Handbrake on or off whilst parked

[obi_waynne]

Do you put your handbrake on when your car is parked?

I have a friend who insists that a car is less likely to suffer a bumper scrape if the handbrake is left off as the car has a small amount of movement against the engine compression (he leaves it in gear)!

What are your thoughts on this? Does it make sense? Could a car still roll down a hill if left in gear with the handbrake off?

 

[HDi fun]

ON ON ON ! ! ! !

I get really hacked off if I lend my car and it's left in Park with handbrake off. Park is there as a last ditch thing on the vague offchance that the handbrake fails. That is all I have to say.

The handbrake is a parking device, not a cornering device

 

[stamford]

Handbrake always on, even when stopped in traffic, avoids any possibility of it being pushed into another car. When parked on a steep hill I will turn the wheels into the kerb, handbrake on and might even leave it in gear if really steep, more so when I had the Land Rover.

 

[T9 man]

Definitely ON!! even though the car has an automatic gearbox I would never trust the "Park" position on the car to keep it stationary on a hill etc.

 

[HDi fun]

Definitely ON!! even though the car has an automatic gearbox I would never trust the "Park" position on the car to keep it stationary on a hill etc.

It will hold it still but it's only there as a synonymous equivalent to leaving a manual car in gear. Just a backup, as you rightly say, to the parking brake itself.

If you park on a steep hill and use park in place of H you'll find it really hard to move the selector from the P position.

 

[jc denton]

If my brakes are hot then no!

I have a theory about letting the engine hold the car though; If you put it in 1st & let it roll back until it stops, are you not stretching the cambelt the wrong way?

 

[HDi fun]

If my brakes are hot then no!

I have a theory about letting the engine hold the car though; If you put it in 1st & let it roll back until it stops, are you not stretching the cambelt the wrong way?

Hadn't thought of this but then again the cambelt is taking a huge amount of strain all the time the car is being driven. If it's about direction then use Reverse facing downhill and First facing uphill when parking.

If it can stand 6000rpm in usage with constant torque reversal every 180 degrees on crank rotation I doubt that it'll fail when parked.

I still have a thing about engines with chain driven cams

 

[pgarner]

on for me but one of the guys i share lifts with at work leaves his off unless hes on a hill. just leaves it in 1st.
weirdly as soon as he jumps back in the car the handbrake goes on and out of gear

 

[st24]

On thats what its for its a parking brake if it was not meant to be used it would not be there.

 

[Jakeymd]

I didnt know people didnt put their handbrake's on. On.

 

[seppo]

Handbrake on AND car in 1st gear.

 

[obi_waynne]

So most people use the handbrake and the minority don't bother.

 

[st24]

Its probably the same minority that don,t use the steering wheel.

 

[obi_waynne]

Its probably the same minority that don,t use the steering wheel.

Or seatbelts, or their brains!

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Only an uninformed fool would not park in the lowest gear,handbrake on and turn wheels towards the gutter on hills .