Not using the parking brake for a long period of time it'll be more prone to the cable rusting seizing, I think. Best to use it, depressing the parking brake pedal moderately. Spreads the load between the two systems (transaxle parking pawl and parking brake).
I'd think that it not being used much would also be common, and accounted for to an extent. I for one don't really bother unless I'm on an incline, and I'm probably not the only one in flatland area. If I lived in a hilly area, I probably would just set it always, regardless.
When you use the parking brake, not only are you exercising the cable seal, you're also exercising the seal for the parking brake lever on the back of the caliper, which is a good thing.
I've known too many households where the car has gotten old and everyone's afraid to use the park brake because it might seize. We use it every time, even in the garage. That way it becomes second nature.
Just like the muscles in you body, if you don't use them they become atrophied. The mechanisms in the park brake assembly will seize if you don't exercise them. Now, as for the "P" function in the Prius, it is an electro-mechanical device designed to release when the car is shifted to the "D" or "R" positions so that the traction motor is free to rotate. It is a sofistcated design that is necessary in a hybrid drive to make sure there is a positive release of the park assembly without the possibility of mechanical bind on any kind of an incline. It works nothing like a standard automobile park brake pawl.
I always use the parking brake, even in the garage (isn't that why they call it a "parking brake"?). On a level surface I don't crank it down hard... just enough to steady the car and not put pressure on the pawl. On a steep hill I will put additional pressure on the pedal, again, to let the brake hold the car.
That's just silly. It works just like a standard automobile parking pawl, but it's electrically actuated. In my Volt the parking pawl is engaged manually but the park brake is applied electrically. This isn't about what's necessary in a hybrid drive--it's just different ways of doing the same thing.
Nice video. I like the harmonic drive in action there. It doesn't show the pawl though and doesn't really refute my earlier statement. It's a parking pawl engaged using a an (integrated) electric motor.
It's actually a cam lock. It allows it to disengage even if it is parked on a steep incline. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Have you ever had a standard park pawl transmission get stuck in park due to being parked on a hill?
We had a somewhat steep driveway when I was growing up and it took a serious tug on the selector to get out of Park, but never was one fully stuck. I've lived in Michigan for 19 years now and despite having the word "hills" in my mailing address I had trouble finding anything steep enough to use when teaching my kids how to do hill starts .
