Rock back or forward in Park?

I notice that if I'm on even the slightest incline, the car will rock slightly after putting the car in park.

Laugh if you will, but it's been decades since I regularly drove a car without a truly manual transmission. Is this normal?

Should I be using the parking brake on even slight inclines? Will I hurt the car if I don't? I thought the parking brake was for steeper inclines.

And, if I should be using the parking brake all the time, what's the point of the park button?

very normal

Thats normal for all automatic transmissions. Its the slack being taken up after the transmission is locked into park.

I would use the parking brake on any inclines.

Even a very slight one? I mean, like a normal parking lot that is angled slightly for drainage?

I use the parking brake all the time except in my garage. I don't like the feeling of the parking pawl being jammed all the time. In my garage which has no incline, I slowly let my foot off the brake pedal, until the car doesn't move at all.

This is perfectly normal for an automatic transmission. The car usually has to move slightly to align the pawl with the gear it meshes into. Once it locks in, the car stays in place. If I stop (for example, to let my wife out to get the mail), I hit Park to make sure the car doesn't move while she is out at the mailbox.

I was taught (a long time ago) to always engage the parking brake when I park the car, whether on an incline or not. Whether or not it is really necessary is anybody's guess. Since old habits are hard (if not impossible) to break, I still use the parking brake every time I park the car, even in my own garage.

Using Park (which the car does automatically when you turn it off) and using the parking brake are normal operations, and neither one will cause any damage to your car.

Right... it is just like IRAS mentions, it is about getting into a habit. Safety first.

ALL of the above is GOOD advise, I have even taught my wife that to refrain from putting pressure on the gears when on ANY kind of an incline, to stop, apply the Paarking Brake FIRST, press the Park button SECOND, then turn the car OFF.

Applying the Parking Brake FIRST prevents the car from "rocking" forward or backwards and putting ressure on the Pawl and the gear it meshes into and takes the load (and stress) off those parts when shifting into "D".

David (aka Blind Guy)

I always apply the parking brake, out of habit. But I'm pretty sure the manual says to do so also.

The point of the park button is partly as a backup to the parking brake and partly so you don't try start the car while in gear.

My last two cars wouldn't permit this - Crown Vic and DeVille, automatically release the brake when taken out of Park.

I rarely use the parking brake, unless on an obvious incline. Several times, I have found myself leaving the parking lot, unsure as to why my car was reacting more slowly, then realizing, in horror that I left my brake on.

For normal water-runnoff inclines, the parking brake is not needed.

Good thing about the Prius is the parking brake light stays on if the parking brake is on and it's easy to see. On my Tacoma, there is a parking brake but it's against a white backround speedometer which sometimes isn't easy to see in the daylight.

Pushing the park button is optional. Turning the car off automatically puts it in park.

...automatically release the brake when taken out of Park.
That sequence should NOT affect settig the Parking Brake FIRST, then putting the car IN Park. It sounds like it automatically releases the Parking Brake whenever you take it OUT of Park.

David (aka Blind Guy)
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The car automatically engages park before shutting down when you press the power button to turn it off. There is really no point in pressing park if your intent is to shut down. The purpose of the park button is to allow you to leave the car on (ready) while having it immobilized.

When you turn the car on it goes to ready mode and remains in park until you select a different mode (N,D, or R).

The only way the car will shut down without going into park first is to hold the power button down for several seconds while in motion; the car will then go to neutral and shut down.

Totally normal. Our garage has the slightest incline, and the car will move til no driveline slack without parking brake on.

I would much rather use a parking brake mechanism at all times than have the weight of the car shifting onto the 'driveline'.

I use the parking brake every time I park. Extra security in case a bad day and one forgets to put car in park. If in neutral, then shutoff, it would roll away on incline.