How does a car stay still when the engine is on in park?

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Title.

When a car has its engine on, the engine is working. But if its in park, the car doesn’t move. How? The engine is still running like if the car was driving, but what mechanism prevents the car from moving?

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18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A car has a “transmission”, something between the engine and wheels that uses a system of gears to change how fast the engine is trying to spin the wheels. When you shift into park, the transmission disconnects from the wheels altogether. It also drops a little pin into the linkage on the wheel side of things, so the car won’t even roll on its own from gravity on a gentle incline. Mind you, you should always use the parking brake when you park, for peace of mind against that little pin failing – that can happen on a less gentle incline, or if someone crashes into your car.

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