Is the parking brake useless in the snow?

[David Moon]

My neighbor and I have 2019 expeditions. During a major snowstorm we parked on our incline driveways, put in park and engaged the parking brake. Both cars later slid down the driveways and stopped in the street. No harm done but how can this be avoided in the future (short of parking in the garage)?

 

[theoneneo]

Did the driveway have snow and ice on it when you drove up the driveway? If so, I think the expedition slid down, just like a sled. So what can you do to prevent this from happening? Remove the snow and ice from you driveway by sprinkling snow salt. Then you can drive up your driveway and the expedition should not sled down.


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[ManUpOrShutUp]

Did either of you take driver's ed?

 

[JamaicaJoe]

That will only work if the driveway has a curb, otherwise both cars will still slide down and turn and end up in the front yard or koi pond, mailbox, neighbors swimming pool , down cliff or whatever.

If they had simply waited and bought the 2022 Ford Inquisition Eddie Blower Edition equipped with quad TurboFan tire warmers they would not have this problem .

Obvious poor consumer purchase decision.

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[Plati]

That will only work if the driveway has a curb, otherwise both cars will still slide down and turn and end up in the front yard or koi pond, mailbox, neighbors swimming pool , down cliff or whatever.

If they had simply waited and bought the 2022 Ford Inquisition Eddie Blower Edition equipped with quad TurboFan tire warmers they would not have this problem .

Obvious poor consumer purchase decision.

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The quad TurboFan tire warmers are nice in certain situations but once the battery goes into saver mode ... tires freeze to pavement and you're stuck there until spring.

 

[coupe11]

Must be a steep driveway. The road in front of my parent's house is uphill and I've parked in front of their house for years - without using the parking brake - with multiple cars, trucks, SUVs and never had one slide on the packed snow/ice.

We never used the parking brakes because sometimes, when it's that cold at night, after a wet slushy day, the brakes won't release and you can't go to work the next morning. Or can't leave to drive back down to the flat lands where it's not snowing and nasty.

 

[Trainmaster]

If the car's in Park and it slid down the hill the Parking Brake had nothing to do with holding it. It's moot.

 

[cfldad]

How about chocks around a wheel or two.

 

[lbv150]

I can't stop laughing long enough to wipe the tears so I can see to type. The questions folks ask on these forums only reinforces the state our country is in.

 

[Keepinitoldskool]

Parking brake and the transmission park both lock the rear wheels. If you have a limited slip rear, then the park brake won't make any difference. If you have 4wd, the transmission will lock up the front (at least one) if you park it with 4wd engaged.

 

[Keepinitoldskool]

Did either of you take driver's ed?

That's a hell of a driveway!

 

[lbv150]

Parking brake and the transmission park both lock the rear wheels. If you have a limited slip rear, then the park brake won't make any difference. If you have 4wd, the transmission will lock up the front (at least one) if you park it with 4wd engaged.

Then he will have 4 skis. Bahahaha. The parking brake (which nobody really uses on an automatic) and the transmission park gear did their jobs in this case. He wants to park on an icy driveway hill so.... Simple would be to drive a long anchor rod with an eye at the end in the driveway, run a wire rope from it to the Expy's tow hook. Hey he asked, so that's what I got. The more I think about it a boat trailer winch secured at the top of the driveway would be best.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

That's a hell of a driveway!

Well, mine is about 45 yards.

Of course the point was in regards to which way to turn your wheels. It still applies to most driveways without a curb as well since the grass - and presumably the greater volume of snow upon said grass - will stop the free roll.

 

[Aspen03]

If you have a garage that is available to park in, why would you not? Serious question, not being a smart ass...I assume everyone immediately thinks the worst after the last thread. Lol

Turning the wheels may not have helped if it was a complete loss of traction that initiated the slide. If the wheel has no grip, it's not going to change the vehicles direction. Perhaps water/snow flowed under the tire and froze over time, lifting the tread just enough from its expansion that the tire finally lost its battle with traction and just slid on down? Juat a random thought on that one, no clue how it could happen other than something like that or mechanical failure which I'm sure wasn't the case w 2 vehicles at the same time.

The parking brake is only as good as the grip the rear wheels have. Remove that and all bets are off. Did either of you by chance catch this on a security camera did you? Would be fun and nerve wracking to watch.

I once shoveled a retired lady's driveway like this when I was a kid for a 20. Learned my lesson that day I'd never own a house w a steep drive and live in a snowy area. Worst experience ever, I can only imagine how the expy felt as it slid uncontrollably down the hill.

 

[joethefordguy]

Move to Texas...

 

[2020-MAX-Limited]

I received a delivery of a large home appliance last January while my slightly sloping driveway was covered in a little ice/snow. The driver backed up the driveway, parked it and he and his helper got in the back to move the item onto the lift gate to lower it to the ground. At this point with both of them in the back, the truck began to slide down the driveway! Fortunately, it only slid a few feet before the wheels got some traction and stopped, but I believe both of them soiled themselves during those few seconds.