Manual car owners: Do you leave car in gear or neutral when park?

clicknext said:
Using the hand brake is great for starting on steep hills without rolling back. Some people say that it's a newbie technique, but I don't care because on steep hills, with a warmed up engine, particularly a small engine, simply slipping the clutch while you get your foot from the brake to the gas will NOT hold the car.
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Yeah, that's what I do... no needless clutch-wear, absolutely no roll-back.. absolutely no stalling. Works for me. I can do the car *balancing* too, but I think it causes un-needed wear on the clutch. Although I am going to try the heel-toe technique. I am getting too reliant on the emergency brake in these situations that driving my dads or friends car w/ a broken emergency brake makes me feel uncomfortable.
 
Johnny, I have similar, but different problems with my RSX...I find it is really easy to "beat" the synchro on second gear, such that it's frequently uncomfortable (mentally) to make the shift (due to the feel, the resistance of the lever to want to go into gear). My car has a lot less miles than yours, so I have been wondering if it's something that is going to wear in. I also have a not uncommon problem getting it into reverse; usually letting the clutch out again in neutral solves the problem.
 
quickstrike: I'm not saying it would cause damage on the actual gears so to speak, but having my actual clutch held down to the floor for all the times i'm at a stop light or traffic light would seem to cause problems down the road. I do a lot of city driving, so I would need to have that pedal pressed down for a good amount of time. Also are you saying on hills I shouldn't bring the clutch up right to where it catches to minimize rolling? I've done the parking brake technique a couple of times when I first started, but I'm trying not to get into the habit because I know lots of pickups have the parking brake on the floor, and I wouldn't feel comfortable trying that on someone elses car.



marko: I've read great things about Honda/Acura but one reoccuring problem I see is with the tranny. If you go into CRSX under transmission all you will read are people with probelms with their clutch, such as the 2nd gear grind and 3rd gear comming out. I'm experiencing the grinding and "notchy" feelings, but its not that bad; I think its more of a peeve then a problem. You also gotta consider how smooth and easy our clutch is. I'm just worried when I need to go and my car isn't going into gear. I still find it really strange that this has never happened to me in my 5 months of owning the car; and it happened twice today within 10 minutes, with the same driving habits/styles and commute. :nixweiss

btw other then that I love the car. As I said before i'm a very conservative driving, so naturally I didn't need the Type S. Its a really nice, refined car that gets me great MPG and I always have VTEC in my "back pocket" for those times where you need quick acceleration.



Not to get too far off topic but would anyone care to explain the "heel-toe" technique? I've heard it mentioned before here on another forums, but never really got a clear idea of what it is, and what the advantages are.



Thanks Again! :xyxthumbs
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Johnny, I have similar, but different problems with my RSX...I find it is really easy to "beat" the synchro on second gear, such that it's frequently uncomfortable (mentally) to make the shift (due to the feel, the resistance of the lever to want to go into gear). My car has a lot less miles than yours, so I have been wondering if it's something that is going to wear in. I also have a not uncommon problem getting it into reverse; usually letting the clutch out again in neutral solves the problem.
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Mike, so I would be wasting my time bringing my car in for the reverse problem? I know recall someone who owned a Civic I detailed was saying something about reverse being "hard" to get into sometimes. I found it kinda strange but if your saying its not uncommon, maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it.

It also sounds like you got the second gear "grinding", "notchy" feeling. I read on CRSX members we're swapping their tranny fluid out with Redline synthetic and noticed a big improvement. Not sure if I want to try that yet or stick with OEM, either way I think i'm going to do it next spring.
 
My son figured out your problem. Remember, this is his response not mine:

"I read over the situation very carefully........and from your description of

the problem it seems clear that the cause is red lights that turn green in

close proximity to your car. (hmmmmm)"
 
You should always leave your manual in gear when you park. Why not? It's an extra step to take it out of gear and into neutral, and there's no need to, because that's one of the best ways to keep the car in place, the emergency brake is just that - a backup for emergencies when your engine doesn't hold it in place.



I don't usually use my emergency brake unless I'm parked on a steep incline. Then again, I do have 6.4 liters of V8 to hold my Camaro in place.
 
From a UK user (me) where most cars are manual. You do not need to leave the in gear when parked, but it is advisable when parked on a hill as this will stop the car rolling if the handbrake fails.



For security, it is best to leave it in gear though, as this make the car harder to tow or roll away. Plus, if parking against a wall, turn your wheels, this makes it harder to get at the wheels, or even to roll the car away from the wall to gain access.
 
JohnnyDaJackal said:
Mike, so I would be wasting my time bringing my car in for the reverse problem?
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I dunno...I was looking in my factory manual and there is supposed to be a lockout solenoid that keeps you from putting the car into reverse above 9 mph...maybe that is sticking (unlikely IMO)...what do the RSX forums say about difficulty getting into reverse? Oh, and thanks for the input on the notchy 2nd...at least I know I'm not alone!
 
