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Automatic? Do you use the handbrake?Views : 2123 Replies : 58Users Viewing This Thread : |
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Jun 17th, 2024, 17:55 | #1 |
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Automatic? Do you use the handbrake?
Almost all previous cars I've owned have had manual gearboxes - the one exception was a C30, but that was still fitted with a traditional hand brake.
My current car, a 2009 XC90, has a foot pedal activated brake, and pull-handle to release. I think because of this, we're not in the habit of using the handbrake everytime we stop or park. I'm curious - do others use the foot-hand-brake, or just put it in Park and leave it? And if you so put it in park, if parking on a slope, do you turn the engine off before letting the foot brake off - then await what my kids call, The Lurch? Seriously though, is relying just on the gearbox to hold the car going to cause any issues? |
Jun 17th, 2024, 18:33 | #2 |
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Firstly, 'v_forty', it is a legal requirement to set the handbrake when parking on a public road in any car - be it automatic or manual. The insurance implications alone if the car rolled away and caused an accident, and it could be shown that the brake had not been set, don't bear thinking about.
That said, I would tend to use the handbrake anyway, (and we have had only autos for 30 years now) not only for safety, but also to prevent it seizing in the 'off' position. The brake design on most Volvo models (drum in disc) can be problematic if neglected. I try not to allow the pawl to stop the car, although on rare occasions it may roll forward taking up the slack, especially if parking on a steep slope. I understand that doing so places a greater load on it for which it was designed, and in extreme cases may result in it breaking. In that event, internal damage necessitating major gearbox repairs will inevitably ensure. Handbrake shoes are much cheaper to replace than major transmission repairs! Regards, John.
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Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana ..... Last edited by john.wigley; Jun 17th, 2024 at 18:40. Reason: Add insurance implications. |
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 15:24 | #3 | |
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 15:26 | #4 |
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I never use the parking brake in my automatics. Ever.
In manuals, the only function of the parking brake is if you stop with the engine running, such as at red light. When parking to leave the car, you put it in first, and leave the parking brake off.
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 17:36 | #5 | |
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Yes, in older manual cars, I too always parked in gear, reverse when facing downhill, first up, with the front wheels turned in towards the curb, but only as a 'belt and braces' measure in addition to, not instead of, setting the handbrake. Why would manufacturers continue to fit them if they are unnecessary, when they could save £x per car by not doing so? In the days of rod, cable and single circuit hydraulic brakes, they also fulfilled the additional purpose of being a secondary or emergency brake should the main brakes fail. Indeed, on some very early four-wheel brake systems, the brakes were uncoupled, the pedal operating on one axle and a hand lever the other. Regards, John.
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Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana ..... Last edited by john.wigley; Jun 22nd, 2024 at 17:40. |
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 18:13 | #6 | |
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Leaving manuals on an incline relying only on engine braking through first gear is reckless and dangerous, the car will creep forward as the cylinder pressure leaks past the valves and piston rings. Yes, leaving it in gear is a good backup for the parking brake, but there are no circumstances where it is a sensible or legal substitute.
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 18:46 | #7 | |
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The rear axle on my car is leaking onto the NS handbrake shoes making the handbrake ineffective, it certainly won't hold it on even a moderate slope, so really it's only the gear that holds it.🤭
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Jun 23rd, 2024, 04:25 | #8 | |
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I just don't understand this bizarre refusal so many people have to use the parking brake. I can only assume it goes back to when they're learning, and it becomes cemented in their mind as the "learner's brake" and having mastered the clutch, they refuse to use it ever after. |
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 22:04 | #9 |
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Jun 22nd, 2024, 17:15 | #10 | |
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Regards, John.
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Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana ..... |
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