Should You Turn Off the Engine or Shift to P Gear First When Parking?

[Johnson]

When parking a car, you should shift to P gear before turning off the engine. Here are the detailed explanations: 1. In fact, a car can be turned off in any gear. If you turn off the engine in D gear or R gear, the car may suddenly lurch when restarted, which is quite dangerous. If you turn off the engine in N gear, the car can be moved by external force, which also poses potential risks. 2. P gear is similar to N gear in that both can cut off the power transmission inside the gearbox. However, P gear has an additional locking mechanism that locks the output shaft, preventing both wheels from rotating in the same direction. 3. Some people may forget to shift to P gear before turning off the engine. To reduce the occurrence of such dangerous situations, car manufacturers have made considerable efforts. If the car is not in P gear when the engine is turned off, the vehicle will issue a warning signal. For models with mechanical keys, the key cannot be removed, and for models with push-button start, the car cannot be locked after leaving the vehicle.