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Gearheads โ€” what would happen if I...? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.ca
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Always wanted to know this, always been afraid to Google it because I figured it would report me for self harm or something like that.

So, 1. What would happen if, while driving on the highway at highway speeds, you grab the gear shift knob and put it in park? Would it just lock up all the wheels or what?

And 2. What would happen if, also while driving on the highway, at highway speeds, you turn the car off (turn the key and remove it)?

I feel like both should be impossible while the car is in motion. But somehow I don't think they are. And to a gearhead, these are probably really stupid questions. But as someone who barely understands how cars do what they do... I'm curious.

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[โ€“] 2 points 7 months ago (3 children)

  1. From my understanding (this may not apply to all vehicles) is that Park works by engaging both a forward gear and reverse gear at the same time, effectively locking the transmission. So putting it in Park while driving is almost guaranteed to destroy the transmission. This is also why there's a separate parking brake, highly recommended to use if parking on a hill.

  2. When you turn the key off, then all but ancient cars will mechanically lock the steering wheel, as a theft prevention measure, meaning you will be completely unable to steer. And no I don't mean the loss of power steering making it hard to steer, I mean physically mechanically locked, you will not be able to steer at all.

TL;DR - Regarding both questions, catastrophic damages and likely death ๐Ÿ’€

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    You're right on the second, wrong on the first. Park is exactly the same as neutral, except there's a bit of metal that engages in the transmission to lock it in place. This is the "parking pawl". If the car is moving fast enough, that will simply break off. Slow enough, and it will lock the drive wheels. In a rear wheel drive car, that's not so bad, because you can still steer. Front wheel drive, the drive wheels lock up, and those are the wheels you use to steer, so good luck.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    Interesting, I've done quite a bit of vehicle work in my life, but have never had the pleasure of tearing into an automatic transmission myself.

    If my dad was still alive, I'd ask him what model vehicle in particular he supposedly learned that forward/reverse gear lock thing from.

    I gather you have way more internal transmission knowledge than myself, but still I wouldn't totally doubt that at least some transmissions built in the past might have worked a little differently regarding Park.

    ๐Ÿคท

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