The proper way to stop & park

It is correct.

The brakes are designed to stop and hold the car. Let them do that, and keep pressure off the parking pawl.

Have always heard and been taught to use that very procedure but ONLY when parking the car on grade. The theory, apparently, is that parking on grade will have the pawl bearing the weight of the car to keep it immobile using the parking/emergency brake prevents that AND prevents the weight of the car, on a grade, from "locking up the transmission due to the weight.

Having had a parking brake seize up from lack of use I find myself using the parking brake occasionally "just because" even though I'm not parking on a grade but 95% (or better) of the time I don't bother.

What does the owner's manual say? I'll admit that I have never read THAT section

cameo wrote in news:k36itf$8oh$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

It doesn't matter how you do it; no damage will result in any case.

My personally-preferred method:

1) Stop vehicle using foot brake. Keep foot on foot brake. 2) Shift into Park. 3) Apply parking brake. 4) Release foot brake.

Following the procedure using the parking brake will also protect the transmission on flat grade if someone bumps your car, say while parking.

Use it all the time and you shouldn't ever get any "lack of use" related issues.

Just last Saturday in my local newspaper's Car Talk column this very subject was addressed. The boys said (as almost all of you have said so far) to first apply the parking brake, then shift into Park. This is to be done particularly when parking on a grade for the very reasons you've cited.

That's exactly how I used to do it because that's how it felt natural to me.

There's a certain logic to that...

To answer my own question I took the time to scope out that previously unread section of my Honda Owner's Manual. Yep! Set the parking brake, then place transmission in Park.

Now for the extra point question...

"What percentage of all car owners with an automatic transmission actually follow this procedure?:

a) Less than 5%

b) Less than 1%

c) Less than .0002%

d) What procedure is that?

Except for the winter months in the snow belt... Using that parking brake might strand you 'til spring..

JT

GrumpyOne wrote in news:k38o0i$12f$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

As long as the parking brake is used regularly, it will never seize, even in the Northeast.

Freeze, not seize...

News wrote in news:fYqdncla5c-nEsXNnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@megapath.net:

If you mean water-freeze (ice in the sheath), that can only occur if the rubber bellows splits, and allows water entry /just/ the right way. Which I've never seen on a Honda.

And even if that did happen, it would only be frozen until mid-day, at which time it will usually unfreeze enough to allow release of the cable.

Use your parking brake, even in winter.

Tegger wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.alt.net:

I guarantee you that the parking brake can freeze at -25F or colder regardless of how regularly you use it or how you use it...Obviously, it won't happen each and every time you use it but it can. Hondas, Fords, Chevys, Mercedes....Makes no difference ... Will happen less often with all wheel discs but can happen...DaveD

Dave Dodson wrote in news:XnsA0D2E3C6D7FA3DaveD@

209.112.128.246:

We're talking /specifically/ about Hondas, here.

When parking brakes seize due to water being frozen, it's because the rubber bellows at the end of the cable has split and allowed water into the cable sheath. If anything, freezing will happen MORE often with rear discs, because drums generally don't have rubber bellows at their cable ends, but the cable sheath goes right up against the drum.

Absolutely untrue.

I learned, (the hard way), very early to avoid ovenight use of the parking brake if the roads were at all wet, slushy etc.

Hell, I've even experienced tires freezing to the slush...

JT

GrumpyOne wrote in news:k3dh8k$ks1$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

I have no idea where you are, or what kind of cars you've been drving over the years, but the one-and-only time I've ever experienced a frozen parking brake was on a 1986 Toyota MR2. In that case, the rubber bellows had split.

I've taken to not using the parking brake when there's a chance the brakes are wet. once i forgot and had to whack the drum with a sledge hammer to break it free. Some people with slopes for a parking spot , put a stop or two in the spot to roll over and then roll back onto. one might sand it.

I once had my parking brake freeze, and it was not ice in the sheath. It had been a wet drive to Ottawa (heavy rain), and then it turned cold after arrival. The right rear brake shoe froze to the drum. It certainly did not unfreeze at mid-day. We had to jack it up, take the wheel off and use a heat gun on the drum.