Question about parking uphill or downhill

[chetJ]

Hi All,
I have a quick question- our drive way is somewhat steep and every once in a while I leave the T4R parked on it if I have to leave quickly.
Regardless of whether the nose is pointed up toward the garage door or down, every time I put the truck in P and take my leg off the brake , the truck moves slightly ahead - sort of 'the gears fall into place'.
This happens with my Honda Accord as well. But given that the T4R weighs so much more, is the truck/ the gears getting harmed when it does this? Anyway to stop it from happening?
Do let me know.
Thanks

 

[Quentin]

Hi All,
I have a quick question- our drive way is somewhat steep and every once in a while I leave the T4R parked on it if I have to leave quickly.
Regardless of whether the nose is pointed up toward the garage door or down, every time I put the truck in P and take my leg off the brake , the truck moves slightly ahead - sort of 'the gears fall into place'.
This happens with my Honda Accord as well. But given that the T4R weighs so much more, is the truck/ the gears getting harmed when it does this? Anyway to stop it from happening?
Do let me know.
Thanks

Your transmission has a square cut gear in it. There is a spring loaded parking pawl that is released when you put the truck into park. Depending the position of the square gear, the truck will have to roll a bit to get the pawl lined up with an opening in the square tooth gear. If you don't want it to roll, use the parking brake before you release the regular brake. You should always use your parking brake, BTW. It is always a good idea to have a backup method of keeping the car stopped should one fail. This is my first AT (after 12 years of driving) and I used the parking brake out of habit.

 

[DaveS]

Depends on how steep your driveway is - the alternative is applying the parking brake, but in the winter you take the risk of that freezing on which won't do your drivetrain much good on a cold start either, not to mention the risk of overheating the parking brake assembly etc.

 

[chetJ]

Quentin- Thanks, that helps. So what you are saying is that it is natural for the truck to do what it is doing and that it / the gears are not being harmed in anyway when it does that?

 

[M1911]

Use the parking brake. That is what it is there fore.

 

[scanny]

From Winter driving tips chapter of user manual (p.276):

"When parking the vehicle
Park the vehicle and move the shift lever to P without setting the
parking brake. The parking brake may freeze up, preventing it
from being released. If necessary, block the wheels to prevent
inadvertent sliding or creeping."

I've never used parking brake in winter on my old minivan which weight is about the same as 4Runner - never had any problems. But I must admint that my driveway is not very steep
.