I got into this on another forum as well and posted half a dozen links to reputable articles explaining why it should be used. You are correct, though, some still failed to get the "dial tone."

 

I can't tell you how the CVT transmissions work, however, I've always used the parking brake regardless of where I park. My father is a retired Ford service technician so he taught me to stop the vehicle completely using the foot brake, put the vehicle in neutral while still applying the brake, then setting the parking brake. After that you put the vehicle in park.

On non-CVT transmission vehicles there is a mechanical stop, Parking Pawl, when you are in park. You will notice on an incline that if you put the vehicle in park and do not use the parking brake, when you take it out of park it can be difficult to change the gear and you may experience a loud noise. Over time this can damage the stop.

To summarize, I do not believe it is 'overkill' to use the parking brake under any parking circumstances.

 

Wow, our father's must be long-lost brothers. My dad taught me the exact same technique and if one drove his car, it had better be followed. It took me years to teach my lovely wife how to master this method.

I laugh now when I see someone put their car in park on a hill, let off the brake and only then put on the parking brake AFTER the car lurches forward and puts the weight of the car on the park-pawl. It's even better watching them struggle to get OUT of park afterward.

I also don't think the parking brake is overkill any time. It's a good habit to get into using it. Plus, on a front wheel drive vehicle with the parking brake on, all four wheels are locked

 

Funny how a thread evolves from -

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim K

What exactly is "park"?

To how to set the Parking Brake on a hill -

 

That's why they are called "threads". Are there any threads on any board that don't drift from one topic to another somehow?

Besides, the two issues are pretty closely related I think.

Anyway, it's better than whining, isn't it?

 

 

Strange, I assumed the parking brake on the FEH did nothing. Even when it's set, the car still does the "roll" most automatics have.

 

Mine did too.... you have to pull up on it pretty darn hard to get it to grip. I had mine adjusted at the dealer he tightened it up and that seems to help.

It does work. You can prove it by holding the button down and pulling it up when you are rolling down the road.... you'll feel the drag. But I'm not convinced they are adjusting them tight enough from the factory. I thought it was just mine.

 

Just for the record, on a regular automatic, the parking "gear" is not any of the gears associated with shifting. It's on the output shaft and is a "big toothed" gear for the parking pawl alone. The grinding you hear if you put it into park while moving is the pawl skipping over the teeth and, graciously, not setting, which would put a lot of torque through the drivetrain. Like other gears, it can crack or break a tooth.

There are good times to not use a parking brake. If you happen to live somewhere that lives on both sides of the freezing point, cables can indeed freeze up. In my little berg at sea level in the winter, it's often wet, but if you climb the hills a bit.....even just a few hundred, it can drop into the 20's or even lower. So you can splash things good and park 10 minutes later and things will freeze in place........and it's a problem.

And if you were escaping all that for a few weeks in Hawaii, and leaving your car on a level spot somewhere......I'd leave them off, as brakes can rust and attach themselves to drums........don't know that I've seen it happen with discs......and that's a pain too, but easier to solve......usually. Two methods of holding the car are better, to be sure....but why invite grief.

But to the original question.....and I like everyone else haven't seen the innards of the CVT.....park is never one of the "driving" gears....it's always past that in the drivetrain. I suspect it looks a lot like regular transmission "parks".

 

The FEH does in fact have a parking pawl (pin).
Ever notice you CANNOT start the car in Neutral?
Without the pin to "push against" the starter motor might turn the drivetrain instead of the engine, or spin the wrong way, or other odd behavior.
The starter would transfer torque the path of least resistance, which may not be the engine, if the drivetrain were not "locked" in place by a pin.

The FEH has DISC BRAKES on all 4 wheels.
And they are a bit over-sized. You should never have trouble stopping with properly maint. brakes.

The REAR has a "Drum-in hat" type disc... there are drum brakes INSIDE the rear discs, used solely when you pull the parking brake.

In my car, the parking brake is nearly useless.
It will roll down a 5% slope even with the hand brake applied, so I never use it.
I probably need that cable tightened.

Remember, when parking on hills, just turn your front wheels the correct way to use the curb as wheel chocks. In most cases, this is even better, but obviously, you need to have a curb present!

Finally, there is NO CHANCE of your brake pads freezing or rusting to the disc/drum. The pull cable may be a different story.

-John