2003 Honda Accord Transmission wear

MANUCIDOO

MEMBER
2003 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
137,000 MILES

When stopping on red lights or stopping for more than 1 minute I generally put my car into the parking (P) position. My belief is that by doing so I am not putting unnecessary stress on the clutch plates or transmission of my car as I have to press on brakes when engine is running so that the car does not move. My question -Is this a good practice to follow or I am just having a myth and wearing out my gear shifter rod !

Or take it this way-

Keeping the brakes pressed with engine running while the car is in stop position, does this wear out the clutch or the transmission?

3 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi manucidoo,

This has always been a hotly debated question.

There are 2 ways about it.

If the engine idling speed is correct and not too high, there would be minimal wear on the clutches if you leave the trans in gear for a short period of time.

Shifting out of gears would cause more damage at the point of clutches engagement when shifting in than leaving it in drive.

If you wish to shift out, leaving in N with handbrakes applied would be more sensible as you need not move across the reverse range.

If the waiting period is prolonged, then keeping the trans in P or N would be a better choice.