When And How Should I Use The Parking Brake?

[HS] A parking brake is for holding the car in place when it’s parked — or as an emergency brake if the regular brakes should fail. However, it’s not advisable to set the parking brake firmly after overheating the brakes (track use, or a long run down steep hills). In 99.999-percent of driving setting the parking brake will cause no warpage or other damage to the braking system.

The transmission is not a parking brake. However, for extra safety when parking on extremely steep hills (San Francisco), it’s a good idea to set the parking brake, leave the car in gear (first gear when facing down hill, reverse when facing up hill), and curb the wheels. Remember, the transmission is not a parking brake. If the car should be nudged enough to turn the engine over, some damage to the transmission *could* result. And, if the engine is forced to rotate backwards, the timing belt could jump a tooth.

Set the parking brake firmly enough to hold the car stationary… don’t stretch the cable, Sampson.