Why do automatic cars have a "park" setting? Can't you just put it in neutral and use the handbrake?

Why do automatic cars have a "park" setting? Can't you just put it in neutral and use the handbrake?

It's for people tired of life I guess. Who in their right mind would be comfortable with this? Women and nu"""males""" need not apply

It's like using 2 condoms at once

if you park on a hill you want to use both, just like an MT you would leave in gear

2 points of failure so your car doesn't end up in a ditch

Wait, why can't you just leave an automatic in gear?

you can

Stupid and unsafe?

An auto has a fluid coupling between the engine and transmission instead of a clutch, so leaving it in gear wouldn't stop the car from rolling if the parking brake failed.
Putting it in park completely locks up the transmission.

What if someone bumps your car while in park? Wouldn't that put a tremendous amount of force into the parking pawl?

I keep reading online that if you don't put automatic cars in park they might "roll out", but relying in a tiny piece on the transmission to stop your 3000-4000lbs car from rolling around doesn't seem clever to me.

Yes it would, but it's better than nothing.

Prawls are now way over engineered for their original intention. In order for the prawls to break the rest of the car would be pretty much fucked up


Manufacturers tell you to use the parking break as the primary and park as secondary, but most just put it in park. To avoid bad press and warranty claims the prawl mechanism is now made out of only the strongest steel recycled from Volvo 240s

Ask him.

I'm fairly certain other things would give before your prawl like your tires. You gotta remember that cars don't make very much traction at a stop and prawls are way way over built.

Cars in park are regularly dragged on to flatbed tow trucks. The tires give relatively easily.

Exactly

Heavy duty truck auto's don't have a park setting. You have to use the parking brake.

I thought that's because it only locks the front or rear wheels, not all of them

A FWD auto in park with the parking brake locking the rears still gets dragged along with basically no effort from the winch, and it's a pretty smooth and constant application of force. You'd have to like deform the pawl to damage it, and by that point you'd have to wonder if it's not just going to sheer the drive shaft splines instead, or break and axle, or something ridiculous like that.

You can, just like you can leave a manual in neutral and engage the handbrake. However, it's safer to put a manual in gear in addition to the handbrake, and Park in an auto takes it a step further by locking the transmission altogether.

>Be a modern Jeep
>Can't turn off the engine unless in park

>only the strongest steel recycled from Volvo 240s

Audible chuckle.

Someone tried to steal my car so now I have to push that hidden button to take it out of park. So I've just gotten in the habit of putting it in N and using the handbrake.

underrated post.

On some vehicles the parking brake it's extremely weak and will in no way hold the vehicle

fag deserved it for buying a woman's car.

You can't take your key out until it's in park.

pretty sure you can take it out in neutral.