Never,
I was taught not to by my instructor.
Bring car to halt, handbrake on, into nuetral, engine off.
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>>Always - first gear and handbrake - then clutch down before starting the engine, which puts less strain on the starter
As Avant says.
My contribution to this debate is to ask 'Why not?' When you come to a stop somewhere you are already in gear with the clutch pedal depressed, so why not just turn off the engine and then apply the handbrake. To take it out of gear is another operation.
I simply don't trust handbrakes on hills, and I often look through the window of parked cars and see that they're mostly in neutral, and if the handbrake 'fails' in some way it's going to be bad news. I may have mentioned this before, but overnight my brother's car rolled off his drive across a busy road and onto the drive of the house opposite! By sheer luck it hit nothing. he only became aware of it the next morning when the neighbour came over to tell him. That, ironically, was on an old Saab that forced you to engage reverse gear before you could remove the key but the system was faulty and he had not properly engaged reverse.
Just leave it in gear. What's the problem?
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For me it depends. If the hill is steep enough to make me think it might be sensible then I do. And every time I start the car, before turning the ignition I move the gear lever left/right and also have the clutch pedal depressed too. Leaving in gearing is one thing, but being stuck in gear is something else.
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Until this last change of car, which is my 1st to have rear disc brakes i have never bothered leaving a car in gear. But the Kia handbook specifically states that you should do this, and to be honest the handbrake doesn't instill a great deal of confidence in you with the way it "feels", but to be fair it has never moved enough for it to be holding on the transmission.
Also Kia state that you must not hold the button in whilst applying the handbrake, which after 30 years of doing the opposite takes some remembering !
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Also Kia state that you must not hold the button in whilst applying the handbrake,
Mazda says the same. I do but make sure I pull car after releasing the button.
And if on a hill of enough incline (my decision which) I leave it first or reverse as appropriate.
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Pat L said
My contribution to this debate is to ask 'Why not?' When you come to a stop somewhere you are already in gear with the clutch pedal depressed so why not just turn off the engine and then apply the handbrake. To take it out of gear is another operation.
I'd struggle with that. My routine is stop, neutral and handbrake then leave engine running until lights, radio, aircon, hrw and any other auxiliaries are off. Might also need some time to simmer the turbo!!
Last items on memory checklist are ignition off and first gear engaged.
Edited by Bromptonaut on 14/06/2009 at 22:56
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I have done for many years so its now force of habit for me to do so.
However my Vectra with all round discs has a warning sticker specifically states that i must do, but also to apply the handbrake without pressing the ratchet button on the hand brake, and to also press the brake pedal whilst doing so.
I dont remeber all the time (infact ive probs only done it once or twice) as i have never throughtout all my years of driving applied the handbrake in this way.
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My car's a Saab auto so it always, obviously, gets left in Park. When I drive my fiancee's Ka, I always leave it in first. She's more or less got used to me doing this now...
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Always. Come to stop, handbrake on, lift clutch. Thus no strain on engine.
On a horizontal surface, if leaving car parked for prolonged period, no handbrake.
Last year somebody parked her Golf at the top of the road where my mother lives. After being parked for half an hour, it rolled down the rather steep hill, and drove into my mother's garage. Fortunately the only result was a written off car, a written off garage door, and a damaged car.
Nobody should park on a hill without leaving a car in gear.
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No.
I think the difference is also geographical, as in Germany one is taught to leave it both in gear and handbrake and in my time that would have been checked when doing the test. A lot of people modify this quite quickly though and delete the handbrake when parked on a flattish level. Similarly one is taught that when starting a car one should press the clutch AND have the car in neutral. Maybe VW has less rolling car problems at home then over here..
On my drive, which has an ever so slight dip, I sometiomes rely only on Newton to keep my car from moving, but only when I am doing things in and around the car (i.e. washing...).
So how many in here press the clutch when starting the car... I am mentally unable to turn the key without my left foot stretched out.
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One thing... if you leave it in gear and with the handbrake on it would be difficult to tow you away! Unless your car is RWD that is!
Edited by b308 on 15/06/2009 at 16:46
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>>One thing... if you leave it in gear and with the handbrake on it would be difficult to tow you away! Unless your car is RWD that is!
Nowadays they just lift the whole car. In the olden days they would just open the locked door.
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Years ago. My dad was sat in the living room, and saw this Vauxhall Nova roll down the street (on a hill) and into the field opposite.
The handbrake cable had snapped, and it was only by chance the steering lock was on which caused it to roll into the field, other wise it would have gone straight down the street into maybe oncoming traffic
Also Years ago my dad was sat in the same living room (he does a lot of sitting) and saw a Citroen (cant remember what it was, but it was a big one) roll down the same street and into next doors car.
Its handbrake cable had also snapped, and the owner came running after it. It turned out that the Citroen would not let him select a gear when the handbrake was on, and my dad had just moved his brand new Volvo onto the drive 5 min before the car rolled down the street!!
Edited by redviper on 15/06/2009 at 16:59
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>>So how many in here press the clutch when starting the car... I am mentally unable to turn the key without my left foot stretched out.
I always do, and in the Passat you can't start the engine unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed.
The consensus seems to be to leave it gear (manual cars), but some posters seem relucatnt to do so - why?
And yes, if I'm parking for more than a week I don't apply the handbrake to stop it seizing up in wet weather.
Pat
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I always too, press the clutch down, i have a routine that is very hard to break off
1. Clutch Down
2. take the car out of gear (its left in gear (R or 1) when parked)
3. Clutch still down, Start.
4 move into gear handbrake off
Ive done it since i learnt to drive and its second nature now, i probably do it without thinking about it
Edited by redviper on 15/06/2009 at 20:00
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Years ago. My dad was sat in the living room and saw this Vauxhall Nova roll down the street (on a hill) and into the field opposite. saw a Citroen (cant remember what it was but it was a big one) roll down the same street and into next doors car.
Your dad should have sold tickets,
Two snapped handbrake cables?
Hmm - perhaps he was!
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I had a 67 Mini and it snapped both handbrake cables at the same moment when it was around 6 years old. (actually there was a fraction of a second between the two twangs)
Fortunately I was in the car pulling the lever at the time. Fitted new ones the same night - laying on frozen ground in the dark - a torch held in my teeth.
Edited by oilrag on 15/06/2009 at 20:45
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i never leave the car in gear, but my misses does all the time , its an italian thing apparently , is it the 7 hills? i dont know but im driving when we get do derbyshire
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Serously, its true.
The two incidents where years apart and AFAIK they are the only two incidents.
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Always - first gear and handbrake - then clutch down before starting the engine which puts less strain on the starter.
Not always true. It depends whether the drag from the gearbox exceeds the drag from the release bearing compressing the clutch spring.
Try letting the engine idle in neutral, then depress the clutch. Does the idling speed increase or decrease? I've known cars some it did, some it didn't.
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Same here, but maybe more damage if the car is shunted and the transmission takes a knock?
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