Yesterday we went to the inlaws for dinner, we had been there about an hour when a neighbour asked who's was the blue skoda i replied its mine when he said i just heard a big bang & found my car had rolled down hill & smashed into brother inlaws ford focus. So now I've got to see about getting mine repaired damage being front bumper / nsf wing & headlight also get the brother inlaws focus sorted i.e. new rear bumper & sprayed black.

 

Thankfully my best mate works in a body shop & is going to sort it for me so we can leave the insurance company out / id only just had the car service by another mate who is a mechanic on Saturday.

 

When i checked the car the hand brake was about 2 clicks off the normal position & the inlaws live on a very steep hill / i would of taken some pics but ever time i look at the car it makes my blood boil.

 

 

Sorry to hear :( did you have it in gear?

That sucks...

Father inlaw parked his brand new titanium x mondeo sport on our drive to come in and check our dog while we were out.

Builders down the street knocked the door after his car with 80 miles on the clock was sitting through the front door of our neighbours house

£4k damage to the car and £1k to the house... However at least no kids were out on the street where they usually play or the elderly neighbour wasn't locking her door

His was clicked on too however only just it seems and as the brakes cooled it let itself go

i feel my HB is "woolly" and not as positive on the clicks as some cars, its position nearer the passenger than me doesnt help

Parking on a hill I would put a manual in 1st and turn the wheels towards the kerb just in case the handbrake failed.

It's quite surprising how common this can be.

 

Most modern cars have disc brakes all round, with the handbrake using the rear discs.

 

If when you arrived the discs and pads were warm, if the handbrake wasn't on tight then as the discs cool it can be enough for the brakes to release, more so if there is quite a lot of load on them when applied (i.e. on a steep driveway).

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but always put the car in gear, especially if the gradient is steep.

 

I hope the repair works out to be easier / cheaper than it looks.

I remember nearly twenty years ago when a lift share colleague of mine drove 'spiritedly' to get to me less late than he would otherwise have been. Luckily his car stopped in the middle of the road rather than in the people across the roads house. We returned to find my wife, and next doors cat directing traffic around it.

I am told that putting the car into gear when parking Is not taught by driving schools anymore, parking on junctions and corners also seems to be ok now.

Always leave it in gear and if any doubt turn the wheels into kerb / find better place to park

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Most modern cars have disc brakes all round, with the handbrake using the rear discs.

Almost all east-asian cars use drum-in-disc handbrakes, so you don't get this problem, plus it makes the system almost entirely independent of the main brakes. I always leave the car in gear (and the auto with the handbrake on) just to be sure anyway.

If you have a cam chain engine (especially if oil pressure tensioned) and leave in gear on a hill, select a gear that would rotate the engine in the "running" direction if it were to roll down the hill. I.e First if pointing forwards or reverse if pointing backwards down the hill.

 

It is bad to turn such an engine backwards. On the Superb this would be the 1.4tsi and 1.8tsi - don't know about the v6?

When i was taught to drive i was instructed not to park in gear, but my dad has ALWAYS told me to do so, first if facing uphill, reverse if downhill!!

I agree with MarkTB. When I was taught to drive back in the 1960,s, I was taught to always leave the car in gear.

In reverse if facing down a slope. In first if facing up a slope. I was also taught to turn the steering so the car would run to the kerb if parking on a slope.

Mind you, if you develop this habit, it is also very necessary, for safety reasons,to develop the habit of checking the hand brake and taking the car out of gear before you start the engine. I was taught that this was all good advanced driving practice.

When i was taught to drive i was instructed not to park in gear, but my dad has ALWAYS told me to do so, first if facing uphill, reverse if downhill!!

 

I agree this is the best way of using the engine as a brake, however my comments re cam chains stand. Read any service manualy for cars with cam chains (not just VAG but Chrysler etc...) one of the key rules is don't turn the engine backwards - it can effectively release the tensioner "potentially" allowing the cam chain to jump on first startup before oil pressure builds up, especially on a worn engine!

 

The engine will still act as a good brake in reverse if pointing up a slope and first if pointing down  however if the car rolls it will try to turn the engine in the same direction as a starter motor would

 

Engine technology has substantially changed since the 60's - where you would have had a very small cam chain manually adjusted e.g. Austin "A"series or Ford cross flow

As above, if it's chain driven then you don't want to risk turning it backwards.

Almost all east-asian cars use drum-in-disc handbrakes, so you don't get this problem, plus it makes the system almost entirely independent of the main brakes. I always leave the car in gear (and the auto with the handbrake on) just to be sure anyway.

 

I'm sure my 2002 BMW 320d (E46) had drums inside the rear discs too.

 

Good for rusting on overnight, but then no worse than my Superb.

I'm sure my 2002 BMW 320d (E46) had drums inside the rear discs too.

 

Good for rusting on overnight, but then no worse than my Superb.

I think volvos used to have drum inside disc as well. If I remember rightly in the very flat East Riding of Yorkshire you ended up never using it on an auto with "Park" which was a problem every year at MOT time.

can't understand anyone not leaving a car in gear

I was taught to leave the car in neutral when parking (except when on slopes).

No danger of a stall/lurch forward anymore as the Superb requires the clutch to be depressed before starting - it's changing the habit of years that's the tricky bit

Leaving your pride and joy dependant on a thin cable or electrical wire  is asking for trouble