ELI5, during winters and colder seasons you’re told not to use the handbrake of it possibly freezing. Why wouldn’t a gear in a gearbox freeze as well?
In: 40
You can use the handbrake in winter. The risk is pretty low, it isn’t impossible that they freeze in the engaged position but I have never seen it and I have lived in some damn cold environments.
The transmission will often be sluggish in cold weather because, even though the fluid won’t freeze, it will be a thicker viscosity, so fluid driven transmissions (the vast majority exempting dual clutch and those god awful CVTs) will initially shift like crap. But, even in cold weather the metal on metal friction heats things up quickly even though it is well lubricated.
The bigger risk is the cold start of the engine, it is really hard on it. Cars sold in Canada and parts of the US are ‘pluggable’, they have block heaters you can plug in, so the first start doesn’t shave off a bunch of metal. I have heard of trans heaters for vehicles in extreme arctic conditions, but I have never personally known anyone to use one. Block heaters, absolutely.
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