Manual transmission parking method?

[JG1000]

I was riding in my buddies Jeep the other day and when he parked his Jeep he turned off the engine, engaged the parking brake, then went into first gear. This is my first time I ever seen anyone park like that and when I talked to him about it he told me that's how he was taught. I've been driving manuals for a while now and I've always been taught since day one to park by shifting into first gear or reverse depending on the hill or flat ground, applying parking brake, then shutting off the engine and letting go of the clutch. I was wondering if anyone on here ever parks their manual vehicles by the first method and if the proper right way to park a manual was to engage the gear first or the parking brake first also shutting off the engine before anything seems very strange to me

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[OldGuyNewJeep]

I was riding in my buddies Jeep the other day and when he parked his Jeep he turned off the engine, engaged the parking brake, then went into first gear. This is my first time I ever seen anyone park like that and when I talked to him about it he told me that's how he was taught. I've been driving manuals for a while now and I've always been taught since day one to park by shifting into first gear or reverse depending on the hill or flat ground, applying parking brake, then shutting off the engine and letting go of the clutch. I was wondering if anyone on here ever parks their manual vehicles by the first method and if the proper right way to park a manual was to engage the gear first or the parking brake first also shutting off the engine before anything seems very strange to me

I park by your method, but taught my kids your buddy’s method. Why? Have you ever shifted to 1st, applied parking brake, *forgotten to turn off the engine*, and then released the clutch? I have. Thank goodness my parking brake was in good working order! (It’s been decades since I’ve made that mistake, but I did make it more than once while learning to drive.)

I can picture one of my kids putting my Jeep through the garage wall by making the same newbie mistake I made at their age. So, I taught them neutral, brake, engine, then shift into gear. Note that when city parking on flat ground I park in neutral in case some numb nut bumps me.

By the way, either method is fine. You can shift gears willy-nilly with the engine off and no clutch; it won’t hurt a thing. My Grandpa used to let me do that in his CJ when I was little. He also let me work the manual windshield wiper!

 

[HuckleMonster]

No manual anymore but I would just shut the engine down, throw it in first and get out. Parking brake on a hill maybe. I'm sure eventually I would have killed an old lady, run over a nun and ten kids but my Jeeps, Scout. never moved. Go figure.

 

[rfm8os]

Have you ever shifted to 1st, applied parking brake, *forgotten to turn off the engine*, and then released the clutch? I have.

I have been driving manuals since I was 18 and I have definitely done that once or twice. Same as you my P-Brake was applied already so no major harm. I generally follow the procedure of park, p-brake, first gear, and then kill engine. If I am facing downhill on a really steep hill I might put it in reverse instead of first.

 

[JG1000]

So the reason why I ask the last question is he was saying that you should engage the parking brake first before shifting into gear so the weight of the jeep will be on the parking brake and not the gear. I mean I guess that kinda makes sense but I was always taught to do gear first then parking brake and pretty much everyone else I know does the same. Just wondering which order is considered the right way or better way I guess

 

[rfm8os]

So the reason why I ask the last question is he was saying that you should engage the parking brake first before shifting into gear so the weight of the jeep will be on the parking brake and not the gear. I mean I guess that kinda makes sense but I was always taught to do gear first then parking brake and pretty much everyone else I know does the same. Just wondering which order is considered the right way or better way I guess

Well your foot is already on the brake pedal so not sure putting the p-brake on first does much more as far as stabilization of the vehicle than that but just seems like a logical order to do it in.

 

[JeepDave]

I was unaware of parking methodology. I have no idea what I do.

 

[AlamedaJeep]

I was unaware of parking methodology. I have no idea what I do.

Same here. I don't know what I do, but I'll try to notice next time.

As long as it's in gear, parking break on, engine off, and you don't jerk through the garage wall or into anything, all's well!

 

[OregonJeepGuy]

Interesting. I’m 71 now (yikes), driven manuals (cars and trucks) almost my entire driving life, and I’ve always done it your buddy’s way without even thinking about it. I don’t remember anyone teaching me about it, it just made sense I guess.