JohnnyDaJackal said:
I've read great things about Honda/Acura but one reoccuring problem I see is with the tranny. If you go into CRSX under transmission all you will read are people with probelms with their clutch, such as the 2nd gear grind and 3rd gear comming out.
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just a thought for you as I've been a member on a couple of acura boards for a while, specifically the cl. you've got to consider that the vast majority of folks who post (at least on the forums to which I subscribe) are tuners with mods and drops, flooring it off every light, through every turn, looking to race, driving competitively in traffic, and hammering whatever transmission they're running. these are prime candidates for tranny problems. I'm sure you'll be fine. i've always followed the general rule: drive it like you stole it, fix it when you break it, and create a religion around maintenance.
 
Just e-brake on normal terrain.





Any sort of slope, I throw it in gear as well.





Sounds like you should have your tranny fluid changed. Maybe a bad synchro too. Might want to add some GM SynchroMesh in the mix when you change it.
 
And here's the answer from my son who isn't the "wise guy":



The tip off was the cold mornings. He needs to switch to a synthetic gear

oil. Same thing used to happen to my RX and Vette. Of course, other option

is to buy a 40 year old VW. It doesn't happen with them....
 
marko: I partially agree with you. While a majority of the people on the boards probably do drive hard, and VTEC like crazy, I do recall people saying they shift at low rpms and still get it. There is definately a problem with the way the tranny was designed. I know there is a TSB out for the grinding and "notchy" feel for 2nd gear, but I believe its only for the Type S. Apparently there grind is a little worse, but I think mine is comparable. I've also read more horror then success stories of people getting their tranny fixed under warranty. Seems like reoccuring problems or new problems appear within a couple of months, thats why i'm very hesitant to take it to the dealer.



Sean: Is GM SynchroMesh an additive or an actual replacement for the fluid? I've heard people mention it before, but i'm not exactly sure what it is.



HRP: If your son thinks its the "cold weather" I guess i'm really in for a fun winter. :scared: Reason I say that is because that morning wasn't even that cold. We've actually had way colder mornings/days this past October then we've had in Novemeber so far and a couple days ago was the first time I've ever experienced the first gear problem :nixweiss

I also had been driving the car for about 10 minutes before the first incident, wouldn't the tranny be pretty warmed up by then, especially consider how warm it was?
 
John: An additive. I can't vouge for it used for the entire capacity of your manual tranny box. I put 1 quart of it in and about 1.5 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic Gear Oil. When cold, its a little notchy, but after a couple mins of warming up the tranny (drive slow), it shifts great.
 
There's nothing wrong with your car, or at least out of the ordinary with regards to the transmission. Leaving the car in neutral at a stop light (or when parked) is certainly not a bad thing. Shift down through the gears in order, sometimes transmissions are tempermental when shifting in odd patterns i.e. 4-n-1, 3-1 etc. If you're sitting at light with the car in neutral and the shifter won't slide into 1st then hold in the clutch, pull the shifter back into 2nd, then throw (not literally) it back up into 1st.



Edit: my reply was before I saw the mention of the 2nd gear notchiness, which is a separate matter. Sounds somewhat familiar, as I believe a friend that had an 03 type S was experiencing similar grinding issues before he traded the car in.
 
4830Deuce said:
Old Skoolers leave their car in gear ;) ...these days your parking brake will do just fine... I use just my parking brake....



-Justin
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LOL Thats because you cant leave your car in gear, unless you stay in it for a minute after turning it off (waiting for the actual engine to turn off).
 
4830Deuce said:
Old Skoolers leave their car in gear ;) ...these days your parking brake will do just fine... I use just my parking brake....



-Justin
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Then Old Skoolers rule, because leaving a car in 1st or R is far safer than just pulling the hand brake! :spot
 
I can't believe the question. It's kind of obvious and a no brainer that you ALWAYS leave a car in a forward gear if on a flat surface or pinting up a hill and leave it in reverse if pointing down a hill. And always use the parking brake. Leaving it in neutral only relies on the parking brake which is not always effective by itself. And by the way, always use the parking brake in addition to putting an Auto tranny in Park as the parking gear will not reliably hold a car by itself.
 
Always leave cars in gear (both of them) with the E-brake on. As said, best to stop engage e-brake and then put car in gear, or let off clutch.



Im not sure of the fluid requirements for a Honda, but with the Contour SVT's a "fix" for notchy transmissions is to switch to Mobil 1 synthetic ATF (yes, ATF) with 1 bottle of Ford friction modifier. And to change it 1-2 times per year. I can voch that this works great, the trans in my CSVT is smoother than the trans in the M3.
 
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