Problem with my Mazda5 rolling down my driveway overnight

[Heat]

I moved into a new house last October which has a driveway with a slope:

Twice in the past couple of weeks the Mazda5 has been left parked by the garage, and has slipped down by the sidewalk overnight, maybe 15 feet. This morning the back end was hanging over the sidewalk when it was parked near the garage last night. It is a manual transmission, the parking brake was on and my wife left it in third gear.

Whats going on? This has never happened with my Honda Accord, also with a manual transmission.

 

[bretthn]

You don't have any teenagers in the house do you?

1) your e brake needs adjusting
or
2) 1st gear would hold your car stronger than 3rd if facing up hill
or
3) your teenager is sneaking out and not paying attention to where the car is parked beforehand

 

[beldecca]

+1 for e-brake adjusting. How many miles / age?
You (or she) park it in third?

 

[Heat]

No teenagers. Car is an '09, I bought it last February. It now has a little over 11,000 miles on it.

When I park I leave it in first, my wife leaves it in gear but isn't as picky. She had engaged the parking brake but hadn't tugged it all the way, it could have gone a few clicks more I guess. But it was definately in gear. I thought that a car in gear will stay still and the parking brake was just a backup in case the car gets knocked out of gear somehow?

 

[laredotexas]

i would make sure the ebrake is all the way up and the gear in REVERSE

 

[mysleeper6]

If it is rolling out of your garage, I assume the garage is not closed, so the teenager theory is still in play, even if you personally do not have any. And consider yourself lucky your driveway isn't MY driveway...I've got about a 30 degree slope to the road; anything got rolling there it would end up in the across-the-street-neighbor's living room.

 

[doctorz]

i would make sure the ebrake is all the way up and the gear in REVERSE

(iagree)

Basically new car likely means neither is happening. The gear does make a difference. When left in gear the engine will turn if the car is moving. The lower the gear, the harder it is for the engine to turn over. Reverse is typically lower than first and it does not matter whether you are uphill or downhill. My feeling is that third is probably not much better than leaving it in neutral.

The parking brake is extra insurance. My wife was definitely not used to fully pulling the parking brake up when we first got our 5. My mother, who fortunately has never driven a stick shift, pulls the brake up exactly ONE click on her car. Nothing will change her mind.

Now, just for fun...which way do you turn the wheels when parked on a hill? I don't find many people turn the wheels away from the hill when parked uphill, but that's what I was taught to do in New York State when I started driving. The driver's manual says "If there is a curb, turn your steering wheel all the way away from it if you're facing uphill, or all the way toward it if you're facing downhill. If your vehicle starts to roll, the wheels should stop the vehicle at the curb and prevent it from rolling downhill."

 

[Heat]

..."If there is a curb, turn your steering wheel all the way away from it if you're facing uphill, or all the way toward it if you're facing downhill. If your vehicle starts to roll, the wheels should stop the vehicle at the curb and prevent it from rolling downhill."

That's how I was taught, though I now live in a flat area. My driveway is the biggest hill I ever have to park on, and I happen to park on it on a regular basis.

I'll tell my wife to leave the car in 1st or reverse, and to fully pull up on the parking brake when she parks. Or we could start parking it in the garage...

 

[SonicBoy]

How about a set of wheel chucks?(yupnope)

I agree that the transmission should hold. That driveway does not look that steep.

Maybe get the Parking brake checked out and or pad thickness on the brakes.

 

[dmention7]

Always park in 1st gear or reverse. Like doctorz said, the parking brake is basically insurance over the transmission holding the car. It's not really surprising at all to me that a car parked in 3rd gear would roll, even with the parking brake on.

 

[Rocket]

Treat her better and she'll stay close to home.

 

[deisz001]

Easy to try: put the car in third gear and push it down the driveway. Then put it in first gear and again push it down the driveway. You'll see what a difference that makes.

 

[dan4behr]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one this has happened to. For all practical purposes, the exact same thing happened to me about two years ago, except I was the one who left the car in 3rd or 4th gear and found that the handbrake needs to be pulled up HARD or the car will roll.

I learned the hard way after my car's rearward progress was halted by my neighbour's mailbox that the rear hatch is made of plastic. The paint finish was gouged by the metal box and the body shop informed me that it couldn't be refinished. In short, a new hatch skin, painted and installed.... $1300.(wow)

Glad yours stopped in time.

 

[dan4behr]

Oh, there was a rear bumper cover in that little incident, too.(shrug)

 

[rweatherford]

An engine will slowly loose compression in each cylinder when force is applied to turn the crank. This will allow the car to slowly creep when in any gear if the force applied to the engine is high enough. Putting the transmission in 1st or reverse creates a greater mechanical advantage for the engine making it more difficult to rotate.

I would be sure the E-brake is pulled up all the way every time. If it still rolls you need your parking brake adjusted. There is nothing else wrong with the car.

 

[KBrian]

I agree with Rex about e-brake needing to hold the vehicle.

Another thing to consider with a manual transmission: trannys run $500 (used) to $5000+, while brakes and brake cables rarely cost more than a couple hundred bucks.
When parking, ALWAYS engage the e-brake before selecting park or 1st/reverse (only). Save that transmission.

 

[Snagjim]

I always engage the handbrake...I've always figured it was called a parking brake for a reason...