Handbrake Failed on Lease Car!

The_Fat_Controller

@Elmer_BeFuddled, sorry, that is nonsense, perfectly safe to leave it in gear if the driver has a brain !
That said brain just has to be re-engaged when starting the car.

molerat

Elmer_BeFuddled said:

Never leave a car in gear, in case you forget and jump forwards and hit a car in front of you. Proviso being if on a steep hill put hand brake on at max you can. Car in gear opposite to way car is pointing, and turn the rear end or front end of the tyre into the kerb also depending on whether facing up or downhill.
Always worked for me and I've never lost a car on hill parking. But to avoid embarrassment I won't name the two people I do know who have!!

How does a car jump when you start it if in gear, must be something that old cars do

Ectophile

I've always left cars in gear when parked.  I also make sure I stick my foot on the clutch when starting it.

I have only failed to hit the clutch a couple of times in all the years I have been driving, and didn't hit anything even then.  The car won't go very fast on the starter, with the handbrake on.

Grey_Critic

I will answer this in two parts

You do not say what make/model the car is but I will assume that it has Rear Disc Brakes for this explanation. A problem with rear *disc* brakes is that the discs swell when they get hot and if the hand brake is not fully applied then when the discs cool then if on a incline the car can run forward, Over the years I have seen some rather spectacular *bumps* due to that.

As a former Warranty Manager if someone made a claim where brake failurewas blamed as the cause of an accident the procedure was to tell the customer to claim against his insurance - they would then claim against the vehicle manufacturer who investigate the matter - the car needs to go to a Main Dealer for repair this who should be made fully aware of the circumstances.

AdrianC

Biggus_Dickus said:

AdrianC said:

Car_54 said:

psychic_kitten said:

Not looking for an argument, but I'm genuinely curious as to how I could be deemed to have prevented this (other than leaving it in gear, which I would do if I was on a significant slope but which my driveway is not). 

AFAIK gravity does not discriminate between significant and insignificant slopes.

Oh, it definitely does.

Have you been sitting under that apple tree again, Adrian? 😁

Just downhill from one.

Fortunately, it was a fairly insignificant slope, so the apple rolled towards me very slowly, and stopped just next to me, so I picked it up and ate it.
If it'd been a more significant slope, the apple would have rolled much faster and gone straight past me with a whoosh.

MikeWhite

Ectophile said:

I've always left cars in gear when parked.  I also make sure I stick my foot on the clutch when starting it.

I have only failed to hit the clutch a couple of times in all the years I have been driving, and didn't hit anything even then.  The car won't go very fast on the starter, with the handbrake on.

I'm the same. Works for me an no runaway cars.

ess0two

What happens if a hand brake fails on a car that is'nt leased???

littleboo

I always leave cars in gear, the consequence of a car rolling away and killing someone is far greater than that of starting in gear. We have a Golf which wont start unless the clutch is down, but regardless, I always check for neutral and start with the clutch down on any manual car.

cajef

littleboo said:

I always leave cars in gear, the consequence of a car rolling away and killing someone is far greater than that of starting in gear. We have a Golf which wont start unless the clutch is down, 

Agreed, I have an automatic Honda the car won't start unless the car is in park or neutral with the footbrake applied.

Biggus_Dickus

Ectophile said:

I've always left cars in gear when parked.  I also make sure I stick my foot on the clutch when starting it.

I have only failed to hit the clutch a couple of times in all the years I have been driving, and didn't hit anything even then.  The car won't go very fast on the starter, with the handbrake on.

Handbrake on certainly is important. 

Me and my bezzie mate once drove to Blackpool for a night out;...just as we parked up on the Golden Mile the soddin’ clutch cable snapped with a loud bang.

We still managed to drive the 60 miles home (3am in the morning!) without incident though.

Mercifully the battery was in good condition; it needed to be because the starting procedure was to engage 1st gear, then get the engine turning over and the car rolling/jumping forward and hopefully start the engine. It’s then a question of crashing through the higher gears as you build up speed.

Stopping at traffic lights and junctions etc was a real pain though;...the engine needed to be switched off completely when the car had coasted to a standstill in ‘neutral’ at said traffic lights. The above starting procedure was then repeated to get the car moving again,...and again,...and again. It was an epic journey. 😎

However, the point of my foregoing rubbish is that if you’ve never experienced it, it’s quite surprising just how quickly a car can leap forward if it’s already in 1st gear when the engine turns-over/starts and the clutch pedal isn’t depressed;...it could certainly take an unwary driver by surprise if the handbrake had been absent-mindedly left off.  2nd gear maybe not so much,...unless you’re on a downward slope.

Praise the lord for modern automatics. 😁