Note to all who drive stick shifts

[baxtej44]

just to clear things up... it was the lady' fault.... i am not always the sharpest tool in the shed... but i would at least not have this happen to my car... plus my ranger is an automatic

 

[LearjetMinako]

just to clear things up... it was the lady' fault.... i am not always the sharpest tool in the shed... but i would at least not have this happen to my car... plus my ranger is an automatic

I thought your Ranger was manual since you mentioned to set your e-brake. Did your automatic come out of park? If so, maybe I should make a habit of setting e-brakes on all vehicles and not just those with manuals.

As my Ranger is a manual, everytime before I step out, I put it in 1st gear and set the e-brake. Because of the slight incline at my work, I press the clutch in to see if the e-brake is holding most of the time.

 

[Will]

On any incline I set the parking brake on my auto. It's a little sheetmetal star on the shaft with a little hook that grabs it when you move the lever to Park. If you saw it, you wouldn't trust it on an incline.

Another thing is, when you are loading your truck with the trailer hooked up--or even a mower or quad into the back--set your brake. You can bust the pawl by bumping the truck too hard.

 

[baxtej44]

I thought your Ranger was manual since you mentioned to set your e-brake. Did your automatic come out of park? If so, maybe I should make a habit of setting e-brakes on all vehicles and not just those with manuals.

As my Ranger is a manual, everytime before I step out, I put it in 1st gear and set the e-brake. Because of the slight incline at my work, I press the clutch in to see if the e-brake is holding most of the time.

...

the lady who was parked nearby forgot to set her e-brake... well actually she said that it slipped out of gear... but this was around a 2003 hyundai elantra... not like it's a super old car.. it shouldn't have slipped out of gear at all... i take it she just forgot to set her e-brake..

my automatic ranger was fine sitting there. and it got back at her by slicing up her wheel well with it's chrome bumper haha.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

I thought your Ranger was manual since you mentioned to set your e-brake. Did your automatic come out of park? If so, maybe I should make a habit of setting e-brakes on all vehicles and not just those with manuals.

As my Ranger is a manual, everytime before I step out, I put it in 1st gear and set the e-brake. Because of the slight incline at my work, I press the clutch in to see if the e-brake is holding most of the time.

It's called a parking brake for a reason... I use it in every car I get out of (even if automatic)... Why?

#1. If the car rolls any it can be hard to move the shift lever
#2. It just doesn't feel right when I let go of the brake and the car rolls forward
#3. I've had enough problems with auto tranny's and I don't want anymore
#4. If something does break inside, then either the transmission, or parking brake will hold the car from moving

 

[SawyerRanger]

my cousin parked his wrangler in neutral and the parking brake came off. the jeep rolled down a steep hill, between two houses and smashed into an exploder sitting on the next street. his insurance wasnt too happy.

Note to self... Don't live at the bottom of a hill, or build a really big wall in between my house and the road if I do

 

[LearjetMinako]

...

the lady who was parked nearby forgot to set her e-brake... well actually she said that it slipped out of gear... but this was around a 2003 hyundai elantra... not like it's a super old car.. it shouldn't have slipped out of gear at all... i take it she just forgot to set her e-brake..

my automatic ranger was fine sitting there. and it got back at her by slicing up her wheel well with it's chrome bumper haha.

OHHHH. I thought it was your Ranger that rolled into her car. Its the other way around. Makes better sense now.

 

[willied]

My mom has been pretty lucky with her Expedition I'd say. She has 26X,XXX miles on it and the parking brake hasn't been working most of it's life (it should be fixed, but my mom is cheap). So far nothing's gone wrong and the tranny runs great.

 

[baxtej44]

It's called a parking brake for a reason... I use it in every car I get out of (even if automatic)... Why?

#1. If the car rolls any it can be hard to move the shift lever
#2. It just doesn't feel right when I let go of the brake and the car rolls forward
#3. I've had enough problems with auto tranny's and I don't want anymore
#4. If something does break inside, then either the transmission, or parking brake will hold the car from moving

x2... i used to not use my e-brake on my automatic 88... but it's more of a habit thing than anything... now i use it everytime i park.. sometimes i space out and don't use it though.. but i'd say 90% of the time i do... sometimes i don't if it's a quick run inside somewhere.

OHHHH. I thought it was your Ranger that rolled into her car. Its the other way around. Makes better sense now.

yup haha.

