Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and a new owner of a 07 335i sedan (6spd manual). I'm sorry to ask such a silly first question but its been a long time since I'ved owned a manual tranny. When parking should I leave the car in gear or leave it in neutral with the e-brake? Any other advice welcome. Thanks Dan

Welcome and congrats. With manual, it is always a good idea to leave it in gear (1st or 2nd) and have the emergency brake on too. Less chance of rolling. A person at work (I will let you guess the gender ;)), left her car which I believe is automatic, in neutral and without the ebrake on, it rolled into another car and gave her a dent right on top of the BMW emblem on the rear truck.
Funny thing though, the dent almost looks like it is by design :D.

All cars, both AT and MT, should be parked with the AT in park and the MT in gear. It is a backup to the e-brake.

Plus, always leave in 1st or Reverse as these are the lowest gears. Higher gears provide less resistance and depending on the amount of incline, the car could still roll.

Depends on where i park and what i trust, never know when you'll get a midnight tow and you wake up to pick a car up thats been towed on the back wheels and damaging your transmission. In this case it would be wise to keep in neutral when parked around in cities.

Depends on where i park and what i trust, never know when you'll get a midnight tow and you wake up to pick a car up thats been towed on the back wheels and damaging your transmission. In this case it would be wise to keep in neutral when parked around in cities.
ummmm, I assume tow truck drivers know what a rear wheel car is. Anyway, the handbrake will get in the way of the rear wheels turning, so they will hook it up from the back end. In any case, if you park where you can get towed, you have bigger problems.

not when tow trucker ed comes to pick it up, but its always better to be safe than sorry

A person at work (I will let you guess the gender ;)), left her car which I believe is automatic, in neutral and without the ebrake on, it rolled into another car and gave her a dent right on top of the BMW emblem on the rear truck.

Normally, with an AT, it won't let you take the key out unless you're in Park (and with CA, won't even turn off the engine). So it takes a real effort to leave it in Neutral.

Yep. FWIW you should also set the handbrake / parking brake with an auto tranny too when it is in park, at least with older models. In "Park" the car's weight rests on a little nub that prevents it from rolling, which puts a lot of pressure in this area.

See: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission5.htm

Actually leaving it in gear is the "back up" if you're on a hill and the e-brake fails the engine compression really isn't going to stop the car from rolling.

I leave it in neutral unless I'm on a hill. The parking brake has a locking pin, that should keep it in place.

Thanks everyone!!!!

ummmm, I assume tow truck drivers know what a rear wheel car is.

I have an XI and I was sitting in Starbucks in Montreal, watching as these two tow trucks were towing 2 all-wheel-drive cars (a cadi and a volvo) and the wheels were LOCKED!!! After seeing this sorry sight for disregarding someone's property, I vowed to NEVER leave my car in gear!

I'm still a little traumatized by the whole event...

you should DEFINITELY leave your car in gear when you park (MT).

Keep in mind if you are going to take your beloved pets with you, please don't leave it in your MT car. Chances are, your beloved pet will step on the hand brake release sending your car backwards or forwards into other parked cars.

An incident happened to an Acura dealership where me and my friend were test driving a new gorified Civic (Acura EL) and this individual left her dog in her car (Sidekick). Her dog stepped on the e-brake release and her car rolled into ours just when we were pulling out of the parking lot. Damage to our test car was estimated to be at least $1,000 bucks (point of impact at right side between rear door and rear fender). The owner of the run-away car was like "Bad dog bad dog". I was like "Stupid driver who blames her dog for not leaving her car in gear". She was lucky though, if we moved out of the way her car would've hit a parked Buick which will be more $$ to repair (given the extra potential energy from the rolling)

I have an XI and I was sitting in Starbucks in Montreal, watching as these two tow trucks were towing 2 all-wheel-drive cars (a cadi and a volvo) and the wheels were LOCKED!!! After seeing this sorry sight for disregarding someone's property, I vowed to NEVER leave my car in gear!

I'm still a little traumatized by the whole event...
lol in Montreal they don't care about anything. Those trucks come, signal their horns then stat towing. I am just amazed at people parking in areas marked for snow removal. As I said, the transmission is the least of their problems, they should check their heads 1st.

