I'm a newbie here with my HCH II, which I've had for only 5 weeks now. I have a question about parking. On page 172 of the manual, it mentions to set the parking brake before putting the transmission in Park and I agree with doing this. My question arises when I'm able to glide into a parking spot with the ICE in Auto Stop, is it okay to turn the Key to Accessory (I) position before putting the transmission in Park? This prevents the ICE from starting when you shift from Neutral to Reverse then to Park and needing to be shut off anyways. I see this as wasting a small amount of gas and I'm wondering if it's okay or does the ICE need to be running in Park when the Key is used to shut it off.

Thanks,
Mark

 

I have made it a habit to turn the key to accessory when parking then put the transmission in park and pull the parking brake before removing the key. It's just another effort in preventing wasted fuel.

 

My process...
Coast in with foot on brake, ICE in Auto-Stop
At the spot I want to stop at, foot down on brake to stop, shift to neutral
Pull hand brake, switch car off ACC only
Shift to park, foot off brake, key to OFF and out

 

Chris,

Welcome to Green Hybrid ! I can't improve on the answers allready given. Be sure to post your mileage in the database. I believe the info here from real folks driving over either EPA or Consumer Reports. I hope you enjoy your new ride. I'm having fun with mine AND I feel like I'm doing my small part to help the planet and our grandchildren to come.

Regards,

 

Yes, welcome! I seldom bother to shift to neutral before shutting turning to ACC when in AutoStop. Just an unnecessary step, imo. But either way works fine, and shouldn't hurt the car.

 

When I've just pulled into a space (in drive, autostopped), I put the parking brake on, turn the key to acc (or visa versa), shift to park, take my foot off the brake, and then take the key out.

 

Adding the neutral is acquired habit, I think, from parking on a friend's driveway where there was a significant slope, and not shifting to neutral before setting the parking brake was just asking for trouble. I doubt it makes any real difference, but it does take the transmission out of the picture when the time comes to start up again.

 

I've always been curious about this: if you're not parking on a hill, why set the parking brake? I almost never use the parking brake. Is there some mechanical reason to use it, or something else? Thanks.

 

Belt and braces!

 

Thanks for all of the replies! As I haven't seen any negative, I'll continue the practice as a good gas savings measure.

Thanks again!
Mark