Do you use parking brake?

Same in New Jersey.

 

If there is a spare........

 

Now that has to be one of those questions they try to get you on the driving test with.

Been living in Cali for a long time and never heard about that.law. Learn something new every day I guess!

 

Law section

 

"A condition requiring the windshield wipers to be in continuous use due to rain, mist, snow, fog, or other precipitation or atmospheric moisture"

So if your wipers are set to intermittent you don't have to turn on your headlights

 

This sounds like an opportunity for a court case to more clearly define what the law really means. Are you ready to be the guinea pig?

 

Actually I was planning to challenge the other part of the section:

"shall be operated during darkness"

as to what measure is used to define darkness? I plan to pull out my charts for civil twilight, nautical twilight and astronomical twilight and explain it all to the judge

 

Some manufacturer was turning on the headlights when you turned on the wipers. Nissan?

 

I always run with my DRLs anyway. Now they need a law defining rainy conditions. There seems to be no law as to when the wipers should be on. As long as my DRLs are on, I don't need the wipers. That there are a lot of Californians that are not even aware of the law. Absolutely.Now as for DRLs, some drive right into total darkness with only the DRLs. Not paying attention, as the dash seems normal. What's needed is a automatic Headlight switch.

 

Only slightly off-topic, in my Gen 2 I quite often put it in Park when I know I will be at a red light for two or three minutes. It's an easy push of the button, and I find it's nice to take my foot off the brake and relax a little bit. And putting it back into drive takes less than a second when it's time to go again (if I am first in line at a red light I either keep in in drive, or I make sure to pay attention to when the light is about to change).

This week I am driving a rented Gen 4 Two while I am in Detroit. The first day driving it I was at a red light, and per my usual habit I put it in Park, and to my surprise the doors unlocked! I looked in the manual and confirmed this is normal behavior, but it is also said this can be disabled by the dealer.

 

There are 5 different door lock / unlock features that can be customized on my Gen3. All of them are both dealer and user customizable, through OBDII and Navigation and/or Display Audio system. The one you mention is the default setting for just one of those features.

For security, my car is now set to never auto-unlock. Driver and passengers must unlock their own doors, unless the driver pushes the unlock-all button.

I would be surprised of the Gen4 feature set shrank.

 

A couple of years ago this issue was discussed by Gary Richards, the traffic reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, who has a daily column on Bay Area traffic issues. It was specifically mentioned that DRLs do NOT satisfy the headlights-while-windshield-wiper law, since tail lights are not on with the DRL, and increasing the car's visibility one one of rationales for the law. No, I cannot quote chapter and verse of the vehicle code.

And the Advanced DOES have an automatic headlight switch that turns on the headlights when it gets dark. I don't know if the Premium has it.

 

No, the Prime Plus does not (tmk), good point about tail lights, I'll have to look.

 

I am trying to figure out why the parking brake is not being set in my Prime. The directions on page 337 of the manual state:

"To set the parking brake, fully depress the parking brake pedal with your left foot while depressing the brake pedal with your right foot."

But I did that, and the red "PARK" indicator would not stay on as soon as I let my left foot off the parking brake pedal.

I've tried all kinds of combinations of actions:

1. Left and right foot down together, then up together
2. Left down first, then right, then both up together
3. Left and right down first, then either foot up before the other
4. Left down, right down and then up, then left up

but none of them will keep the red "PARK" indicator on, because as soon as I let my left foot off the parking brake pedal, the red "PARK" indicator turns off.

So the directions are unclear to me. Why is it not working, and what is the correct sequence?

 

Is the parking brake pedal following your foot back up as you take your foot off?

It is supposed to remain depressed, and only come back up after you press it with your foot a second time.

If it comes right back up after the first push, something would seem to be mechanically wrong with the ratchet mechanism that holds it down. Maybe some foreign object got in.

Or does the pedal stay down, but just the warning light goes out? Does the car drive sluggishly while the pedal is down? That would suggest the brake is actually engaged, but the warning light switch may be maladjusted.

-Chap

 

I am a little confused. I have a parking brake that can be set by stepping on it with my left foot. I also have a parking brake button that I can depress with the first finger on my right hand. I also have a start/stop button that I can also depress. I assume that if I stop the car with the start/stop button that it also engages the parking pawl. If I press the parking brake button, for example, when I stop to pick up my mail, it also engages the parking pawl and puts the car in neutral. I have never stepped on the parking brake mainly because it seems redundant and I am afraid that I will forget that it is on when I put the transmission in drive or reverse the next time I want to drive the car as most cars can easily override the parking brake. Are my assumptions correct?

 

So far, so good.

Getting slightly colder. That isn't a parking brake button. It is a park button.

Yes, you're back on track. That button engages the parking pawl. Not the brake.

It is redundant. You have a parking pawl in the transmission, and you have a pedal that applies the brakes. Two independent ways of keeping your car from rolling into stuff. That's how the safety standards wanted it.

The car will remind you. In pretty much every car, you get the warning light at least. I think your Prime will also buzz. Give it a try!

A nice thing about using the brake, especially on any grade, is that it holds the car right where it is as you park and get out. Not like the parking pawl, which drops into discrete notches and gives that awkward roll-clunk-bounce if you haven't paired it with the brake.

-Chap

 

When the car's off, it's automatically in "park", which means the transmission is locked, the car won't roll away. But it's not exactly solidly stopped. It has a play of maybe 2~3 inches back and forth. And, if you only always put the car in park, I would think you're stressing the transmission, especially on steep hills. The "parking brake" (activated by depressing the pedal by your left foot) locks the rear brakes.

In my opinion, parking brake use is always warranted, but in particular when parking on hills.

 

Yes. For each millimeter that I raise my left foot back up, the spring mechanism for the parking brake pedal follows it.

I have yet to get that to happen. Am I supposed to push down SUPER hard on either pedal? I'm afraid that doing that would cause damage.

I don't see how. It's a brand new car.

The pedal does not stay down, and the PARK light turns off when I raise my left foot.

 

Put the car in park or turn it off. Then press the parking brake pedal with your left foot, pretty hard. It should stay down. Then press again and it should come back up. Don't touch the regular brake pedal during this time.

I use the parking brake only on steep hills, which is to say only on my driveway when I'm washing the car. It really isn't even necessary then.