i was just wondering if it is bad for the transmission to shift it to park without using the emergency brake when the car is parked. I know it is little bit harder to shift it to D especially if the car is parked on steep road. Just curious .

 

umm i havent driven an automatic car for a number of years but from what i remember i dont think you have to put ur emergency brake at all when ur in park unless ur on a hill. hense the world emergency brake.

 

I have never used the emergency brake but it wouldn't hurt i guess

 

It puts a little stress on the parking pin especially on an incline.

 

my old car was an automatic and i would always shift to park first, way for the car to stop then i would put the e-brake on, that way i wouldnt put stress on the e-brake. dont know if thats the best way to do it but it always made me feel better.

 

The "Park" setting is intended for parking. If you're on a hill it can get a little jammed though but it's still built to handle it.

ALWAYS stop the car before shifting to park. Actually, stop the car before shifting out of drive, because going into reverse while the car is moving forward is very hard on the transmission.

If you trust the brake to work you could leave the transmission in Neutral while parked, but I think it has to be in park before you can get the key out of the ignition.

 

The best way to do it is to come to a stop, apply the E-Brake first, then shift to park so that if you are on a hill, the e-brake will keep it from rolling when you take the foot off the brake. If you are on a hill, it will allow you to shift to drive much easier because there should be no stress on the tranny.

 

the parking brake is made to withstand that pressure of steep hills. you only need to apply the e brake if you can't sleep at night. otherwise your fine

 

It's best to use the parking brake. There are several reasons for this. The parking pawl in the tranny is capable of holding the car in place under most conditions, but it can wear outover time and might let go if on a steep hill after years of use. You can reduce this wear by firmly setting the parking brake and shifting into "P" before letting go of the foot brake. The brake allows less "play" than the parking pawl, and when pawl and brake are used together on a Civic, both the front and rear wheels then hold the car in place with almost no rocking. This also means less load on the drivetrain parts like the diff, axleshafts, and CV joints...although they aren't typically prone to problems due to parking.

Setting the brake before shifting into "P" often makes it easier to put the car back into gear later. This means less wear on the shifter parts over time too.

Here in Chicago, roadsalt is used extensively in the winter. If you don't use your parking brake regularly, it can easily get so corroded that it will not release when you finally do need to use it.

As far as wearing out a parking brake...It's designed to provide additional holding force for the parking pawl, and in manual tranny cars without the help of the tranny even. It typically uses the same braking surfaces as the service brakes, but without subjecting them to the same high-speed heat and forces. Holding a parked car doesn't really wear the braking surfaces at all.

Knowing all this, I'd rather keep tabs on the condition of a parking brakeby using it regularlythan have to pull a trannyout to replace a pawl.

 

actually the best way to do it is come to a stop. if ur on a hill hold your brake and put it in park. while still holding your normal brakes, apply the e-brake. this way the e-brake holds the car from rolling a few inches and hitting the park pin. iv parked on a hill before and when u dont use the e-brake your car will roll foward a few inches when you release the brake while in park and then it will stop meaning the car is being held by the parking pin...