Ditto! If I ever hit lotto I'll build another garage, but I don't think the wife would let me build it near the house, so it'd be detached and likely a ways away--actually if I hit the lotto I'd just buy a bit of land nearby and build something huge.
A better way to park!??
- Thread starter miden851
- Start date
I guess these places don't have ice storms or snow to worry about?
I have a 2 car garage that holds 2 cars and my motorcycle, the driveway holds up to 6 more cars, but most often holds 2 cars that belong to my boys. I hope the boys move out in the next 3 years.
I have a 2 car garage that holds 2 cars and my motorcycle, the driveway holds up to 6 more cars, but most often holds 2 cars that belong to my boys. I hope the boys move out in the next 3 years.
If anything.....I'd be hard on the Shift Cable having to force the parking pawl everytime. I've seen Dodge trucks get stuck on grades & need to be rocked to get the trans out of Park.
However.....If the fluid levels are correct, No Engine or Transmission problems could be blamed on parking on a grade.
Most Shift Cable failures I deal with are on Toyota's.....The Bushing that holds the cable end on the Shifter breaks, Fixed hundreds over the years but not really sure if it's related to the parking angle?
The real question is how many people actually engage the parking brake in these situations? I was taught to always use the parking brake regardless of incline.
However, most of my friends never use the parking brake. Ever. In fact, anytime it comes up in conversation they freely admit that it is not something they ever use. "Why do I need to bother if the transmission is in Park? It is redundant and a waste of time!" is the most common statement.
I have seen way too many cars roll away despite being in park. Our neighbors across the street had their brand new car roll down their inclined driveway, across the street, and right in to our house one time. No major damage done to the house, but could have been disastrous if kids had been playing in the street or something.
However, most of my friends never use the parking brake. Ever. In fact, anytime it comes up in conversation they freely admit that it is not something they ever use. "Why do I need to bother if the transmission is in Park? It is redundant and a waste of time!" is the most common statement.
I have seen way too many cars roll away despite being in park. Our neighbors across the street had their brand new car roll down their inclined driveway, across the street, and right in to our house one time. No major damage done to the house, but could have been disastrous if kids had been playing in the street or something.
Most people have no idea that the parking pawl can sustain wear and damage. A steep enough driveway can also overcome it. I idle up the driveway, engage the parking brake, shift to neutral, and when I feel the car rest against the brake, I put it in Park. Naturally, the parking brake is a no-brainer with the Focus and Laser. I'm not trusting engine compression to keep the car in the driveway.
I'd use the parking brake AND turn the steering to one side so it can't roll straight back.
Another reason is that it is a lot easier to just leave in the driveway even if there is room in the garage.
I grew up on a steep hill. We had 1 auto and several manuals. it took both the brake and trans to hold cars still. As cline mentioned, trans linkage for the auto took some stress, not that we could ever tell but sometimes it was a bear to tear it out of park. The parking brake cables on the others had to be occasionally tightened, no big deal. The only issue ever was when the center pin shot out of the Ford escort e-brake handle one night and we found the car 100 yards down the road in the trees. It was also still in first gear when found. this thread is likely over-thinking the issue, bitog-style. thumbs up.
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Huh?? Overcome a Parking Pawl?......I don't think so. Every Parking Pawl failure I've ever seen had extenuating circumstances involved.....Like an assembly error or the operator trying to engage Park at speed.
I'm not questioning the use of the parking brake while parking on inclines as it makes it much easier to disengage the Pawl....But actual internal pawl mechanism damage, That's a myth.
Over here we mostly learn to drive manual ("stick") and whilst automatic transmissions are increasing in popularity (mostly DCTs) there are still a lot of manuals. One trick I was taught early on is that to help the parking brake grip, apply the footbrake firmly first, then apply the parking brake. In this way (assuming the car uses the same calipers for the hydraulic and cable-actuated systems) the brakes are 'pre-loaded' by the powerful hydraulic system and the hand lever then holds it in place. Using this technique and having lived in houses with significantly sloping drives, I have never had a car move when parked - ever (this is in 32 years of driving and countless cars owned and rented). And I rarely leave a manual in gear when parked either - I'll only do this when parked on the most extreme of slopes.
My last two cars have been DCTs and my wife is now on her second auto - three of these cars have had electronic parking brakes which self-apply when you turn the engine off; the fourth is my current MINI which still has a hand lever, which I always use, every time I park. I wince every time I see a car left to bump up against its transmission parking pawl. In the MINI I stop, apply the hand lever then switch off the engine; this automatically puts the DCT transmission into 'P'.
