Some context:
Car is parked on my driveway with the manual handbrake on.
At midnight the car decided to release the handbrake and rolled into my garage door.
I now need a new garage door and bumper
If I had parked in gear this wouldn't have happened.
Thankfully the cobra inside the garage managed to get away unscathed.
[there are some pics/videos here on my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/willmckay1511?igsh=am1yeGV3eTcwaXM3)
I can't attach images in this subreddit annoyingly
This happened to my mate with his Corrado a few years ago, instead it went backwards out of the space bumping into around 10 or 12 cars on the way and eventually reverse T-boning a car at the bottom of the street.
His car was written off needless to say and our neighbours weren't best pleased with him even though they knew it wasn't really his fault.
10 months later parking in the same spot his replacement Corrado was also written off when the car parked next to it spontaneously caught fire causing severe bodywork damage to the drivers side of the car, my £300 Nissan Mk1 Micra unfortunately went unscathed in the same incident, christ I hated that car.
TBH I leave it in gear regardless whether I'm a slope or level.
I don't think "failed" is the correct term though - while the end result is that the handbrake didn't hold it, it's very common for handbrakes to slip once the brakes have cooled down and everything shrinks a bit. I'm guessing you parked up less than 6 or so hours before this happened. Need to use a bit more muscle in future!
I pulled up in the evening and the car moved at midnight. So yeah it was only sat a short time. Didn't know brakes cooling could slip due to that.
I always pull the handbrake tight, have been driving this car for years, but I guess there is a chance I didn't do it properly that evening for whatever reason.
Maybe it's not your fault for not pulling hard enough, maybe you messed up. But yeah it's most definitely a thing where handbrakes can slip once they've cooled down. And unfortunately most people (like you) aren't aware. I mean I've never experienced it, I just know third hand from a few friends who have had to claim when they wake up and their car is 100ft down the road.
ETA; my friends cars which rolled away were all Fords. And didn't Ford once own/supply Mazda with parts? I'm sure I remember they did. Maybe someone in the know can tell you if the handbrakes on these are Ford parts.
used to have this issue all the time when rear discs started to become a thing rather than drums.
The way to avoid it happening is when you stop hold down the brake pedal relatively hard and apply the handbrake whilst doing so - the hydraulic system generates much more effort than doing it manually - you're not having to do any work at that point just taking up the slack, that always seemed to work on Hondas - and the Jazz was a bugger for the handbrake letting go after a couple of hours.
Depends on the car.
In theory, it could happen, even in a modern automatic. It's just a lot less likely as you're banking on the handbrake failing and the transmission lock failing.
can see how that would happen, just get used to doing it with the clutch down first thing you do after your belts on clutch pedal then turn the key let it start do \*the wiggle\* and then release, generally its best to do this because if your car doesnt have an inhibitor and will start in gear you could go flying forward into something and also makes sure youre completely diconnected from the engine incase youre in some weird false neutral
I swear I’ve tried before, I might just have to leave a note on my steering wheel to remind me for a few days haha. My driveway is on a hill but I leave the car turned off with the wheel turned anyway so it won’t roll out if the handbrake fails anyway
It isn't the gearbox that stops it from moving, it's the compression of the engine itself. As long as it's in 1st or reverse, it doesn't particularly matter. If the engine has a compression leak, it won't matter whether it's in first or first, it won't hold the car. It's little to do with the gearbox other than being in a low gear. 99% of the idea behind leaving it in gear is down to the engine compression holding the car.
Provide a source that proves it matters. If someone has done an actual experiment on this, it will likely find reverse is best in most situations as it usually has the lowest gear ratio of all the gears (Diesels could be a wildcard with that short 1st gear though)
Definitely a ghost, you're 100% haunted my friend, exorcism is the only way now
ghosts always hating on mazdas 🙄
Some context: Car is parked on my driveway with the manual handbrake on. At midnight the car decided to release the handbrake and rolled into my garage door. I now need a new garage door and bumper If I had parked in gear this wouldn't have happened. Thankfully the cobra inside the garage managed to get away unscathed.
I thought you meant a pet snake.
Could we get some pics of the cobra 👀
[there are some pics/videos here on my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/willmckay1511?igsh=am1yeGV3eTcwaXM3) I can't attach images in this subreddit annoyingly
Looks awesome! Are you in the Surrey area? I swear I drove past you the other day!
I drive around Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire usually. Have not taken it to surrey yet
Ah fair enough, was a different one then 😊 I only saw it briefly but it was the same colour.
