Hi guys, was just wondering when your parked up do you leave your car in 1st gear with the hand brake applied or just leave it neutral and hand brake applied , someone has said to me you should always leave your car in gear incase your handbrake fails....i'm thinking i'v got a bloody new car handbrake best not fail but got me wondering if i should just in case

When my FL2 was delivered the handbrake was just a shade to slack for my liking, so I tended to leave it in 1st gear. But after the 15k service today, I no longer need to worry.
Will probably still do it though - Just in case. FL2 TD4 XS Santorini

Always Always leave mine in gear. My theory is Handbrake only holds rear breaks on. By leaving in gear front wheels are locked aswell by the engine. Also, as stated, if handbrake fails then you have a back up.

Glad to see you back, all red and glowing!

handbrake and 1st gear for me too  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Always leave in gear, and being a bit of an old timer I leave it in the gear opposite to direction of travel; i.e. if facing down hill leave it in reverse and uphill leave it in 1st. The reason ... well in the early days of diesels the engine shut off was often cable operated and had to be held in position until the engine stopped, at which time the 'stop' lever/control would return to the normal running position. Hence if the vehicle then moved it would turn the engine in the normal direction of travel and could start the engine; so the advice was always to leave in opposite gear. I'm sure with all the electronic gizmos in place nowadays this possibly isn't necessary, but old habits die hard !!!

Another interesting point on the handbrake is that LR recommend you pull the handbrake on and allow the rachet to click as you raise the lever. Anyone who has attended any sort of advanced driving course has probably been told to hold the button in until desired position is reached with the lever and then release the button. Given the 'welly' required on the handbrake I can understand that you would want the rachet to catch the position without about with the button too, especially if the old left arm isn't as strong as it might be or is attached to the frame of ... how shall I say ... someone of lesser strength !! Stornoway Grey GS ... What a fine motor ... but not any more ... ... psst look at my gallery!
Company cars ... a thing of the past - May 2013.

Last edited by avtur on 1st Oct 2008 6:46 pm. Edited 2 times in total

I always leave mine in gear, good job after the handbrake failed twice !!, has been back to the dealer to sort out and third time lucky hand brake is sorted.
We park ours on a hill and after placing your foot on the clutch pedal to start,going backwards did not come into the mind when half asleep in the morning taking the kids to school Eskdale

The hand brake works on the rear discs which may cool and shrink after you have left the vehicle. the shrinkage releases the disc from the pads and your car rolls away. (This happened to the local NFU insurance agents golf causing a 3 car pile up at the bottom of the carpark ) For extra safety on steep hills you can steer the front wheels toward the kerb so if it does roll the kerb will stop your car again

However if parking your car and caravan on a very secluded steep part of road leading to a cliff, I recommend to neither use the hand brake or leave the car in gear. In such events lock the car then give it a good push to make sure its safe  At work
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winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

During winter in Norway (and presumably other cold climates) we do not use the handbrake at all when leaving the car parked. First gear parking is the norm here in winter and many only use this method all year round. The reason should be quite obvious, but when temperatures drop many degrees below zero, the brake pads will freeze to the disks making it sometimes impossible to free them.  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

Defender handbrakes freeze on too, but its an easy fix , lift the front seats, open a hatch and pour hot water on the handbrake assembly If you do not have any hot water then you have to drink water to make your own apparently! I've never done that At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

In the UK are there not insurance implications if you park a car without applying the parking brake and the car rolls?
I recently tried to enter one of the multistorey carparks in Glasgow only to find that a car that had been parked without applying the parking brake and obviously not in a forward gear had rolled backward across the deck and into the car parked behind it......................... the car park attendants had called in the police who were muttering that it would be very expensive for the car owner as they probably would be uninsured having failed to apply the handbrake.
On UK spec RRS, D3 and FFRR you can park without applying the Electronic Parking Brake and leave the car but after a few minutes the brake will be applied automatically, even on automatics where you cannot take the ignition key out unless the car is parked in "P" the EPB will be engaged automatically How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
Now driving - RRE Coupe Dynamic Lux Auto with Plus pack, Fuji White, Ebony, SD4 with tow pack
Gone - 2010MY FFRR TDv8 Stornoway and Ivory, Privacy - the pace of a TDv8 RRS, the incomparable grace of a Range Rover
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chicken george wrote:

The hand brake works on the rear discs

I agree with the problems associated with handbrakes working on disc brake mechanisms but I thought our FL2 had the old "drum in centre of disc" system. Theres a couple of reasons why I say this. If you look at the rear hub/disc assembly it certainly appears to have a drum in the centre - again looking at the rear disc there is only one set of pads in the caliper (disc handbrakes sometimes have a secondary set of pads for the handbrake) and the caliper only has a single hyraulic connection to it - the handbrake cable runs into the centre of the hub from the rear and doesn't go anywhere near the caliper.

My handbrake is good, though it does take some 'welly', I think its too good for a disc handbrake. Also if you stop on an incline and apply the handbrake before realesing the foot brake there is that little tell-tale roll as you release the footbrake and the weight transfers to the handbrake, this usually indicates that the handbrake is a seperate system to the foot brake.

I am of course open to being wrong, but having looked very cloesly at the rear hubs its difficult to see how the handbrake would work on the disc .... Stornoway Grey GS ... What a fine motor ... but not any more ... ... psst look at my gallery!
Company cars ... a thing of the past - May 2013.

my handbrake will hold the car and the caravan on a hill outside my house

Though I leave it in gear, run out and apply the caravan handbrake too, and occasionally put bricks behind the wheels of the caravan  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

chicken george wrote:

Defender handbrakes freeze on too, but its an easy fix , lift the front seats, open a hatch and pour hot water on the handbrake assembly If you do not have any hot water then you have to drink water to make your own apparently! I've never done that

You have never experianced real winter then If you tried p g in the open air in winter here it will freeze before it hits the ground - and I joke not  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

Not if you have a huge hosepipe  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

When I was taught it wasn't open to discussion - the rule was handbrake AND gear. If on an incline, gear opposing the direction of travel (1st or reverse). If leaving a car for a long time I leave it in gear but with the handbrake off. On my own car (auto) I never use the handbrake.
There was recently a big thing about Vectra handbrakes slipping off the ratchet and the cars rolling away. I was amazed how many people didn't know to leave a car in gear. Even when they covered it on the TV, they didn't mention it. Absolutely crazy that people don't know.
I've had 2 handbrake cables snap over the years - admittedly not since I started driving newer ones but the point is that handbrakes mechanically speaking are pretty poor 19 century cable and ratchet devices - even now. Not sure how range rover electronic ones work, maybe they're better. 07 Freelander 2 TD4SE Tambora Flame, side steps, privacy glass, mud flaps, boot liner and a tow bar. Ok it's the Wifes but she lets me drive it occasionally - if I've been good!