[DriveS]

I posted this last week, but nobody really commented on it. As its a potential major safety issue, thought I would post again with a different title...

Last week was out in the heavy snow. My drive has a slight incline. Would not have got up without x-drive. So I reversed on as normal, got out with my daughter.
She was playing in the snow around the car while I went in the boot. I closed the lid and the car started rolling down the drive. Front and rear wheels turning. It rolled about 2 Meters before I got in the put my foot on the brake.

So what happened?

I must not have engaged the handbrake fully.
The transmission should automatically engage PARK when you turn the engine off. For some reason my did not. Could have been an accident.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[thescouselander]

Its not unheard of for the parking pawl to snap in auto boxes - have you tried taking the handbrake off again while in park to see if the problem is repeatable?

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by thescouselander

Its not unheard of for the parking pawl to snap in auto boxes - have you tried taking the handbrake off again while in park to see if the problem is repeatable?

Yes. Its not done it again. The car was not sliding in the snow. The drive is not that steep and the wheels were turning.

Every time I park up I am standing out and trying to push the car whilst still in the door opening, just in case it does it again. Gave me quite a fright and to think my daughter could have got caught underneath.

[thescouselander]

It's a strange one alright. Personally I always press the "P" button instead of relying on the car to select P automatically - maybe that would help.

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by thescouselander

It's a strange one alright. Personally I always press the "P" button instead of relying on the car to select P automatically - maybe that would help.

Maybe. I have not done that so far. Just relied on it automatically engaging when the ignition is turned off

[Lincoln61]

Being new to auto I have noticed i'm good at putting it in park, but seem to forget the hand brake quite often. If you're on a slope could this have been putting stress on things over time? (it wouldn't have rolled if you had used the handbrake)

[doncarlyon]

The handbrake is pretty rubbish but mine has never rolled away in park.

[Craig-SM]

I thought you could switch the engine off with the car in neutral. This is how I take mine through the car wash.

[Wills2]

From what I've on the thread the major safety issue is the OP didn't apply his hand brake properly.

It's pretty easy to tell if P has engaged properly and to feel whether hand brake is working correctly and holding the car especially on a sloping driveway, but as neither has been reported as broken I'm not sure what the major safety issue is.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by thescouselander

It's a strange one alright. Personally I always press the "P" button instead of relying on the car to select P automatically - maybe that would help.

Same, I always put it into park myself before turning the engine off.

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by Wills2

From what I've on the thread the major safety issue is the OP didn't apply his hand brake properly.

It's pretty easy to tell if P has engaged properly and to feel whether hand brake is working correctly and holding the car especially on a sloping driveway, but as neither has been reported as broken I'm not sure what the major safety issue is.

I am in the habit of not pressing P on the shifter and relying on the automatic switching to P when the engine is turned off.
As for the handbrake, its getting worse. I did pull the handbrake lever, but obviously not enough. I am going to overhaul it when I do my brakes next month. So not worried about that.

Its the transmission I am concerned about. I am 'testing' it at the moment to see it if does it again. If not I am going to change my habit and start pressing P on the shifter as a precaution.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by DriveS

I am in the habit of not pressing P on the shifter and relying on the automatic switching to P when the engine is turned off.


Its the transmission I am concerned about. I am 'testing' it at the moment to see it if does it again. If not I am going to change my habit and start pressing P on the shifter as a precaution.

I would at least start checking that P has actually been engaged on the transmission before exiting the vehicle as suggested in the cars manual

[TouringPleb]

As others have said I'd get in the habit of pressing P.

I was a service advisor for 10 years (BMW/Volvo/Merc) and have never heard of an automatic car moving once park was engaged.

[wlegge]

I noticed the other day that I switched the car off when i had put it in neutral and it would then let me get out and lock it without going in to P. Did you put it in neutral by accident maybe ?

[agentorange]

I'm seeing operator error all over this. I'm sorry, but relying on a system that is supposed to work automatically when you kill the motor doesn't seem smart to me. Have some patience and operate the machine safely.

When I learned to drive in the UK (and dodge dinosaurs on the street) the procedure for parking an automatic car went like this.

