Since most people don’t use their parking brakes the dealers assume they can get some bucks for manually adjusting them.
I spend most of my time in the mountains of Mexico, and I ALWAYS use my parking brake, as described in a posting here, set the parking brake before putting it in PARK. I have never seen it, but I have heard that on older transmissions, it is possible to get the transmission locked in PARK and can’t get it out if all the weight sets on that pawl thingie.
Just so that we don’t confuse the OP more than necessary, this is a classic case of “use it or lose it”–NOT “use it or loose it”.
Failure to use the e-brake/hand brake will very likely cause you to lose the effectiveness of that brake when you need it the most. If you don’t regularly use the e-brake/hand brake, rust will form on the cable that activates that braking system, thereby making it difficult or impossible to activate the e-brake, and on some cars, the rear service brakes will not be properly adjusted if you do not regularly use the e-brake.
Ask yourself this question: In view of cost considerations, do automakers put equipment on a car that is not intended to be used?
The obvious answer is that automakers would eliminate the e-brake if there was not a reason for its existence. That reason is to keep your car from rolling away in the event that the parking pawl fails (automatic transmission), to keep it from rolling away in the event that engine compression is not sufficient to prevent the car from rolling when parked in gear (manual transmission), to reduce strain on the parking pawl (automatic transmission), and to serve as an auxiliary (albeit not very effective) braking system in the event that your brake hydraulic system(s) fail. But, if the e-brake/hand brake is not used on a regular basis, it cannot be counted on to perform under any of these scenarios.
Use it or LOSE it!
Also if you’re on a steep hill and you don’t engage the parking brake before you put it in park, the force the pawl has to hold back will cause the pawl to get stuck and you won’t be able to get the transmission out of park without having someone push you up the hill.
Also if you’re on a steep hill and you don’t engage the parking brake before you put it in park, the force the pawl has to hold back will cause the pawl to get stuck and you won’t be able to get the transmission out of park without having someone push you up the hill.
Another factor: If the parking brake becomes inoperative due to disuse, your car will fail inspection in some states. That’s the case here in NY.
On many cars that’s (especially if it has drum rear brakes), that’s the ONLY way the rear brakes are adjusted.
Rear drums are or at least were adjusted buy applying the brakes while traveling in reverse, although they did not adjust all that well.
Every time you engage the parking brake the rear brakes adjust.
True, good call for caliper that has a park brake built into it.
Disk brakes automatically adjust every time you press on the brake pedal.
This is true for calipers without a park brake
Every time you engage the parking brake the rear brakes adjust.
True, good call for caliper that has a park brake built into it.
Does this vehicle have drum brakes or disk brakes in the rear??
My pathfinders and my wifes Accords had rear drum brakes…and both were adjusted by applying the parking brake. The parking brake would activate a lever that turned the gear on the brake adjuster…pushing the brake shoes out.
My pathfinders and my wifes Accords had rear drum brakes…and both were adjusted by applying the parking brake. The parking brake would activate a lever that turned the gear on the brake adjuster…pushing the brake shoes out.
OIC, it’s always a good day when I learn something new.
Does this vehicle have drum brakes or disk brakes in the rear??
I have an 07 in our shop now which I will look at if I remember.