Urgent question, Please help, safety issue?

Question

My husband just came inside and told me that my Outback rolled by itself into the street. We live on a busy street with no garage. He said the keys were in his pocket and he went outside, someone passing by beeped, he looked up and the car had just rolled form park into the street. IS that possible or could it by that it ws in between park and neutral? And if so how come the keys could be removed? What could have happened? THanks.

Answer 1

If the vehicle has an automatic transmission, the only time you can remove the key is when the gear selector is in P...If the vehicle still rolled, then there is a problem that needs quick attention.

If the vehicle has a manual transmission and the gear selector was left in N and the parking brake was not set, then the vehicle would roll down any incline...If the vehicle was in gear while parked on a slope, the static weight of the vehicle  could cause the gear to slip out and the vehicle could roll downhill.

See if you can duplicate any of these conditions with you or your husband behind the wheel and foot on the brake...This will allow you to brief a mechanic on the specifics of the discrepancy.

All the best.

Answer 2

USA Citizens usually tend to have automatics, these should be left in the appropriate mode whilst unattended which I believe is 'P' (Park), and there should also be a parking brake to either pull up, a bar, or electric as Renault have introduced recently. This device should lock one of the sets of wheels preventing the car from 'Accidently' moving off. However, it could still be lifted, but for a human to push it or for it to actually roll, the parking brake could not have been on, or perhaps not securely enough.

Answer 3

There are several safety features that would have to fail to allow an automatic transmission car to "roll away" when the key is removed.

First the ignition key safety interlock - it keeps the key from being removed unless the car is in park. It is physical device that can wear out or break. If this happens you could have removed the key and the transmission be in any position.

Second the transmission side of the safety interlock. If this was damaged or defective, it would send a signal to the ignition cylinder to release the key even if the transmission was not in park. Can be caused by wear, wiring failure or excessive force on the transmission lever.

Third the parking pawl is a part of the transmission which physically locks the drive shaft. If you let a car roll and try to engage the transmission to park you might have heard a grinding followed by a thump. That is the parking pawl locking the wheels. If that was worn or damaged the car would move even in park.

Finally, the parking brake would have had to failed as well as either of the above items for the car to move. A functioning parking brake is strong enough to backup any of the above systems.

Do you normally put the parking brake on?

Answer 4

Sounds like a mechanical problem which was just discussed by Eco_Dave...............and this is also why I always use my Parking Brake!.....just in case something happens.........and when you have an expensive investment like a vehicle, operated by a human being, anything can happen at any time........and it's always a good idea to put a block behind the wheel when parking in your driveway, especially if there is any slight incline.

Answer 5

You forgot to set the handbrake and put the vehicle in park all the way....................

Answer 6

YOU HUSBAND SHUT THE CAR OFF IN DRIVE, OR REVERSE, THEN MOVED THE SELECTER IN NEUTRAL, AND GOT OUT, AND THE REST IS HISTORY. WHEN THE CAR WAS IN THE STREET, WHAT GEAR WAS THE SELECTER IN, I'LL BET YOU IT WAS NEUTRAL!!!!