The key to maintaining a healthy transmission is understanding how it works. Here’s the rundown on shifting your car, truck, or SUV into park before it stops, from the professional technicians at Cozine Auto & Towing in Verona.
So, is it ok to shift into park before your vehicle stops moving, even at low speeds? The short answer: no. On most modern vehicles, the electronics probably won’t even let you try, locking you out of the park function or overriding the shift until the vehicle is stopped.
But why is it such a bad idea? Your transmission has an internal “parking pawl”, a lever which locks into a tooth of the transmission, preventing it from turning. That’s why your car sometimes rolls a couple of inches after you let off the brakes, once you’ve shifted into park...the transmission has to turn to a point where the pawl engages. If you engage it while the vehicle is in motion, this tiny lever has to stop the momentum of a moving vehicle, which is a considerable amount of force. Obviously, this causes tremendous stress to the pawl, which can cause it to break or round off, making your park function unpredictable or unusable.
Some cars are equipped with ratcheting pawls, which prevent the pawl from engaging at unsafe speeds. Police cars, for example, are equipped with such a mechanism, as well as a strengthened parking pawl. Even still, used police cars are notorious for parking issues, as a result of years of abuse. It’s best to simply wait until you’ve come to a complete stop before shifting into park.
If you’ve come here because you accidentally shifted into park early, and want to know if you’ve sustained any damage, you’re probably in luck - as long as park is still engaging, you’ve most likely dodged a bullet. Just be cautious until you’re sure everything is working correctly.
If you’re experiencing parking troubles, and for any of your other transmission repair and maintenance needs, our expert mechanics have you covered. For the best transmission service shop in Verona, call or stop by Cozine Auto & Towing today.
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Cozine'z Auto & Towing is proud to be family owned and operated providing emergency roadside assistance and towing throughout the Verona, Crittenden, Dry Ridge, Florence, Ghent, Richwood, Sanders, Sparta, & Walton area. We are well known for our attention to detail and customer service as well as fair pricing. Our team of professional mechanics can provide all repairs to the vehicles that require it from all types of automobiles up to over the road tractor-trailer rigs. Simply put, we know diesel engiens and have the experience plus the facility to handle it. Trust the team that puts you first!
