I posted this because Lisa's ZR1 got away with the parking brake on,
she could have been killed.

My post is correct on 90% of newer vehicles...
However, the corvette C6 is an exception.
Mechanical brake shoes in a drum.

This would have been a good reply,
Swift jumped on me like I shot his dog.

"You are totally incorrect"
"You need an education"
"You don't know what your talking about"

I'm 65 years old, been around cars all my life but haven't had
the rotors off my C6 yet.
My apology for incorrect info, but my post couldn't hurt anyone
driving a C6, but is a must for other cars.
...jerry

:iagree:also
If you take out all the stuff the Legal Dept. requires for the owner's manual, it would be a much thinner book!

Examples:
Do not try to remove a roof panel while the vehicle is moving. Trying to remove the roof panel while the vehicle is moving could cause an accident. The panel could fall into the vehicle and cause you to lose control, or it could fly off and strike another vehicle. You or others could be injured. Remove the roof panel only when the vehicle is parked.

It can be dangerous to get out of the vehicle if the shift lever is not fully in P (Park) with the parking brake firmly set. The vehicle can roll. If you have left the engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly. You or others could be injured. To be sure the vehicle will not move, even when you are on fairly level ground, use the steps that follow.

Fans or other moving engine parts can injure you badly. Keep your hands away from moving parts once the engine is running.

Ad infinitum

Put in reverse if on down incline

Put in 1st if on up incline

Also turn wheels to toward curb, if near

People post incorrect information all the time. I have done so myself on more than one occasion and I have been corrected. That's not really the issue. But to tell someone to just go away because you "think" you are right is downright wrong. But hey, if you think by putting your foot through the floorboard before you set your parking brake is going to help hold your car in place then more power to you. No pun intended! :cheers:

In the first year of the C6(2005),it was mandatory to shut the car down in reverse to completely shut down the electrical system. Otherwise,it could kill the battery.

No wives tale....

100 % correct

You must be as much of a goof as the one that wrote the manual.

I would never have thought this issue of using the parking brake would ever have come up...:ack:

If on flat terrain just pull the lever.

If on incline or decline curb the tire, and use the lever. By the way on really steep hills, like in San Francisco I will leave the manual in gear too.
The city has some really nasty hills for parking on.

This is Driver's Ed 101.

Yup, correct. I meant to put that people still believe it on newer (2006 up) cars, as that's written in the manual. That's the fallacy. :thumbs:

I can see how you would have felt defensive. The one thing I was concerned about is you indicated that yours was the way to set the brake correctly, and it could easily have been understood as - stepping on the brake pedal is the important part to ensuring the p-brake is correctly engaged". That could easily have caused someone to not properly set the p-brake.

All of us C6 owners should know by now that the only correct way to set the p-brake is to pull all the way up, until the final click, and then pull again, just to make sure it's the final click. And then make sure the car is in reverse (if it's a manual transmission) because the p-brake sucks! (and that's the part of the manual that would really have prevented the accident yesterday). :cheers:

Never use my park brake, (actually, if I leave my car running and get out, yes I do use my parking brake, but not when I am shutting it off and done driving it) maybe someday I will have a thread about my car running away......but I bet not. :thumbs:

You are right. And those little parking brake shoes will have a hard time stopping the car in an emergency too.

But on the next page of the manual it tells you how to put it into park.
1) Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and set the parking brake.
See Parking Brake on page 2-32 for more information.
2) Move the shifter lever into PARK (P) by holding in the button on the lever and pushing all the way forward of the vehicle.
3) Press the Acc. button (ignition switch) to turn the engine off.

It appears that GM assumes the driver is going to set the parking brake first and then put it into park. Just the opposite way I have ever done. The parking brake system on the Vette is a two separate pad system. Wait to you see how much those little pads cost if they ever need replaced. One of my old trainers would correct anyone who call it an emergency brake. "It is a parking brake, it won't stop dick".

Having done a complete BBK on my car I can confirm the above is correct. If the e-brake was tied to the calipers then it would probably hold better than it does with these "drum style" rings inside the rotor hub. Those are a joke, as so many have learned. :(

:lurk: No apology needed - this hasn't been a boring thread at all! :lurk:

And another decent thread turns into a pissing contest. :eek: Can't we all grow up on this forum? :yesnod:

Anyone who relies only on the "emergency" brake when they park their car, Corvette or otherwise, is in for a rude awakening one day. Leave it in gear. :thumbs:

The emergency brake is useful under loss of braking power in the normal system. When all else fails on the road, pull up on the handle and your car will slow to a stop. :yesnod:

Go to an empty parking lot at a mall some evening and try it out. You are correct stating it may have a hard time, but it WILL stop the car in a normal situation with loss of normal braking power. :cheers:

I am surprised this topic is even here, I learned how to use a parking brake even before I used to steal my parents car when I was 12.

Wait, that's a parking brake? I thought it was only there for power-sliding :thumbs: I can't imagine not leaving it in gear when parked...of course, I grew up driving MG's, so I was used to having a backup in case of mechanical failure :D

-AZschmeh

I leave all manual transmission cars in gear when parked.

I leave all automatic transmission cars in "P" when parked.

Why depend on the parking brake only when it can and will fail? The only time I depend on using the parking brake, is when I have to leave the engine running with the car parked.