1) Stop using footbrake and select neutral.
2) Apply handbrake.
3) Take foot off brake
4) Shift to park
5) Turn off motor

As for an ineffective handbrake, does that still get you a fix-it ticket in the UK?

[robbiep]

I like the way you refer to it as a 'potential major safety issue', and 'Could have been an accident', and that your daughter was 'playing in the snow around the car while I went in the boot' ... all making it seem to be of the direst urgency, of critical importance to you, etc.

And then you post 'As for the handbrake, its getting worse. I did pull the handbrake lever, but obviously not enough. I am going to overhaul it when I do my brakes next month'

So, critically important, but it's OK for you to leave it a few weeks, when you can get round to it.

[XK140]

I may be incorrect but is the BMW auto selector a form of electric switch...rather than a mechanical link to the gearbox as it is on,for instance, Audis like my daughter's TTS.

If this is the case we could be looking at an electrical fault that causes the parking pawl to not be engaged.

(Having said that it's rather silly not to always use the hand/ parking brake as well...a mechanic friend tells me that it's quite common for older autos to fail the MOT with an ineffective seized up parking brake.When the owner is informed he says something like " Never bother with that,I just put it in park.")

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by XK140

(Having said that it's rather silly not to always use the hand/ parking brake as well...a mechanic friend tells me that it's quite common for older autos to fail the MOT with an ineffective seized up parking brake.When the owner is informed he says something like " Never bother with that,I just put it in park.")

I live in the US. I cause much bafflement among the natives because I am a male and use the handbrake.

Some folk who have lived in Mid-West or Alaskan winters are conditioned NOT to use the handbrake as they will often not release the next morning due to being frozen.

[James-335dx]

That's interesting, I always just put it in park before switching the engine off so haven't had any issues. I will see if it will remain in neutral though with the engine off.

I did notice the other day though that you can't engage drive with the door open. I tried to move my car forward a few feet and so didn't bother shutting the driver door properly, I put it in drive but when I released the break it just beeped and didn't move. I looked and it was in park. Assuming I hadn't engaged drive properly I tried again and had the same issue. Third time lucky I also looked at the dash and saw a message saying something like "anti role engaged" with an image of the car in white with some lines behind it.
Pretty smart I thought, especially after a colleague had to chase his car down the road the other day after leaving it in drive with the door open.

Wonder if it engages park if you open the drivers door and release the break?

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by robbiep

I like the way you refer to it as a 'potential major safety issue', and 'Could have been an accident', and that your daughter was 'playing in the snow around the car while I went in the boot' ... all making it seem to be of the direst urgency, of critical importance to you, etc.

And then you post 'As for the handbrake, its getting worse. I did pull the handbrake lever, but obviously not enough. I am going to overhaul it when I do my brakes next month'

So, critically important, but it's OK for you to leave it a few weeks, when you can get round to it.

Yes you are right it is important. My point of the post is not of selfish thought as you suggest, but was to highlight this as a potential to happen to someone else. In doing so it could save an accident from happening. Now its happened to me it wont happen again because I will make sure, but for others that are in the habit i was in they are at risk.

Yes its fine for me to leave the handbrake. Its not critically important as I would have fixed it the second it was, as that the type of person I am. Just needs to be improved and I look forward to doing it when I planned.

Thanks to all the comments and It looks certain that its my bad habit that caused it.
However, I did not know when I made the post that someone may well have come back and said - "yes this happened to me - you need a new ****"

This is my new procedure

Pull up. Pull handbrake on. Put into neutral to check handbrake is holding. Press into PARK and see that the light comes on. Turn off ignition.


So for anyone that is doing what I was doing - DO NOT TRUST THAT PARK WILL BE ENGAGED WHEN YOU TURN OFF THE ENGINE. Manually engage and check.

If checking that the P light is on is enough, I do not know, as it may well have been the other night, I just did not look.

Back to the habit I was in for 22 years of my driving life before I got lazy with BMW autos for 5 years.

[xenon]

What you need is an automatic electronic handbrake instead of a ratchet-lever like something out of a Victorian signal box. Get with the program, BMW...

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by xenon

What you need is an automatic electronic handbrake instead of a ratchet-lever like something out of a Victorian signal box. Get with the program, BMW...

New G20 3-series is sorting that problem.