Leaving car- on neutral or 1st/ rev?

softmee

Is it a good practise to leave car on first or reverse gear? I was advise by my uncle to leave it on 1st when car is facing uphill or reverse when downhill, but I think my instructor told me to always leave car on neutral.
What is the best think to do?
(handbrake in my car is working well)
Thanks

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Compton

yep its incase your handbrake fails.

ADIDriving

Leaving the car in gear is the more correct thing to do. It takes the strain off the hand brake. It is not always necessary, unless you are on a hill. Your instructor may ask you to leave it in neutral if the car in just temporarily parked as they swap back to drive?

softmee

Thank you. So, to do this I just have to turn of ignition before releasing the cluch and press cluch before turning on, yes? (just to make sure.. )

partyatmygaff

softmee wrote: »

Thank you. So, to do this I just have to turn of ignition before releasing the cluch and press cluch before turning on, yes? (just to make sure.. )

Yes, you always make sure the transmission is disengaged from the engine (Gear in neutral or clutch fully depressed) when making a gear change or starting/stopping the engine.

sentient_6

Hmmm i wouldn't be happy with some of the information on this thread.

The gear should be a backup to the handbrake, not the other way around. I.e. put on the handbrake & let the car sit into it. Then put it in gear so should the handbrake fail the car doesn't roll. & this way, with the handbrake doing the work, you dont leave the gears/clutch sitting with locked in torque(i.e the strain of the weight of the car against it). IMO anyway......

**Timbuk2**

I'd agree with your uncle, definitely leave it in gear. It doesn't necessarily have to be first when uphill and reverse when downhill, you can just leave it in first or reverse regardless (it'll stop the car from rolling), although it's probably best to do as your uncle advises (it's what I do - I just think 'put it in gear that opposes the direction it would roll).

When parking, come to a stop using the brake (your foot will be on the clutch when stopped), as soon as you have stopped activate the handbrake, then turn off the engine with your foot still on the clutch, move the gearstick into 1st or Reverse and take your foot off the clutch.

When you're moving off, what I usually do is put my foot on the clutch and move it into neutral, although I think it's perfectly acceptable to just press the clutch and leave it in gear when starting.

johnmcdnl

was told by my dad that in extreme frosty weather like last winter say it's better to park with just the gear because the handbrake can freeze up which puts you in a bad way the next morning....

dunno if that'd be a good idea on the side of a hill.. hill start the next morning?? but then again I suppose if you leave your car facing up a hill in frosty weather your just looking for problems aren't you...

the gears are fit to hold the car on their own so it's good practice to use the gears as a safety net just in case the handbrake fails...

actually some old tractors don't even have a handbrake at all so you only have the gears to hold the tractor when you stop so...

gears can hold car... your uncle is right.... it doesn't matter if your handbrake works well now... what happens if it just gave up this evening and your car is on the side of a hill... not going to end well is all

softmee

Left my car yesterday on 1st gear.. :rolleyes: and forgot about it today. Unpleasent unexpected jump.. (thanks got there was nothing in front) and after that I couldn't start engine for few minutes. It started eventually, but I got scared something got damaged :pac: and I will have to call mechanic.
Is this normal that I couldnt switch on after starting on 1st gear without clutch?

partyatmygaff

softmee wrote: »

Left my car yesterday on 1st gear.. :rolleyes: and forgot about it today. Unpleasent unexpected jump.. (thanks got there was nothing in front) and after that I couldn't start engine for few minutes. It started eventually, but I got scared something got damaged :pac: and I will have to call mechanic.
Is this normal that I couldnt switch on after starting on 1st gear without clutch?

You only stalled the engine. It shouldn't have caused any damage.

**Timbuk2**

That doesn't sound normal! It would be normal for a car to lurch forward if you started it in 1st gear without depressing the clutch, but it should just start again afterwards - effectively it's just cutting out.

As I said in my last post, when starting always have your foot on the clutch. I usually put my foot on the clutch, move it into neutral, start the car (with my foot still on the clutch), but I'm not sure but I think it's also acceptable to start the car in gear, with your foot on the clutch.

Maybe ask in the motors forum or get a mechanic to look at it?

What actually happened when you tried to get it started? Did it chug but just wouldn't start? It's possible that your battery was worn down after your first starting attempt and as you didn't actually have the engine running and didn't drive anywhere, there may not have been enough energy for a second start? But that's unlikely unless your battery is very old. But I'm useless when it comes to the mechanics of cars, so ask somebody who knows!

softmee

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

That doesn't sound normal!

But it was working just fine after.
Yes, the sound was like it was almost, almost starting but just couldn't "catch".
Maybe the engine got "flooded" with petrol or something.. :rolleyes: (thats just my imagination -I've no idea how does it work.

**Timbuk2**

If it was working fine after then I'd almost be tempted to say it's fine! Drive it for a while, and if it drives ok and starts ok then there's probably no huge need to worry!

It could easily have just been the battery not recharged - you effectively only stalled the engine, which doesn't damage the engine as far as I know.