Got it! I thought that might be it. Thank you! Is it safe to use it every time I park? I have always had a habit of using the emergency brake when I park because I hate the vehicle shaking when someone gets off. But I just bought this car and I want to do everything right. For now, I've just been leaving the tires slightly turned.
absolutely. in fact, toyota recommends it. push down to lock, and push down again to release. i prefer to step on the parking brake, then let off the regular brake to make sure it's tight enough, then put it in park.
ok so the parking brake is the same as the emergency brake I'm guessing. Perfect. That's exactly how I've always done it as well.
Yes ... it really is a parking brake, to keep the car stopped when it is stopped. They try to make the regular brakes redundant enough that you probably won't ever need to use it as an "emergency" brake to stop the car (this is pretty much true of all modern cars). If you ever do need to use it for stopping, be careful: It won't stop the car quickly at all: it acts only on the back wheels, and has only a cable linkage without any of the hydraulics and power assist of the regular brakes. A braking car shifts its weight off the back wheels, putting a real limit on how quickly you can brake without simply skidding the back wheels. If those points are true of pretty much all cars, there's an extra point about this parking brake to take note of: it is a push-on/push-off style. That means if you actually use it in an emergency, and you get excited and stomp too hard and skid the rear wheels, you won't be able to just let your foot up to end the skid. You'll have to remember to push-to-release. The best approach for using it to slow the car (you can practice this in some non-emergency settings until it doesn't feel weird) is to start with a quick double-push so the push-to-release is already released; then you can control it by pressing more or less hard, just like the normal brake (... as long as you don't let it all the way up, then press again, which would engage the ratchet again). -Chap
Thanks Chapman. I agree. Parking brake is a more appropriate term for the use that I give it at least. I have never used it for anything other than parking. It never even crosses my mind and I would probably just make the emergency worse by attempting to use that brake.
