Proper way to power down a car? (automatic transmission)

[Zippaboy]

 

Step on foot brake.

 

Shift to N.

 

Pull hand brake,

 

Release foot brake.

 

Shift to P.

 

Off engine.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Zippaboy

[Wishcumstrue]

  On 6/18/2015 at 2:15 AM, Vega said:

I just step out of my car and walk straight into my house.

My Ahmad will take care of the rest........... all of these still in my dream.... :-)

 

I hazard this will become a common practice once driveless vehicles becomes widely available.

 

Someday, our children may even wander why all these shifting to P or N or parking brakes thingy.

 

To them, all these driving and parking skill set will become history and only needed as a hobby for future die-heart motorheads...

[flashbang]

  On 6/19/2015 at 5:02 AM, Wishcumstrue said:

 

I hazard this will become a common practice once driveless vehicles becomes widely available.

 

Someday, our children may even wander why all these shifting to P or N or parking brakes thingy.

 

To them, all these driving and parking skill set will become history and only needed as a hobby for future die-heart motorheads...

 

Already now the conventional parking brake is gone... replaced by electronic ones. Not sure if they can auto engage/disengage though cos I haven't had the fortune of owning such a modern car.

[Ltcy]

1. Reverse into lot

2. Engage N

3. Engage Handbrake

4. Off aircon

5. Off radio

6. Engage gear 1

7. Off engine

 

Sometimes I would forget to engage gear 1 before switching off the engine and the car would "beeps". According to the manual, it's recommended for my car to put into gear 1 before off the engine. I have no idea why, just follow blindly.

[Camrysfa]

  On 6/19/2015 at 4:51 AM, Zippaboy said:

Step on foot brake.

 

Shift to N.

 

Pull hand brake,

 

Release foot brake.

 

Shift to P.

 

Off engine.

Why need to shift to N?

At N, the lubrication is shut off.

Over time isn't this stressing the box more.

[7hm]

  On 6/19/2015 at 5:12 AM, flashbang said:

 

Already now the conventional parking brake is gone... replaced by electronic ones. Not sure if they can auto engage/disengage though cos I haven't had the fortune of owning such a modern car.

Most of the time its like regular handbrake except binary on or off electronic control via the button. No halfway haha.

 

Most of the newer cars that have electronic parking brake also have automatic disengage when gassed in gear. Others that have auto hold use the parking brake as the auto hold

[Throttle2]

Please lah engage neutral for what? We talking auto car leh.

 

Just push to P and handbrake then off, can already......

[Sam7770]

Good to see this topic still going strong… it's an important question after all.

 

To all those N-before-P-ers, do you use the handbrake when starting off on a hill (hill start)? I do as it happens, it's a habit from learning on a manual and I imagine does far more to save strain on the transmission than going through some bizarre ritual when parked.

 

The handbrake alone is sufficient to prevent any imagined strain on the transmission from the pawl pin. I think the OP is confused by the American habit of letting the car bounce on the pawl pin before they engage the handbrake, if they do that at all. That is not a good idea, but they seem to like it. They're a strange bunch. Much better to let the handbrake take the strain, so come to stop, foot on brake, apply handbrake, straight from D to P. The car isn't going to roll, even as far as the pawl pin, and if it did, the pin is designed to engage at such low speeds anyway.

 

In manuals, you'd also leave the car in 1st gear, clutch in, foot brake, apply the handbrake, turn off engine and then release the clutch, if you were at all worried about rolling on a hill. You could also engage first or reverse gear retrospectively once the engine was off.

 

In Paris they park their cars bumper to bumper in neutral (where it is flat obviously) so that other cars can nudge them out of the way when they leave their place. Imagine such devil may care behavior in Singapore…

[Gnahp]

To avoid putting unnecessary strain to the parking brake system, I suggest people carry wheel chocks in the car.

 

shift to neutral

Off engine

apply parking brake

get out from the car and put wheel chocks on four wheels

release parking brake

apply parking brake partially i.e. two clicks

shift to P

 

the wheel chocks will take all the strain in keeping the car from rolling away

 

like that the gearbox and even the parking brake can last long long time

 

[Fuelsaver]

can remove chocks by hand afterwards?