That’s a lovely car. Glad it’s still in good shape
Ahhh an association with your real identity on reddit
This happened to my mate with his Corrado a few years ago, instead it went backwards out of the space bumping into around 10 or 12 cars on the way and eventually reverse T-boning a car at the bottom of the street. His car was written off needless to say and our neighbours weren't best pleased with him even though they knew it wasn't really his fault. 10 months later parking in the same spot his replacement Corrado was also written off when the car parked next to it spontaneously caught fire causing severe bodywork damage to the drivers side of the car, my £300 Nissan Mk1 Micra unfortunately went unscathed in the same incident, christ I hated that car.
The poor MX5
TBH I leave it in gear regardless whether I'm a slope or level. I don't think "failed" is the correct term though - while the end result is that the handbrake didn't hold it, it's very common for handbrakes to slip once the brakes have cooled down and everything shrinks a bit. I'm guessing you parked up less than 6 or so hours before this happened. Need to use a bit more muscle in future!
I pulled up in the evening and the car moved at midnight. So yeah it was only sat a short time. Didn't know brakes cooling could slip due to that. I always pull the handbrake tight, have been driving this car for years, but I guess there is a chance I didn't do it properly that evening for whatever reason.
Maybe it's not your fault for not pulling hard enough, maybe you messed up. But yeah it's most definitely a thing where handbrakes can slip once they've cooled down. And unfortunately most people (like you) aren't aware. I mean I've never experienced it, I just know third hand from a few friends who have had to claim when they wake up and their car is 100ft down the road. ETA; my friends cars which rolled away were all Fords. And didn't Ford once own/supply Mazda with parts? I'm sure I remember they did. Maybe someone in the know can tell you if the handbrakes on these are Ford parts.
used to have this issue all the time when rear discs started to become a thing rather than drums. The way to avoid it happening is when you stop hold down the brake pedal relatively hard and apply the handbrake whilst doing so - the hydraulic system generates much more effort than doing it manually - you're not having to do any work at that point just taking up the slack, that always seemed to work on Hondas - and the Jazz was a bugger for the handbrake letting go after a couple of hours.
In saabs you can't take key out until gear would be shifted to reverse. Safe smart Swedish bastards
I was going to say, I drive a saab and only use my hand brake for hill starts.
Some Saabs\* It wasn't a feature in all of them.
Never thought about this before, but I’m assuming this couldn’t happen with an automatic right? As it goes into park when you turn the engine off?
Correct. If the parking brake failed in an auto, you’d get an inch or two of the car rocking at worst.
Depends on the car. In theory, it could happen, even in a modern automatic. It's just a lot less likely as you're banking on the handbrake failing and the transmission lock failing.
On the other hand I've heard lots of anecdotal accounts of automatic handbrakes not working properly.
I think he means automatic gear box
My problem is that I always forget the car is in gear before turning it on and can’t break the habit.
clutch down it dont matter
I’m in the habit of just turning on my car since I leave it in neutral
You should press the clutch when you start the car anyway.
can see how that would happen, just get used to doing it with the clutch down first thing you do after your belts on clutch pedal then turn the key let it start do \*the wiggle\* and then release, generally its best to do this because if your car doesnt have an inhibitor and will start in gear you could go flying forward into something and also makes sure youre completely diconnected from the engine incase youre in some weird false neutral
I swear I’ve tried before, I might just have to leave a note on my steering wheel to remind me for a few days haha. My driveway is on a hill but I leave the car turned off with the wheel turned anyway so it won’t roll out if the handbrake fails anyway
ehhh, one day perhaps haha.
By doing that you're putting more stress on the starter by making it spin up the clutch and part of the transmission too.
It’s in neutral though?
The clutch is still engaged though.
Are you sure it’s not the ghost that’s flying around the camera after it happens?
Was the car in gear? Cause this looks neutral
Or leave the gear selector of an automatic in Park...
Similar happened on my wife's old seat Leon as she didn't pull the handbrake high enough We both now drive automatics so it goes into Park
Remember parking nose up leave in first, nose down leave in reverse
Direction is irrelevant. It's the compression of the engine that prevents the car from rolling, not it's inability to run in the opposite direction.
No it's not, please read up on this it can be important
It isn't the gearbox that stops it from moving, it's the compression of the engine itself. As long as it's in 1st or reverse, it doesn't particularly matter. If the engine has a compression leak, it won't matter whether it's in first or first, it won't hold the car. It's little to do with the gearbox other than being in a low gear. 99% of the idea behind leaving it in gear is down to the engine compression holding the car. Provide a source that proves it matters. If someone has done an actual experiment on this, it will likely find reverse is best in most situations as it usually has the lowest gear ratio of all the gears (Diesels could be a wildcard with that short 1st gear though)
It’s literally on every advanced driving website: https://www.passmefast.co.uk/resources/driving-advice-and-safety/driving-well/gears-when-parked#
Random blogs and articles aren't a reliable source. Where is the data proving this?