Chances are, your beloved pet will step on the hand brake release sending your car backwards or forwards into other parked cars. While this may be possible on E65s and E70s, I don't see this happening on a BMW with a traditional hand brake... unless your beloved pet has opposable thumbs. :stickoutt

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An incident happened to an Acura dealership where me and my friend were test driving a new gorified Civic (Acura EL) and this individual left her dog in her car (Sidekick). Her dog stepped on the e-brake release and her car rolled into ours )


Thought you needed a thumb to do this? :confused How does a dog, without a thumb or even an opposing finger, release the button on a handbrake lever.

Oops. didn't read all the way to the bottom. Dupe!

I don't trust the emergency brake alone esp. on BMWs. You may think it is secure, but on an incline or if someone were to nudge/push your car, the handbrake may not be providing enough resistance and the car would roll. Putting it in gear is like roll insurance. Again if you are worried about being towed, put it in a parking lot, you are probably parking somewhere questionable anyway.

ummmm, I assume tow truck drivers know what a rear wheel car is. Anyway, the handbrake will get in the way of the rear wheels turning, so they will hook it up from the back end. In any case, if you park where you can get towed, you have bigger problems.


Just do not park where you can get towed.:nono

Just do not park where you can get towed.:nono
Yeah, being slow in the head doesn't qualify someone for using the handicap spot, so they should park elsewhere ;). (Not referring to anyone here unless they respond to this and then they'd have made me inadvertently refer to them!)

I always put my car in first if I back into a space, or reverse if head in first... just in case I have a brain fart or someone has to move the car for me, so it won't dart and hit something... :)

Thought you needed a thumb to do this? :confused How does a dog, without a thumb or even an opposing finger, release the button on a handbrake lever.

Oops. didn't read all the way to the bottom. Dupe!

Well, the dog is a big dog (size of golden retriever). Given the mentallity of the driver, I don't think the hand brake was pulled that tight (may be 1 - 2 clicks) so I am not surprised if a dog with a big paw can step on the e-brake and release it.

I was sitting in the front passenger seat when that happened. The car was stopped and parked and all lights were off. It started rolling backwards when my friend pulled out of the parking stall and making a left turn to exit to the driveway. Stupid enough my friend stopped the car as soon as we see the Sidekick started rolling backwards (w/o any brake lights). My friend stopped the car as I hammer on the horn to get the run-away car to stop and 2 seconds later BAM (metal grining sound). I inspected the damage when the owner of the run-away car got back in and drove back into the parking stall.

I always put my car in first if I back into a space, or reverse if head in first... just in case I have a brain fart or someone has to move the car for me, so it won't dart and hit something... :)
As a manual car driver, everyone should be in the habit of never starting the car without one foot firmly on the brakes 1st and then the other on the clutch before starting or shutting off the car. I don't know how many times that saved me from accidentally launching into the wall or another car, esp. shutting off when I take my foot off the clutch thinking I already shut it off (these cars can be so quiet you don't notice it is still running).

absolutely! however, you can't help it if someone else starts the car for you...

As a manual car driver, everyone should be in the habit of never starting the car without one foot firmly on the brakes 1st and then the other on the clutch before starting or shutting off the car. I don't know how many times that saved me from accidentally launching into the wall or another car, esp. shutting off when I take my foot off the clutch thinking I already shut it off (these cars can be so quiet you don't notice it is still running).

absolutely! however, you can't help it if someone else starts the car for you...
hahaha, true, but I have a simple solution for that. No one else drives the car but me ;).

absolutely! however, you can't help it if someone else starts the car for you...

Solution:
1. Don't let people start your car especially when kids offered to start ther car for you. (Oh yes I know a family who will give their daughter the key so she can run ahead and unlock the door and start the car).

2. Let people know ahead of time your car is in gear (glass repair, oil change...etc). Most technicians will check it but if you let them know nicely it's an extra safety measure.

you mean like this guy? ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZT5mQLy5C4

Solution:
1. Don't let people start your car especially when kids offered to start ther car for you. (Oh yes I know a family who will give their daughter the key so she can run ahead and unlock the door and start the car).

