Does do any damage to the transmission? I have heard it does, but I am not sure.
2007-07-26 16:48:39 · 6 answers · asked by N 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
Hey nick, great question, just had to go over this with a customer today. Most people don't know the correct method of parking an automatic.
Here's the deal. The transmission Park selection is not designed to handle full loading of the vehicle's weight on an incline. There are numerous designs but basically a parking pawl or a rod that holds all that weight can get damaged from incorrectly parking. It can even shear off causing complete loss of park. So, here's the correct way to put a vehicle in park.
A) Hold your foot down on the brake while the vehicle is still in gear.
B) Apply the parking brake firmly and THEN put the vehicle in park. That way, the weight of the vehicle is being held in place by the parking brake mechanisms, NOT the transmission. The transmission becomes a back up of sorts.
What you see most folks do is stop, put the car in park, it jolts forward a little when they let off the brake and then most people put the parking brake on. Some don't even bother with that! So when you get back in the car, it's difficult to get out of park because the weight of the vehicle is resting on the transmission park components.
NEVER, NEVER trust a transmission, manual or automatic to hold a car in place. That's what the parking brake is for. And as such, make sure your parking brake works!!
2007-07-26 17:01:01 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Kinda sorta good answers except for one thing. Put the parking brake on, then go to neutral to let the weight of the car rest on the brake , let off the brakes to make sure the parking brake is doing its designed job, then put it in park.
That way youre vehicle is being held by the parking brake, and then you have the transmission as a backup.
2007-07-26 22:08:04 · answer #2 · answered by Lee K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It puts the linkage in a bind. The best way to do it, is to stop the car and curb the wheels and then set the emergency brake, and only then put the car into park. That will keep the pressure of the linkage. good luck.
2007-07-26 16:52:42 · answer #3 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The gears in the transmission lock against the crankshaft. Because the engine is off, it doesn't rotate so the transmission doesn't rotate which in turn prevents the wheels from rotating. In theory, if you were to push against it hard enough, you could get the car moving, you'd just have to overcome the inertia of the crankshaft.
2007-07-26 16:56:55 · answer #4 · answered by eaglefox200 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The torque in the drivetrain resulting from the gravitational pull (linear motion converted to rotational motion) preloads the gears in the transmission.
2007-07-26 16:57:21 · answer #5 · answered by Scott H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is a pin that locks in. with weight on it it is hard to shift..
you should apply the park brake before you put the transmision in park..
2007-07-26 16:54:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