Hand(Parking) brake at long stops?

I would advise putting the car in Park. THEN using the handbrake IF you are on an incline as so you don't stress the transmission. If you have your car set to unlock your doors when you put it in Park and you do this often, you might want to change that setting. On fairly level surfaces, the transmission isn't stressed with the weight of the vehicle.

The Prius cuts power to the motor when you apply the brakes. Unlike a standard ICE where the brakes overcome the natural forward propulsion being sent through an automatic transmission (which is minimal, but still enough to make the vehicle crawl forward). No pressure on the brakes = engaging the traction motor.

 

I just stick it in Park, by applying the brake on the dash. I rarely use the handbrake. Only when parking on steep hills etc

 

I was going to start a thread on this too cause I had some questions.

Does it really stress the transmission if the parking brake isn't used?

Aren't there no gears in the Prius?

I notice that the car jerks slightly when put in park and my foot is taken off the brake and I don't use the parking brake.

Is it going to adversely mess up the transmission if I don't use the parking brake to stop the car from rocking a bit when placed in park?

 

This seems to be more of a UK / Commonwealth cultural item, particularly with some custom towards turning off the brake light to reduce blinding glare to the driver sitting behind.

In North American driving culture with automatic transmissions, nearly everyone leaves the car in gear. There is no attempt to shut off the brake light, which isn't any brighter than the glaring advertising and street lights adjacent to the road.

 

I normally just leave my foot on the brake and the engine turns off unless it needs to charge the battery.

 

There is the possibility that the Prius CVT is vastly different than other automatic transmissions, but the way a "transaxle" (a.k.a. front-wheel drive) works in Park is to set one wheel to roll forward and the other to roll backwards. The opposing forces only let the car move a few inches before the opposing stresses prevent further motion.

The down side of this is that on a sufficient incline, you are putting the transaxle under significant stress. Done enough times, the part(s) that establish this set up could fail and leave you with an expensive repair.

The procedure recommended for anyone (not necessarily FWD cars, but anyone) parking on an incline is to use the parking brake BEFORE putting a car into Park and to release the parking brake AFTER taking the car out of Park. This would minimize the stress placed upon the transmission/transaxle as you should have your foot on the brake pedal when shifting the car into and out of Park.

 

Why is it even being questioned? The parking brake keeps the car from moving when it's parked. The engine and transmission is designed to push the car forward and backwards.
There is no brake on the dash, that's the same as shifting into park on a normal automatic. It's simply a little piece of metal keeping the engine and transmission still. - the parking brake is to lock the car i to place, not the transmission lock, not what it's designed for.

When this parking brake is on, it's also best not to put engine torque against it either, just as you wouldn't put car weight against the transmission lock.
Just use things for what they were made for, and not try and find its extreme limits.

 

Maybe the same reason some people need to be told to change their motor oil regularly. I've known people who've cooked a motor long before it should have ever died because they didn't realize such service was needed.

Not saying the OP is that foolish, but a lot of bad practices might be picked up that need to be shed.

 

Well, the "P" transmission "lock" is a hypoid gear, not unlike a steering gear (not rack and pinion). It is slid into its mate to "lock" the transmission by a sononoid. It is not intended to hold the car on an incline, but it will. In my years of driving two different Prius I have seen no "damage" to this system in normal use, including when other owners have reported their car had to be "dragged" out of a garage by a tow truck. But I wouldn't stress my car this way.

Back to the OPs question. With a Prius, you -want- to have the brake pedal on firmly when stopped for some time. This is because it shuts of the fake "transmission creep" built in, saving a bit of energy. It saves more than the brake lights waste. You also want to have the brake lights on, because they provide a good target for the drunks and/or distracted drivers coming up from behind.

So my opinion is use the foot pedal brake, not the "P-brake". I find I can "rest" my foot on it just fine.

 

Simple...if you are parking the car, use the parking brake.
If you are stopping at a red light (this is not parking) use the brake pedal to stop the car and continue to use it to remain stopped.

Mike

 

I'll do something similar at long traffic lights to rest my feet. I always shift to Neutral first and then apply the parking brake. Then I can take my feet off the pedals. When it's time to set off I release the parking brake first and then shift out of Neutral.