Solution:
1. Don't let people start your car

Unless you are on some sort of hit list, then it may be a good idea to get someone else to start the car ;).

the guy lives in FL, NO HILLS. Neutral is fine with EBRAKE ON.
Now, I'f I"m leaving my car somewhere for a LONG TIME where it prone to theft or being towed, or on a grade, then maybe I'll put it in gear, but otherwise not required. Your BELOVED PETS aren't going to deactivate your EBRAKE, unless your BELOVED pet is a chimp.

hahaha, true, but I have a simple solution for that. No one else drives the car but me ;).


Of course BMWs will not start without the clutch engaged. I kinda find it annoying, sometimes right at the end of the start cycle I will have it in neutral and release the clutch a bit too quickly and the computer will shut the engine off. You have to start it, wait 1 full second, then release the clutch...

Also, if you have the brakes on and drop the clutch with the engine running in ANY gear, it will just stall and only lurch less than one inch. Believe me... :eek:

the guy lives in FL, NO HILLS. Neutral is fine with EBRAKE ON.
Now, I'f I"m leaving my car somewhere for a LONG TIME where it prone to theft or being towed, or on a grade, then maybe I'll put it in gear, but otherwise not required. Your BELOVED PETS aren't going to deactivate your EBRAKE, unless your BELOVED pet is a chimp.


Don't let this guy park your car. It may end up at the bottom of a hill, or in a pond.

ALWAYS LEAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLE IN GEAR WHEN PARKING.
You never know for sure if there is a slight enough grade to get a vehicle rolling. By using the Parking brake to lock the rear wheels, and then locking the transmission (by putting it into a large gear that will take massive inertia to overcome) your car will not move. However, if you leave it out of gear or with the ebrake off, you could be screwed.

Picture some dummy bumping into your bumper...and then watching your car roll away.

Seriously to each his own. However, it can't hurt to be safe. I have parked about 10,000 cars in my life (gas station parking lots), everytime I use the e-brake....MT goes in 1st. AT goes in park.

Depends on where i park and what i trust, never know when you'll get a midnight tow and you wake up to pick a car up thats been towed on the back wheels and damaging your transmission. In this case it would be wise to keep in neutral when parked around in cities.

If it were that bad, I think I would sell my car and take the bus.

I think another good idea when parking is to have your wheels turned so that (if by chance your gar does slip out of gear) that the car will roll a couple feet into the curb and not into the car ahead of you.

+1 to that! When I was a kid, my dad taught me to (when parking a stickshift vehicle):
a) use the e-brake
b) put it in gear--usually the opposite of the hill (i.e. parking pointing front-end down the hill = select reverse)
c) turn the wheels into the curb, and if possible, put the turned tires ON the curb

It's always worked for me.

I think another good idea when parking is to have your wheels turned so that (if by chance your gar does slip out of gear) that the car will roll a couple feet into the curb and not into the car ahead of you.
That is mandated by law in SF. It was nice to see no one got it wrong when I was there last spring. I guess if they did, they'd know about it right away. Fines seemed stiff too.

I was told never to put up the hand brake when parking unless there is an incline of some sort, and always leave the car in gear. The reason never to use the hand brake or try to use it very little is because you can warp the rotors due to the heat of the brakes when you activate the hand brake.

after a session during a track day maybe... your normal daily driving should be okay unless you brake the hard on every stop, which would be crazy...

I was told never to put up the hand brake when parking unless there is an incline of some sort, and always leave the car in gear. The reason never to use the hand brake or try to use it very little is because you can warp the rotors due to the heat of the brakes when you activate the hand brake.

I always put my car in first if I back into a space, or reverse if head in first... just in case I have a brain fart or someone has to move the car for me, so it won't dart and hit something... :)

Yup. Leave it in the direction you're heading! It only takes ONE time where you pop your foot off the clutch after you started it when you thought you already put it into N... WHAM!

Here's another good habbit: Park it in gear, START IT IN NEUTRAL!

Yup. Leave it in the direction you're heading! It only takes ONE time where you pop your foot off the clutch after you started it when you thought you already put it into N... WHAM!

Here's another good habbit: Park it in gear, START IT IN NEUTRAL!
... and never start a manual car without your foot firmly on the brake pedal.