How to Park a Car Safely Without Damaging the Car's Automatic Transmission

Safe parking without damaging the automatic transmission of the car is essential for vehicle owners to know. Automatic or matic transmission cars are the most commonly used type of car, yet many drivers still make mistakes when parking.

This can lead to damage to car components, especially the gearbox, resulting in significant costs. Transmission damage may not be immediately felt, but if you continue to park carelessly, damage can occur at any time.

To prevent damage to car components that could harm your finances, know how to park your car safely without damaging the automatic transmission as follows.

Safe Parking Without Damaging the Car's Automatic Transmission

As you know, the operation of automatic and manual transmission cars is very different. This makes the parking methods for both types different. Automatic transmission vehicles have simpler gear shifting compared to manual transmission cars.

The gear of an automatic car consists only of P, R, N, and D. Meanwhile, the letters R, N, D in automatic transmission are represented by the numbers 1 - 5 in manual transmission gear. So, the only difference is the P gear that is not present in manual cars.

If you understand the difference between the two, here we explain how to park an automatic transmission car.

1. Park in a Safe Place

Make sure to park your car in a safe place, neither downhill nor uphill. Because if you park in a risky area, there is a concern that the car may roll back or slide down.

2. Ensure the Steering is Straight

After feeling that you have parked in a safe place, ensure the steering is straight to avoid any imbalance that could burden one of the components. The position of the car's tires being straight also aims to save the available parking space.

3. Position the Lever to N and Pull the Handbrake

To prevent the car from moving while parked, you need to position the lever to N (Neutral) first. After in position N, pull the handbrake to lock the driving wheels of the car.

In this N position, the gearbox mechanics are fully disengaged, so nothing is moving or gripping.

4. Position the Lever to P

After the handbrake is activated, you must shift the transmission lever to position P (parking) while pressing the brake pedal. When the lever is shifted to P, it passes through position R (reverse) where the gearbox would move backward, but because the handbrake is activated and the brake is pressed, the driving wheels cannot move.

Many of you may be curious why the transmission should be positioned in P and not in N? The reason is that if the transmission lever is in P, the output shaft connected to the coupling can be locked, making it much safer.

Position N is only used when the car's engine is still running, while when parked, the transmission must remain in P. For example, when stopping at a red light, you are allowed to shift to position N.

Conclusion

So, it can be concluded that when parking an automatic car, you need to change it from position N to position P with the help of the handbrake. The lever position in P also supports the handbrake if any issues arise that could activate the driving wheels.

Meanwhile, if you are in a parallel parking situation, you can activate the shift lock feature located near the transmission lever. If the shift lock is activated, the car can go to position N, but if not activated, the lever will remain in position P.

However, the difference is that when parallel parking, do not pull the handbrake, because if pulled, the car will be difficult to move.

Thus, the discussion on how to park a car safely without damaging the automatic transmission has been presented. Don't forget to visit our website to learn about Daihatsu products and other interesting services!