What happens to a moving car when the parking brake is left on?
Digital Dude asked:
Recently I had to pull over to the side of a road because I was lost. When I pulled over I put my car in park and applied the brake. When I shifted to drive (I have automatic transmission), I forgot the brake was still on and went a few feet before taking it off. I was only going less than 25 mph at the time.
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Recently I had to pull over to the side of a road because I was lost. When I pulled over I put my car in park and applied the brake. When I shifted to drive (I have automatic transmission), I forgot the brake was still on and went a few feet before taking it off. I was only going less than 25 mph at the time.
The only thing I noticed was that the car was going much slower than normal. I’ve heard that leaving the brake on screws up or destroys my transmission but I would like to clear this up for certain.
Thanks!
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April 23rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
I think you’re fine. Having the hand brake on will wear down your brake lining, I don’t think the transmission cares that much.
April 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Don’t worry, leaving it on for a short time not big deal, i’ve left it on for like 10 min before. But in the long run it can mess up your car.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:50 am
Depends on your car, some use mechanical means of holding the car with the transmission, big time hurt there. But most cars use the rear brakes to hold the car in place when you apply the e. brake. As long as its the latter, no biggie, if its the former, may want to get it checked. Also, some cars use a mechanical sort of pic on the back brakes at time, mostly caddys, but again, check where the cable goes underneathe, and then go from there.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
it isn’t such a big deal. If this is a one time thing, than your break is just a little bit damage, but not as much. I, myself was in the same situation.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
i own a repair shop,and it don’t really hurt the transmission in it,but it is hard on the back brakes since they are the emergency brake also,it might have took a little wear off of them,but i doubt that you hurt anything else,don’t worry i been driving for years and i have done that a few times,we all forget sometimes,the transmission will be fine in it,good luck,i hope this help,s.
May 2nd, 2009 at 8:26 am
You will grind the brake shoes off. You need to get your brakes checked since you did this. If you only went a few feet, then you should be ok, but get them checked anyway. Usually it is free to get your brakes checked and if they are bad it is better to know and get them fixed then guess and find out the hard way.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I did this one time when I was in college. I had a manual transmission car (I really don’t see how it could make a difference, but there it is,) and I drove from Dallas, Texas to Moncks Corner, South Carolina and back. For some large part of that time the parking brake was on. When I discovered the problem (yes, the car was running very slowly and needing extra accelerator pressure to move at all, so I took it in to have it checked) the mechanic found about a quarter inch of wear on the shoe of the brake. The whole parking brake system had to be replaced. I saw the damage and it was ugly. I don’t know if it was the same brake shoe that was used for regular braking. I can see where the difference between manual and automatic might make a difference - somewhat - but this is what happened to me. (N.B. I was stoned out of my mind the whole time or I probably would have noticed.)