When we park our car, do you guys just hit the park and then power or just hit the power button to shuf off the car? Are there any different?
Yes. No. Sometimes I Park first, and sometimes Not. If you don't Park first, the car will put it in Park, then shut down, when you press the Power button. I'm guessing this hasn't changed with Gen III.
I just hit the power button. This engages park. If I'm on a call or like the song playing I hit park, but that's just me.
No difference. Hitting the power button automatically puts the car in park. However, I consider it a better habit to hit the power button because there have been some members here who've put the car in park and left it like that while distracted only to return to find they've never turned off the car. If you attempt to open the door without putting it in park first and forget to power off the car, it will panic and notify you.
I hit Park, but I just need to feel like I'm doing something. It feels weird to get out of the car and not take your keys, so I guess I'm just looking for "closure"
With my foot on the brake pedal, I push the power button. As everything is stopping and the display fades to black, I take my foot off the brake pedal. When I'm on a slight slope, I like to feel that park has engaged as it allows the car to roll an inch or two and stops. I find this reassuring. Finally, I set the parking brake, bail out, and touch the outside door handle to lock her up. Like many things that we all do routinely, without thought, this is more complicated to describe than it is to do. It all takes abouts 10 seconds. I don't know whether this is the correct procedure or not, but it works for me and my little Prius has always been there when I returned. She never gets stuck in park.
Just a little tip. While I'm sure that your technique isn't necessarily bad for the car, if you know the car is going to roll back you should get in the habit of always hitting the parking brake first. That way you dont get that roll back and clunk against the pawl. Its more of a wear issue than a safety issue. I just always throw the parking brake on my old cars before I take my foot of the brake just to not bang away at the pawl all the time.
