Parking Brake vs Parking Button

True. A hand brake is easier to control for emergency braking, but in the absence of any other means to slow down, a foot brake becomes an attractive alternative.

Tom

 

It's the parking pawl that is being relieved of force... and that, on most transmissions, is a tiny metal pin. I've had a transmission whose parking pawl has sheared because the car was parked only using the transmission on a hill. I started the car, moved it out of Park, and with a loud metallic *PING*, the pin sheared off. That was the last time the car parked anywhere without using the parking brake.

 

The parking brake is so weak that you don't have to worry about rear wheel lockup. Try it at highway speed when no one is behind you, and see how hard you have to press on the parking brake pedal to show a modest reduction in speed.

Even if you apply the parking brake pedal with your full strength, you'll be waiting a long time until the car actually stops, and might feel like Fred Flintstone who had to stick his left foot out to help the stopping process.

 

Yes, I am not suggesting you try this on snowy/icy roads. Nor do I suggest that you turn the steering wheel hard, as you engage the parking brake at speed.

Try it on a dry highway while steering straight ahead. Once you see how the car behaves under those conditions, then it is up to your view of safety vs. adventure if you want to try something more advanced.

 

It's mostly a parking brake, not an emergency brake. Use it every time you park to keep the cable un-rusted and allow it to self-adjust so that it will be more likely to function if you ever do need it as an emergency brake.

 

Just call 911.

 

This is true on many cars, but not for the Prius. The Prius parking pawl is a robust helical gear that screws into place. If you manage to break it, you have probably broken something else in the process.

Tom

 

Makes me wonder, what's the first thread ever in this forum? Whoa, there are some dated from 1969

The first non-1969 post had to do with disabling the reverse beep (and seatbelt beep).

On a more relevant note, it's good to know that my practice of Pressing the parking button before hitting the parking brake isn't really taxing my transmission!