My mom has been pretty lucky with her Expedition I'd say. She has 26X,XXX miles on it and the parking brake hasn't been working most of it's life (it should be fixed, but my mom is cheap). So far nothing's gone wrong and the tranny runs great.

i assume my tranny is fine... fluid looks great, shifts fine (or at least what I think is fine...?)

 

[Captain Ledd]

I used to set my parking brake all the time and leave it in 1st. Then the stupid brake started sticking so lately I've been just leaving it in 1st and only using the brake on hills. Mine too rolls backwards even on the slightest incline if only the brake is set.

 

[Rifleman]

With a manual facing uphill should be in first, facing downhill should be in reverse, autos should be in park either way (duh). The front wheels should be turned so if the vehicle rolls down hill, the front tires will roll to the curb (hopefully stopping it). No matter the tranny, you should use the parking brake on any incline.

Engines even with good compression can over time bleed off the pressure and move with a manual and the concern of the "gear breaking" would be MUCH more of a concern when under hard throttle rather than parked on a hill. Major concern of a manual being parked in gear with no parking brake is the gearshift being knocked out of position by someone (a child perhaps) or if the vehicle is bumped by another car, manuals have been known to "pop" out of gear.

Every manufacturer that sells vehicles in the states has had a case of the auto park pin breaking on inclines, never know when you'll have a defect.

Thing is, always do everything within you power to keep your vehicle firmly planted in it's location, if it breaks free, have the wheels turned sharply to whatever direction will create the least damage. It doesn't matter if you're in it or not, if it breaks free and runs something over it is still your fault. When I would park my old Ranger on steep hills, I would even toss the transfer case into low range because the 2.9L didn't provide good enough compression to hold it in 1st or reverse in all cases.

The prior person mentioning SanFransisco hills; everytime they have an earthquake out there, there are MANY reports of vehicles jumping out of gear and breaking park pins and rolling down the hills.

 

[ranger_mclaren]

I think mine is the most embarrising, went to autozone to take back a part I didn't need when i go to leave I start truck and check my cell to see if anyone called while i was in store. Employee comes out says can you come back in I returned too many items, because it was cold outside I decided to leave it running this time. I don't have a parking brake(doesn't work) I took it out of gear took my foot off break then sat there to make sure it wouldn't move, after a couple seconds I get out and go into store after a min or two I hear one of the employees yell your truck is rolling. I look back it's already half way across parking lot and gaining speed, so i sprint out door just in time to see it jump the parking blocks, then curb drop down 3 feet to side walk then into main st. (4 lane rd.) luckly the 3 foot drop slowed it down and it stoped directly in the middle of the road with about 15 cars slamming on there brakes. So I just run out and jump in and drive it back up into the lot and shut it off with it in gear. luckly knowone was hurt and nothing got damaged.

 

[Coleosis]

I was at my buddy's house when I found out my e-brake doesnt work. He has a steep driveway and I pulled in behind his truck because I was going to be in and out. I walked out about 5 minutes later and my truck was in the middle of the street with 2 people looking at it like aliens just dropped it off. As I was walking up to it a cop pulled up...Luckily he didnt ticket me.


It was in first gear and the e-brake was on. Think its my clutch, because my engine runs like a champ...but its hard to get in second, and scrapes sometimes going into third and fourth.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

I think mine is the most embarrising, went to autozone to take back a part I didn't need when i go to leave I start truck and check my cell to see if anyone called while i was in store. Employee comes out says can you come back in I returned too many items, because it was cold outside I decided to leave it running this time. I don't have a parking brake(doesn't work) I took it out of gear took my foot off break then sat there to make sure it wouldn't move, after a couple seconds I get out and go into store after a min or two I hear one of the employees yell your truck is rolling. I look back it's already half way across parking lot and gaining speed, so i sprint out door just in time to see it jump the parking blocks, then curb drop down 3 feet to side walk then into main st. (4 lane rd.) luckly the 3 foot drop slowed it down and it stoped directly in the middle of the road with about 15 cars slamming on there brakes. So I just run out and jump in and drive it back up into the lot and shut it off with it in gear. luckly knowone was hurt and nothing got damaged.

Turn the wheel to a full lock one way or the other, it will prevent or hopefully prevent it from flying straight back.

 

[lindsay_elaine]

At my old work there was a '56 Lincoln Mark II parked across the street. It got left in neutral with no parking brake. It rolled across two lanes, jumped the curb, and smashed through our front office. Car drove away without a scratch!