Risks of parking on an incline?

Posted by EdibleOedipus@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 24 comments

Hi!

Are there any risks or possible damage from parking on a 30 degree incline daily? Other than the obvious it could eventually roll forward for whatever reason. It can be parked either direction but is currently reversed in so front is facing down. This is the only free parking space available.

Car: red 2023 Hyundai Elantra

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EGGWURST@reddit

Just use the parking brake you will be fine. Just remember to park with your wheel in the correct direction

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briman2021@reddit

Not really, but I would utilize the parking brake so it isn't resting on the parking pawl in the transmission.

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BAHGate@reddit

This is a common misconception about automatics. Without using the parking brake, there is no braking of any of the wheels. The non-drive wheels can turn at will. But, the drive wheels will only be locked insomuch as one wheel wants to turn forward while the other in reverse. This is important when parking on ice or snow. The vehicle can and will roll down the slope because the wheel that wants to move in opposition to the down angle may break loose and spin in that direction while the 3 other wheels roll downhill.

This is a known issue with F-150s and other full-sized trucks which are light in the rear and rear-wheel drive being parked on inclines. They roll down the hill and then the automaker is blamed for a faulty transmission, which of course it is not.

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loweexclamationpoint@reddit

Assuming there is a curb, won't proper hill parking technique prevent this? Unless of course all wheels are sliding

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BAHGate@reddit

If you remember to turn your wheels towards the curb, you'll probably remember to also set the parking brake. Done together this is proper technique.

If you are parked uphill, I am not sure turning your wheels towards the curb will do anything if the car starts to roll/slide like I described. If you are parked downhill with the wheels turned, it is possible the car could just roll/slide into the curb and stop. A combination for sure is good insurance!

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IAteTonysLoMein@reddit

If you're parked uphill, you turn your wheels away from the curb. Intent is the same - for unexpected rolling, the wheels should roll into the curb, hopefully stopping further motion

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Barlight24@reddit

After reading the comments thus far, I ould add: don't let it idle on that slope long, as people often do on cold mornings. There may be insufficient oil at the pickup tube and it may pool a bit more in certain parts of the engine, especially if you're half a quart low, or so.

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4158264146@reddit

Parking brake and curb your wheels

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Minuuven@reddit

Along with using the parking brakes, you need to turn the tires towards the curb

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ybsmart@reddit

If I park downhill it starts with a puff of blue smoke. Parking uphill no such problem. Leaky valve I assume.

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u_siciliano@reddit

Turn wheel so it would roll towards curb and apply parking brake.

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Independent_Dig6248@reddit

I had my Toyota transmission prematurely fail at 100,000 miles from years of parking on incline. According to experts, what I should have done was when parking - put the emergency brake on first, then put the transmission in park. When leaving, put the car in drive or reverse, then Release the parking brake. Others can confirm if this is the correct sequence to avoid transmission damage.

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ObviousAlias7@reddit

Keep your gas tank somewhat full. I am aware of some vehicles that will not start on an incline with less than 1/4 tank of gas or so.

Ford explorer is one of them.

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Caramel_Da_Cat@reddit

theres a specific method that i was taught in driving school:

put parking break
shift into N and release foot brake to let the car rest on parking brake
shift into P
then you need to turn the wheel away from curb if you're looking up hill or towards the curb if you're looking downhill.

the last part is to ensure that if the parking break and parking pawl fail, the car will steer itself into the curb instead of away from the curb.

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ActionJackson75@reddit

For black or white cars it's a big risk but red cars are OBVIOUSLY fine in this situation.

It's fine, but just use your parking brake before you let your foot off the brake, and crank your wheels so if it happens to fail it'll wedge the wheels against the curb.

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ChasDIY@reddit

turn from wheels into the curb.

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Rare-Bet-870@reddit

It can explode

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TheKiddIncident@reddit

I live in SF. Parked on a hill for many years. No basic problems, but on weird thing did happen.

If you have a minor leak in the car, you will get water pooling up in odd places. My old Acura had a leaky sunroof and we wound up with gallons of water in the trunk one day. The car was parked uphill and it all wound up back there. I parked the other direction, no problem.

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