[TSIVTEC]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Is there anything wrong with the tyres? From the picture, they look fine. A flat spot is when it is visibly misshapen and physically damaged to the point that it will wobble.

The parking pawl or pin will not get damaged when the same is applied when the vehicle is totally stationary and on a flat area. Just to make sure you can put a brick under the diagonally opposite front and back tyres, and then apply the parking brake.

Oh,then thats good to know.Apart from the tyres being a bit low on pressure there were no other visible signs as such.Thanks for clarifying on both parts.

[motorworks]

I got a circular from Hyundai that the car should be parked in Gear and hand brake should not be engaged. I found this to be a little surprising, why would engaging handbrake be detrimental to a car that is parked idle for a long time? The manual hand brake is not linked to any electronic or electric system and is purely mechanical, right?
And isnt this how we all normally park? In Gear and Hand brake engaged?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by motorworks

The manual hand brake is not linked to any electronic or electric system and is purely mechanical, right?

The reason for suggestion is not related to hand brake being linked to any electric system.

Its to avoid the brake shoe getting stuck on to drums, this used to be an issue in older generation vehicles (Ambassador, Premier Padmini ).

I haven't come across this in newer generation vehicles using drum brakes (haven't faced it in my Alto till date, though I have left the vechile multiple times on 2 week duration)

Also, this is not a concern in vehicles with disk brakes on rear wheels (where hand brake engages)

To understand how the issue of hand brake comes up in drum brake vehicles, you can take a look at this video which shows the interior of a drum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg6l_V3vVQI

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

I haven't come across this in newer generation vehicles using drum brakes (haven't faced it in my Alto till date, though I have left the vechile multiple times on 2 week duration)

Not in a couple of weeks, but after 1.5 month of static parking, my friend's brand new Tigor needed to visit the ASC because one rear wheel's brake shoe refused to part company with the drum last year. He was out of country for work assignment and nobody from the family went through the efforts of just moving the car once.

So yes - it does happen with the modern cars as well. Especially in coastal places of humid climate or around the monsoon seasons.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by motorworks

why would engaging handbrake be detrimental to a car that is parked idle for a long time? The manual hand brake is not linked to any electronic or electric system and is purely mechanical, right?
And isnt this how we all normally park? In Gear and Hand brake engaged?

Handbrake usually uses a cable and a brake drum , even in some cars where it has disc brake in the rear end a separate drum maybe present for handbrake.

Every car I have seen that is regularly parked over a long period of time using the handbrake have ended up having a jammed brake at some point of time, usually when they need the car badly.

The handbrake lever will disengage but the brake in itself holds onto the drum. In places where there is sufficient moisture in the air \ poorly ventilated garages, this can happen in just a few days of parking with the handbrake on as well.

[gopi_rm]

Any idea how would it affect EPBs. In my golf I could not turn off EPB. It always get activated whenever I open the driver door or when car ignition is turned off.

[Kosfactor]

A few hous back my neighbour's Kwid refused to start , it has been in use for about 5-6 kms per week since the lockdown. As it's an AMT and we couldn't push start it. I got a roadside assistance number from Google - called them up and they dispatched a person to our location within 20 mins. They came with a large battery, toolkit and good quality jump leads. Inspect the wiring etc and jump started the vehicle. The owner wanted a new battery and they offered to get it in 30 minutes and install it at a reasonable price.

Bangalore contact number - 09739707103.
Since we were in Jayanagar, the call was then redirected to a nearby garage technician who came for help. These folks have been to as far as Whitefield to provide assistance.

A side note - For whatever reasons both the AMT equipped vehicles in our parking had to be jump started. The other two MT petrols had no issues.

[MaanSingh]

My old battery was about to die, and luckily I got a new one just before the lockdown.

New batteries are a great match for old cars

[BLACNWYTE]

Originally Posted by motorworks

why would engaging handbrake be detrimental to a car that is parked idle for a long time? The manual hand brake is not linked to any electronic or electric system and is purely mechanical, right?
And isnt this how we all normally park? In Gear and Hand brake engaged?

