Quote:
Originally posted by Thai
Hey all,
For me, i ALWAYS use the parking brake. It is a habit now. Using it will prolong your automatic transmission life AND help out when someone rear-ends your car.
Conclusion: it is a lot cheaper to replace your parking brake than it is to replace your automatic transmission.
What do you guys think??
Thanks.
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Okay, Thai, I agree with you, in part. Under fair weather conditions it is a good idea to always use the parking break. However, in cold weather using the parking break may not be a good idea. If the break discs/drums get wet and you use the parking break, the pads can and will freeze to the metal discs/drums--now we are talking very serious stress/wear on the transmission if you try to drive with you brakes frozen, not to mention the brakes themselves.
So, I use the parking break selectively. If I must park on a hill in the winter and conditions are right for freezing I turn the wheels so that if the car rolls it will go into the curb (you should do this anyway).
So, there are exceptions to every rule. Always using the parking break is a rule that can, and should be, broken from time to time.