Should You Park First or Shift to P Gear First in an Automatic Transmission?

[ZaneLee]

When parking an automatic transmission vehicle, you should first shift to P gear and then turn off the engine. Here are the reasons: 1. Many car models nowadays require shifting to P gear before allowing the engine to be turned off. This is a safety measure to prevent drivers from forgetting to engage P gear. 2. Essentially, P gear is similar to N gear, except that when P gear is engaged, a pawl inside the transmission locks the output shaft, preventing the vehicle from moving. 3. If you forget to shift to P gear and turn off the engine directly when parking on a slope, the vehicle may move due to inertia, which can be dangerous. An important point to note is that you must engage the handbrake before shifting to P gear; only the handbrake can truly prevent the vehicle from moving.