Electric Parking Brake Newbie Question

[LexusCT200H]

Hi I am soon to purchase a CT200h and have a question. It will be the first time I am going to be owning a hybrid which is a big jump. I'm really confused on the parking brake and the manual brake. When I want to park up in a normal car I just pull up the handbrake, simple. In a Hybrid there are 2 brakes? the P button and the foot brake. Would I always have to press down the foot brake or I can just press the P button and no need to worry?

Thanks

[Slimboball]

The foot brake is really the same as a handbrake on a manually geared or automatic car. Automatic cars still have a handbrake even though you pop the selector into P. If you just use the P selector and not the foot brake it would be like leaving a manual in gear but without the handbrake on.

Hope this helps.

[LexusCT200H]

Thanks, helped alot.

[ColinBarber]

Do you actually need to press the P button on the CT? You don't in a Prius, just power off the vehicle which will automatically engage P on the transmission.

[Slimboball]

The CT does the same. Pressing P allows you to still use any of the accessories/displays/audio etc as the engine/battery is still running. It also disengages the door locks.

Pressing the On/Off button shuts everything down and disengages the door locks.

[AlanMitch]

I always set the mechanical foot-operated 'handbrake; as well as the electronic P brake, which operates automatically when the car is turned off. I would not be happy trusting my expensive new CT to an electronic brake. Give me good-old mechanicals for something as basic as that!

[ColinBarber]

There is no electronic brake, it is just a transmission lockup and shouldn't really be used on its own as it places stress on the transmission. The parking brake should always be used and certainly from time to time otherwise it will cease up resulting in a potential MOT failure.