[Sovietmole]

Seriously.. all the hassle.. I just throw it in P and turn off the car.. No handbrake unless I'm on slope.. Car lasted for 10 full years..

 

IMO.. As long as you don't switch between D and R while the car is moving in the opposite direction, your gearbox shouldn't breakdown because of this.

[flashbang]

  On 6/19/2015 at 12:20 PM, Sam7770 said:

Good to see this topic still going strong… it's an important question after all.

 

To all those N-before-P-ers, do you use the handbrake when starting off on a hill (hill start)? I do as it happens, it's a habit from learning on a manual and I imagine does far more to save strain on the transmission than going through some bizarre ritual when parked.

 

 

Err isn't it an auto car? You use the handbrake on a manual car cos it will roll back very quickly once you release the foot brake. On an auto car in D, the roll back is greatly reduced, unless the slope is really very steep. There is sufficient time for you to move your foot from brake to accelerate without the car rolling too far backwards.

[Sam7770]

  On 6/19/2015 at 3:42 PM, flashbang said:

 

Err isn't it an auto car? You use the handbrake on a manual car cos it will roll back very quickly once you release the foot brake. On an auto car in D, the roll back is greatly reduced, unless the slope is really very steep. There is sufficient time for you to move your foot from brake to accelerate without the car rolling too far backwards.

 

Yes, I'm talking about steep slopes and as I explained it's a habit from learning and driving manuals for 20 years. The automatic transmission must be taking the strain to prevent roll back, which can be a fairly sudden jolt on steep slopes. Better then for the cheaper handbrake to prevent rolling back in the first place, especially if you are the type to be concerned about N-before-P (I'm not), otherwise you are being inconsistent in the care of your fragile transmission.

 

(BTW in my post above I made a small error in my shutdown sequence: I'd apply handbrake after engaging P, but while the foot brake was still fully applied. Belt and braces. I apologise unreservedly for any confusion this may have caused. )

 

Someone's mentioned chocks. Good man.

[Bezbee]

  On 6/16/2015 at 9:38 PM, Camrysfa said:

 

prolong lifespan of gearbox? "heard from friends"?

 

Wonder what would be the reply if we sent this question to -

Head of a local AD workshop, Head of ITE Automotive Course. I doubt they have any hard engineering opinion or any data to show.

 

why does completing a drive need to be so complicated. The thread title " powering down" is so drama, like for powering down a plane or some complex machinery, haha

Some bros treat their ride like wifey... So they apply the same theory... Must warm up & cool down after ...lol

 

We need mythbusters to help ascertain myth from facts.

[Fuelsaver]

  On 6/20/2015 at 1:16 AM, Bezbee said:

Some bros treat their ride like wifey... So they apply the same theory... Must warm up & cool down after ...lol

 

We need mythbusters to help ascertain myth from facts.

Too troublesome, expensive n inconclusive for mythbusting. Just stick to ur own conviction. If drivetrain still kaput, mayb then share the findings, again subject to mechanics expertise, if any.

[Blackyv]

Then we should hear from horse mouth. Who's gb koyak and their rule of engagement?, share here please .. I believe most gb can last more than 10yrs, anything lesser could be handling..

 

Those gb koyak after 5yrs, what is your style?

 

Those gb kaput after 7yrs,?

 

Those gb gone after 9yrs?

 

Those koyak below 5yrs should be genetic defect, very likely not related to how it was being handled.. But can still share if you want (except that one obvious model which everybody knows, no need to share..)

 

Those above 10yrs should be wear and tear, not a good reflective of handling style...

 

Hehehe... Anyone wanna start?

[KaKiLang]

Before turning into carpark, off aircon, radio, let the battery charge up abit. Park (P) off light, close wing mirror, pull handbrake, off ignition. For a 12yrs old jap car, gb tip top still (flush every 60k).

[flashbang]

Last 10+ years (2 cars), my father's car gearbox has never broken down. He always goes from D to P, pull handbrake, then switch off engine.