Another thing I do when parking is to reverse into the parking space. This was drilled into me in advanced driving tuition and makes a lot of sense. When you reverse into a parking space you get to scan the space as you approach it and line up for it, assessing any risks. Then as you reverse in the only concern you have is anybody opening a door on an adjacent car since the space is not a live highway and no other traffic will be using it. When you then come to leave you drive straight out, into live traffic, with the best visibility you can have and the ability to move quickly away if needs be. I always reverse onto my drive and the company I work for insists that all users of its parking lots reverse-park too. One small downside is that modern cars with "show-me-home" headlights don't show me home! By the same token though, when I unlock my car in a parking lot the lights come on and illuminate my path to the car.
My last two cars have been DCTs and my wife is now on her second auto - three of these cars have had electronic parking brakes which self-apply when you turn the engine off; the fourth is my current MINI which still has a hand lever, which I always use, every time I park. I wince every time I see a car left to bump up against its transmission parking pawl. In the MINI I stop, apply the hand lever then switch off the engine; this automatically puts the DCT transmission into 'P'.
Another thing I do when parking is to reverse into the parking space. This was drilled into me in advanced driving tuition and makes a lot of sense. When you reverse into a parking space you get to scan the space as you approach it and line up for it, assessing any risks. Then as you reverse in the only concern you have is anybody opening a door on an adjacent car since the space is not a live highway and no other traffic will be using it. When you then come to leave you drive straight out, into live traffic, with the best visibility you can have and the ability to move quickly away if needs be. I always reverse onto my drive and the company I work for insists that all users of its parking lots reverse-park too. One small downside is that modern cars with "show-me-home" headlights don't show me home! By the same token though, when I unlock my car in a parking lot the lights come on and illuminate my path to the car.
When I was in Hawaii and Europe, people parked on much worse inclines than this. I have a few friends in additions with driveways like this. Water drainage isn’t an issue, but ice certainly is in the winter. Lol.
I remember in drivers ed, if you had to park on an incline along the street like this, they’d tell you to turn your wheels either away from the curb (then gently back into) when parked up a hill or into when parked down a hill so all the stress is on the car vs the transmission paw and brake. Doesn’t really work if there’s no curbs or you have low profile tires. Strangely enough, I didn’t see anybody park like this when I was in these places.
I remember in drivers ed, if you had to park on an incline along the street like this, they’d tell you to turn your wheels either away from the curb (then gently back into) when parked up a hill or into when parked down a hill so all the stress is on the car vs the transmission paw and brake. Doesn’t really work if there’s no curbs or you have low profile tires. Strangely enough, I didn’t see anybody park like this when I was in these places.
When I lived in CO and visited Golden, the older part of which is fairly hilly, I would continually see people -- with CO license plates, mind you -- parking on inclines without turning their wheels to or out from the curb. I don't know if they used the parking brake, but even I, the expatriate flatlander, knew to use it, and to turn my wheels to or from the curb as an additional safeguard.
That's till taught here and I often see it deployed. Turn towards the kerb if facing downhill or away if facing uphill. The idea being that if the parking brake fails AND the transmission lock/engine compression is overcome then the front wheel will only roll a couple of inches before being stopped, so the car has no time to gain any momentum.
You've clearly never witnessed a '76 Mercury Cougar roll backward down a hill, hearing nothing but CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK coming from the parking pawl until it reached a spot near the bottom where it could catch. I did. It was my brother-in-law's car, parked in front of his mother's house. This is the same hill my mother's '72 Monte Carlo slid down on a snowy, icy day, with parking brake set. Yes, it was steep.
You guys who get on here and claim things are impossible need to step just a few more feet out your front doors occasionally to see the real world...not the one you're seeing when you look at the computer. It's great for you that you've never had it happen, but that doesn't make it impossible. I'm guessing you're the kind of guy who will argue with a fence post. If so, please ignore my posts. Block me, even, because I'm not interested in hearing about how you think something I've seen with my own two eyes is a myth.
Exactly. One of my neighbors leaves his C7 corvette out in the driveway. Keeps the " good stuff " in his three car garage.
For me the better way to park is not to buy or rent a house with a driveway like the OP posted. For me a lot of things go into the decision making process of buying a house, the driveway, garage, and where I can park are on my list.
My dad lives at the bottom of a very steep hill. Almost always pulls his cars in the garage. He had a brand new Chevy truck less than a week and parked it outside so he could wash it later. BOOM a car broke loose from the top of the hill and nailed it right in the driver's side doors. The truck was cursed as it was later bought back by GM for oil consumption
We used to live in a snowy climate. Our driveway was only gently sloped. We used to have freezing rains so slippery our dog couldn't walk down the street without falling down. One day our Volvo was parked on the drive (manual transmission, in gear with parking brake set) and slid out into the street.
Been driving over 40 years, only automatics. I don't believe I ever used a parking brake.
You may wish to look at clinebargers other posts to re-evaluate his perspective on “real world.” Not denying what you witnessed, but the judgment you assessed him by could be called into question.