I drive Hyundai Creta Manual and once recently I faced the problem of sticky handbrakes. After a longish journey, I parked the car on even floor, engaged hand brake and put it in gear and left it like that for may be a week. I have this habit of moving the vehicle a couple of inches forward before backing out of the garage and the next time I took the vehicle I was trying to inch it forward but even though I was slipping clutch the vehicle was not moving forward. I checked the hand brake again, it was fully disengaged and the light was off on dashboard too. Then I tried again and this time I gave it some gas and a big snapping noise was heard and the vehicle moved forward. This was the first time it happened and I didn't know then what has happened. I took the vehicle to my regular HASS and they checked everything (discs, drums, brake shoes, fluid etc) but couldn't find any issues. Even took a test drive with me to check for shuddering or the sorts under hard braking. Nada, no issues. They chalked it upto sticky handbrakes and advised me not to engage it on even ground while parking, just put it in a low gear or reverse. A knowledgeable FNG mechanic also told me that hot brakes have much more tendency to stick to the drum walls.

Nowadays I park only in gear on flat surfaces and on slopes, gear+ handbrake (75% engaged) + cinder-blocks on two wheels. No sticky handbrakes after that.

[shankar.balan]

For me personally it has been around 6-7 weeks of lockdown so far since we began WFH in early March itself.

However, I am able as of now, to use both my cars atleast once a week each for about 4-5 kms -
only neighbourhood/ local use for buying essentials, groceries and medicines.

This activity keeps the cars' oils and other fluids flowing, the batteries charging a bit and helps reduce the risk of flat spots on the tyres.

As long as one is allowed to move about a little even with all the necessary restrictions in place, this type of minor running and ongoing exercise is what I will continue to do for my cars.

[PVS]

Once a week I take my car(2012 Wagon R Vxi K10) out of its covered parking lot, switch on the engine, and let it idle for around 10 to 15 minutes, while I quickly dust it thoroughly. I then take it out for a short spin around the block, and head back, and park it. I used to engage the hand brake, but after reading the reports on the forum, I no longer do that.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

As long as one is allowed to move about a little even with all the necessary restrictions in place, this type of minor running and ongoing exercise is what I will continue to do for my cars.

This is the best thing to do, I too switch between the two vehicles every alternate day or so, the oldest one being used most of the time (They are diesels) - going out to buy groceries mostly and medicines, I also buy things for my relatives living in the same apartment, so my vehicles are used pretty much everyday, I make it a point to do multiple tasks while being outside and park the vehicle back only after the engine reaches proper temperature. Thankfully there are enough places open, and enough roads to drive through and enough things to buy for making the trip worthwhile.

[BLACNWYTE]

Won't the battery life reduces if repeatedly used for very short runs/duration. At least that is what I was told when I was using my Activa for short runs. I was advised to do at least one long run (50 kms or so) once a week to give time to the alternator to recharge the battery. Even with idling it was not advised to idle for more than 20 minutes continuously.

I had to idle my car for approximately 3 hrs once that too when my car was new and it still scares me that I might have done some damage to the engine then. Please ignore if this a stupid query.

[fhdowntheline]

My Polo GT TSi is displaying "Inspect Ignition" when I try to crank it up, and the crank produces a prominent rattle, and doesn't fire up. It looks like the first thing I may have to do post lockdown is to call for VW towing and repair service. Any suggestions or thoughts from BHPians would be welcome. Feel very sad, because it was doing just fine two weeks ago, and for the past 10 days this situation has developed. The battery seems to be ok for now, since the display , windows etc are powering up. I am just a wee bit worried about lockdown extension under the circumstances. Thankfully, my Honda City is doing ok.

[drmohitg]

I start my car and drive it on the road outside the house once every week for 15 minutes. Also while parking, the car's hand brake is not engaged. The BMW being older and still running on stock battery after 6+ years does show minimal protest on starting now. I wonder how much of this lockdown would have affected the battery in it and I might have to change it in the next year or so.