Parking
 

So whenever I park, I always put it in neutral, and pull on the E-brake. However my dad has drove it a few times, and always leaves it in 1st, and it tends to roll up an inch or two, like any auto trans would w/o using the E-brake. My question is, well I don't think once or twice is gonna hurt anything, but either way N w/ Ebrake, or 1st w/o it will it do any damage or hurt the longevity of the tranny?

I live in Ky, and it tends to get pretty cold here in the winter (the coldest is like 10 or so which only happens a handful of times (nov-feb), but the normal is 20-35) and my dad says pulling the E-brake when it gets cold it will freeze up n stuff?:iono:

I think for safety you should use ebrake and 1st or reverse depending on incline. Some people swear by parking in gear, I have always been a ebrake only person but some people have mentoned that not holding the camaro unless you make sure you pull it until it fully clicks, I been using brake and gear lately just to get into habit.

I see, I park pretty much in the dead level lol.

1st no e-brake will be fine, the car won't go anywhere.
Your dad is correct using e-brake in the winter will more than likely freeze in one possition or the other, I have seen this happen.
You really only need th e-brake when you park on a hill or slight grade.
If you insist on using the e-brake put in 1st not nuetral.

On level ground w/e, but on an incline put it in gear. The E-brake alone will not hold this car. I have always parked in neutral with the ebrake on in previous cars, but yesterday broke me of that.
My driveway has a moderate incline and yesterday my ebrake let go. The car had been parked for around 5min, and I had gone in and got a screwdriver to put my new license plate holder on. As I was taking off the plastic I heard a pop and the Camaro rolled right back into me. Luckily I was outside and standing right behind the car to stop it, otherwise my car would have been sitting in the middle of the road.

Alright thanks guys.

Interesting stuff. For the manuals I've owned in the past, I've never parked in gear and just relied on my emergency brake. After reading this thread plus the manual, I'm definitely going to rethink things (even though it's flat here in Houston!).

The manual says for manual transmissions, "shift lever into reverse and then apply the parking brake. With the clutch still pressed in, then turn off the engine."

this is just a habit but i put it in 1st and set the e-brake. untill 2 months a go when i broke my drive shaft and took out my ebrake.:facepalm: now i just leave it in 1st.:D

I live in Boston and I use the E-brake all year long when parking and it does not freeze up or stick even in our harsh, snowy, sub zero winters. The reason for using the E-brake is that on a hill you can get a condition called "torque lock" with the automatic where the transmission will not be able to be shifted out of park. If this happens, you must have a couple of people push the car slightly up the hill to unload the transmission. It is kind of like what happens to your steering wheel when you force it to lock with the key removed and you must turn it slightly to unlock it. The right way to park an automatic, is to hold the car with the brake, set the E-brake, then put the car into park. When driving off, start the car, step on the brake, put the car into gear, then release the E-brake. This info is in the owners manual.

I use both a gear and the parking brake. Personally I use 4th gear. My logic: If its hard to turn the wheels in 1st, it'll be even harder in 4th. Additionally if you forget either you're still got the other going for you.

Also, its called a parking brake instead of an e-brake for a reason. =] And there is truth that you do have to make sure that the lever is all the way up, anything less will not hold you on an incline.

Just something fun to consider: Why do people call it an emergency brake? What emergency was ever resolved by locking up your rear tires? Or is it called this because a crazy g/f suddenly yanking on it at 60 MPH will send you to the emergency room? I'd personally call it a Fun-In-Snow-Brake. Or maybe I-Want-To-Spin-Out-brake

I always leave in in R and put the parking brake on. That way the habit is there so you don't drain your battery by leaving it other gears when you take a break from driving your car.

I always use the parking brake with cars in gear for all manual transmissions. Like described above, it could pop out of gear, your kid hits the shifter crawling around, etc. and the bad boy starts rolling away.

+1
An old friend that is a mechanic told me that most times that people have problems with the ebrake freezing up or seizing is that it isn't used enough. The cable has a lubricant in it that is moved around when used. I use my brake all the time and always put it in gear when parking no matter an incline or a level surface. Just a good habit and it ensures the car isn't moving. After having a car rolled away on me that first time I make sure to use both 1st gear and the brake.

Some vehicles I have had in the past. (Not the Camaro). When it is slushy in the day time and set the ebrake. Then gets down to 10 degrees or lower. The brake has frozen up. Would probably not use it in this situation.