 

[Gregj]

So the reason why I ask the last question is he was saying that you should engage the parking brake first before shifting into gear so the weight of the jeep will be on the parking brake and not the gear. I mean I guess that kinda makes sense but I was always taught to do gear first then parking brake and pretty much everyone else I know does the same. Just wondering which order is considered the right way or better way I guess

This would be more relevant to an automatic, especially when parked on an incline as it would prevent the weight of the vehicle from resting on the park prowl making it hard to get out of park. With a manual you just push in the clutch to relieve that pressure.

Gregj

 

[Elsinore73]

If on flat ground I often just leave it in 1st, no parking brake. On a hill I put the e-brake on, Take my foot off the brake pedal so the cars weight is on the e-brake, then shut it down and let off the clutch. Keep the stress of the vehicles weight off the drivetrain on on the brakes.

 

[txj2go]

I've driven standard transmission vehicles most of my life. My JLU doesn't have a clutch pedal but my CTS does. It's relatively flat around here so I typically put the car in first gear and leave it at that. Big motor, small car, there is plenty of resistance in the engine to hold the car in position. Parking brake is not needed.

The reason you put the car in first is to have the most gear advantage working against the resistance of the engine. On a little bit of slope in a higher gear I've seen cars that might try to roll a little bit.

Whether you put the car in gear first or put on the brake first really doesn't matter. There is no problem with the vehicle weight pushing constantly against the drivetrain, it does nothing to the drivetrain. Long before it could harm the drivetrain it would just rotate the engine.

Now if you have an automatic transmission you ALWAYS put on the parking brake before letting off the foot brake. You do not want the weight of the vehicle pushing against the parking pawl in the stransmission. In some transmissions it isn't a very strong mechanism. Again around here where it is fairly flat we typically don't use our parking brakes, just put it in park and the car usually has no reason to try to roll anywhere. But my driveway has enough slope that I always use the parking brake in the driveway.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

my driveway has enough slope that I always use the parking brake in the driveway

As a kid I almost got run over by my neighbor’s car while I was mowing the lawn. That’s right, mowing the lawn... she parked her manual transmission Suburu in neutral and the brake failed (or more likely wasn’t pulled up hard enough) and it came barreling down her driveway and into our yard. It was stopped by a tree. Horrified and panicked, she ran out of the house and tried to drive it out of our yard. That ended with her car behind our pool and our grass all torn up. Good times.

 

[MarkY3130]

I’m not sure the order matters that much. It all works.

I’ve had a stick since learning to drive and the only ‘new’ thing is this push button ignition. I’ve had this habit forever of turning the key off while coming to a stop (before stopping).

With the push button it’s a bit annoying. Above a certain speed if you push the button to turn it off, it just doesn’t turn it off. Maybe it’s not speed related and maybe I just don’t push the button hard enough sometimes. Punch line is that I think the car is off and I get that lurching surprise that kills the motor every once in a while.

Push button start coupled with proximity entry is convenient, but I’d give them both up for a real keyed ignition.

With my JL I lost all my brake fluid while off-roading. In that case my only way of stopping the vehicle on the last half of the trail was to leave it in gear and turn the Jeep off, then coasting to a stop. Was sure glad to have a manual that day.

 

[beaups]

I’m not sure the order matters that much. It all works.

I’ve had a stick since learning to drive and the only ‘new’ thing is this push button ignition. I’ve had this habit forever of turning the key off while coming to a stop (before stopping).

With the push button it’s a bit annoying. Above a certain speed if you push the button to turn it off, it just doesn’t turn it off. Maybe it’s not speed related and maybe I just don’t push the button hard enough sometimes. Punch line is that I think the car is off and I get that lurching surprise that kills the motor every once in a while.

Push button start coupled with proximity entry is convenient, but I’d give them both up for a real keyed ignition.

With my JL I lost all my brake fluid while off-roading. In that case my only way of stopping the vehicle on the last half of the trail was to leave it in gear and turn the Jeep off, then coasting to a stop. Was sure glad to have a manual that day.

5MPH seems to be the threshold that you can shut the jeep down while coasting. Next time you dump all your brake fluid, try grabbing the e-brake handle to complete your stops. Easier that way.

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