I was reading the owners manual and it said to put the parking brake first and then put it in park (automatic trans). This is the way I've always done it:

1. push down brake pedal.
2. put into park (while still holding brake pedal).
3. set e-brake.
4. release brake pedal.

I figured that i'm not putting any load on the transmission anyways, but what do you guys think? The "proper" way or my way?

 

doesnt matter as long as you arent moving when you put it in park

 

Keeping your foot on the brake, put the auto transmission in neutral, set the handbrake, remove your foot from the brake and allow the car to settle, then put the transmission in park.

 

Uhhh, guess I'm the minority here....but I just throw it in park.

 

the proper way to use it is when you are at the middle of an apex in a turn, pull it hard, correct your steering and disengage it.

 

The point is that you need to put the e-brake on when there is no weight on the transmission. The OP's method, or the method in the manual both achieve the same thing, so it doesn't matter which way you do it. You just can't put it into park, let the car roll back or forward against the transmission and then put the e-brake on.

 

That's how I do it.

 

YES! When she was 16, I did this with my daughter in a Target parking lot early on a Sunday morning after a snow storm. It was damned near impossible to make the Subaru spin -- and this with a 2WD Legacy, before they went to AWD for all models.

I did this with my first Honda, an N600, because I wanted to learn what was different about steering out of a skid with a FWD car. We were driving on a snow-packed road along the rim of the grand canyon in December. As I gained more confidence, I kept throwing it into bigger skids, until I ultimately lost control and ended up in a snowbank, with snow even with the front of the hood. I thought it was funny as hell. My wife didn't share my enthusiasm. Two students in a jeep, headed for the Rose Bowl, towed us out of the snow bank.

Back to OP, it really doesn't matter on flat ground; as others have observed, on a slope, parking brake, then neutral.

 

+1 hey, at least an AT driver making effort to use the e-brake is good news to me.

 

Have never used a parking brake except in Need For Speed and Colin McRae Rally games.

 

+1. This is how I do it too, and I think it's the best way, though likely overkill for a lot of situations.

The problem with throwing it directly into park without stopping at neutral is that you don't know if the parking bake or the transmission is going to catch first (that is, when you take your foot off the regular brake, the car is likely going to roll a bit first until something stops it).

 

Why are you using the ebrake on your AT again?

 

I have been driving for close to 40 years and have maybe set an emergency brake 5 times

 

From the Owner's manual for the Fit:
"Always use the parking brake when you park your vehicle. Make sure the parking brake is set firmly, or your vehicle may roll if it is parked on an incline.

If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, set the parking brake before you put the transmission in Park. This keeps the vehicle from moving and putting pressure on the parking mechanism in the transmission."

Note that it's doesn't say do it when you feel like it, or when you're on a hill, it says always. Perhaps Honda's just trying to cover themselves in case of a lawsuit, maybe it's a big scam to make people wear out their parking brakes faster... but I doubt it.

In case you think Honda's biased, here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"A parking pawl prevents the transmission—and therefore the vehicle—from moving, although the vehicle's non-drive wheels may still spin freely. For this reason, it is recommended to use the hand brake (or parking brake) because this actually locks (in most cases) the rear wheels and prevents them from moving. This also increases the life of the transmission and the park pin mechanism, because parking on an incline with the transmission in park without the parking brake engaged will cause undue stress on the parking pin. An efficiently-adjusted hand brake should also prevent the car from moving if a worn selector accidentally drops into reverse gear during early morning fast-idle engine warmups."

If you've ever parked a heavy car on a hill without using the parking brake, you'll know it's REALLY hard to disengage park because of all the force being placed on the parking pawl. That can't be good for the transmission.

Other than laziness, why wouldn't you want to use the parking brake? It's not like it's expensive to replace (a lot cheaper than a transmission would be!).

 

That is really weird. I'd use it on a steep incline, but that's it.
I know 54857397 people that DON'T use their e-brake when they park their AT, and they haven't had a problem so far.

 

It's a good idea always to use the parking brake for at least 2 reasons:

1) Unless I am completely mistaken, the parking brake is cable-operated, not hydraulic; there have been reports on some cars from owners who never used the parking brake that it eventually froze from non-use.

2) If someone bumps or moves the car somehow while it's parked, the parking brake will lessen the chance that the force will be transferred to the drivetrain.

I consider 1) more important than 2) on a FWD car because the parking brake works on the rear wheels, not the front, so it's entirely possible that some impact that moved the car would be transferred to the drivetrain.

All said and done, sequence probably doesn't matter; the important thing is to get in the habit of using the parking brake, whether you have an AT or a MT.

 

Well, if I ever drive an AT 09 Fit, then I'll make sure to use the parking brake.

I'll
1.) Put in neutral.
2.) Pull up parking brake (all the way)
3.) Rev to redline
4.) Throw in D (or S mode for added awesome!!)
5.) ????
6.) Profit.

 

KABOOOOOOOOOOOM

 

ok well since i started the post I parked the car, put in park first and engage e brake. weeeelllll... even though i held on the brakes when i parked and then engaged the e brake, when i put it in reverse, i still heard the KATHUNK, so the pawl took the slack first as one of you said. So really the only TRUE and CORRECT way is to put it in neutral, pull the e brake, let the car slack on it, then park. Thus you avoid the KATHUNK. Although most people would be ok with just putting it park, I live in a Northern Californian house with the elevated driveway so I'll definitely start using the proper procedure (neutral, e brake, park).

 

That's just it - I acknowledge and agree with the concept of using the handbrake before putting in park, it makes sense.

But I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that 99% of automatic drivers don't use the handbrake. ever. And 99% of them have never had a transmission problem. :shrug:

My suggestion to solve the debate: everyone drive a manual. The world would be a better place.