Keeping My Foot On The Brake Pedal With My Auto While Stopped

[krosfyah]

When im stationary on a flat road with no upward gradient, like most autos, my car pulls away slightly. I haven't owned autos before, although i've driven some when hiring them. Will i cause damage (i imagine premature front pad wear) by keeping my foot permanently on the brake pedal while stopped.

Could it cause engine wear too? If the engine is engaged to the point where the car pulls off at 1mph, which is more or less what happens when im in Drive, and im constantly braking to stop moving, is that stressing the engine?

Stupid questions, but i've never owned an auto before.

Thanks

[Rory]

shud be fine, if ur stood for a while, stick the handbrake on and slip it into neutral if its worrying you

[LennyLexus]

dont do it after coming off the motorway (or when brakes are hot), best way to warp discs ;)

should be ok, i slip it into N if its for a while otherwise, my JDM brake lights drain the Battery (well 5mins)

[St3v3_C]

Use the handbrake - that's what it's there for.

P155es me off sat behind some clown for ages while his brakelights dazle through the rain and destroy my retinas....

[IS300]

Also, think back to when you took driving lessons.

'Apply handbrake and select neutral gear'

;)

[Sagitar]

Also, think back to when you took driving lessons.

'Apply handbrake and select neutral gear'

;)

Very sensible if you are driving a manual gearbox, especially if you are on a slope and need to balance clutch and accelerator and handbrake; but auto gearbox technology has moved on.

My car does not have a handbrake, only a foot operated parking brake. It is not intended that this foot operated parking brake should be applied when the car is brought to rest for short periods.

If the parking brake is applied and the gearbox put into "park" or "neutral", then it is necessary to apply the footbrake again before engaging drive and taking off the parking brake. Much more sensible to simply apply the footbrake. The auto gearbox fluid flywheel is designed to allow the car to remain stationary with drive engaged and no damage will be caused. There is no equivalent of riding the clutch, nor the danger that results if a foot slips from the clutch in a manual car at rest with a gear engaged.

A major reason for choosing an auto gearbox is specifically to avoid all the hassle of applying handbrake, going into neutral, re-engaging gear and balancing accelerator, clutch and handbrake that is an essential part of driving a manual car.

Of course, if the traffic is brought to a halt for an extended period, it makes sense to apply the parking brake and select neutral and relax. But for normal stop-start driving in traffic, absolutely not. And before someone suggest that leaving my car in gear for short stops wastes fuel, let me point out that the overall consumption of the IS 250 auto is actually better than that for the manual version . . . . . . .

[Nick US]

If you have an automatic, forget the handbrake, it's redundant. Here in the US the strange lever thing in the middle of the car is often referred to as the emergency brake, and that's how often they get used.

When you park the car, put it in P. You have to anyway to get the key back :winky: The gearbox has a brake built in every bit as good as the handbrake, plus it won't seize on when your car sits in an ice storm at -20C.

When you stop at lights in D with the footbrake on, you will put some stress on the car - the engine and gearbox are trying to push the car gently forwards, and the brakes are stopping it from moving. But this is minimal compared to the stress of a full power launch once the lights finally go green, and the screaming stop at the next red light.

I do pop mine into neutral if I know the lights will be red for a long time (some around here take forever to change). But I keep my foot on the brakes - I need somewhere to rest it, I don't want the car to roll away on a hill, plus I don't care about blinding people when everyone else is standing on the brake anyway.