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Parking brake questions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by alasnik, Dec 26, 2006.

  1. alasnik

    alasnik Junior Member

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    Hey there,

    Three questions about the parking brake:

    1) I park (downwards) on a moderately steep hill each day; I could park on the flat street where I live, but I've gotten my old car hit there due (I think) to a careless neighbor pulling out of his driveway... and it's a narrow street. In contrast, the downward-sloping street area where I park doesn't have houses facing in that direction, so there are no cars pulling out. BUT... is it bad to keep my car parked here all the time with (obviously) the emergency brake engaged?

    1a) When I do park here, I find it at least mildly disconcerting that the car lurches a bit after I engage the parking brake and then remove my foot from the regular brake. Should there really be that much discernible slack? I worry about parking too close and having my tire hit the curb when I release the main brake :(

    2) I've seen posts here about folks upset that they accidentaly drove with the parking brake on. Why does the car let you start moving with the parking brake on? Shouldn't it prevent you from even going into "D" with the parking brake engaged?
     
    #1 alasnik, Dec 26, 2006
  2. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ThatAdamGuy @ Dec 26 2006, 05:46 AM) [snapback]366644[/snapback]</div>
    No, thats what the brake is for.

    Thats normal, the car is being held in place by the service brakes, and theres just a little bit of settling down onto the parking brake.

    No offense to anybody who'se done this but anybody who drives with the parking brake on has pulled a dummy. There's no reason for this, first of all when the brake is fully engaged the car will barely move. Second theres a big red light on the dash when its on. No excuse for driving with the brake on.

    Anyways, the brake should be applied each and every time you park. Contrary to popular belief the transmission is not designed to hold the car in one place when its in park without the brake. Just get into the habit of engaging it when you park and disengaging it when you start, it'll become automatic.
     
    #2 SW03ES, Dec 26, 2006
  3. YoDaddyAlex

    YoDaddyAlex Member

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    if you have the parking brake on, you will see in big red capital letters, BRAKE on the front display
     
    #3 YoDaddyAlex, Dec 26, 2006
  4. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ThatAdamGuy @ Dec 26 2006, 02:46 AM) [snapback]366644[/snapback]</div>
    I agree. But I don't think any car does this. Curiously, I had a dream last night in which I was driving a VW Beetle with no top, and the parking brake (an enormous lever like the throttle lever on a train, and mounted on the front fender) was engaged, so the car had a very hard time moving.
     
    #4 daniel, Dec 26, 2006
  5. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    One thing you should do is apply the parking brake and let the car roll to a stop, then shift to "Park". This keeps the "park pawl" free and reduces the chance it will get jammed in place.
    When you are ready to go, apply foot brake hard, shift to "D" or "R", release foot brake, release park brake, and go.

    Oh, and if you think the car moving with the park brake on is worrying, the anti-Prius, when in "AUTO" (automatic 4WD mode) will lurch 1-2" when the engine is shut off, even with the park brake applied firmly and the transmission in park. That had me going for a while - turned out it's the 4WD (front drive) clutch releasing and is normal for that vehicle. The 1-2" of movement is normal for emergency brake slack. Normally you wouldn't notice how far it moves, but my garage is tight, and with the door open you can clearly see the distance it moves. Moral, don't park up against immovable objects! ;)

    I have driven a few vehicles that will release the park brake when the tranmission is put into "D". They were older models, and I doubt any new car will do this, for liability reasons. Imagine if the car is idling and a child shifts it to "D". With the parking brake properly engaged the car will not move (unless they are big enough to depress the accellerator). In fact, many cars (all now I think) require you to have your foot on the brake before the car can be shifted out of park.
     
    #5 David Beale, Dec 26, 2006
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nope

    It's fine. If you want to prevent that surge, apply the parking prawl as well as the parking brake before you let go of the brake pedal

    That shouldn't be an issue. If you shift into D and let the car creep, the parking brake should stop that creep and thus should be an indication of the parking brake engaged.

    However, if you're so used to pressing the accelerator immediately after shifting, then there's not much to do other than tell you to look at the dashboard and make sure no red lights are on.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Dec 26, 2006
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