Yesterday, I parked my car in my driveway which is on a slight incline. I always use the parking brake and put the car in 1st gear. But for some reason yesterday I left the car in 3rd gear instead if 1st with the parking brake on. I heard a strange noise and when I went outside to check what it might be, it was my car trying to roll backwards down my driveway. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to get in and stop it. It was finally stopped by a tree! When I got in the car to move it, I checked to confirm that the brake was pulled up and in gear. I started the car without touching the gearshift, let my foot slowly off the clutch and the car moved forward confirming that it was in gear. There is significant body damage to the rear of the car but my bigger concern is how this happened. Even if my parking brake was not pulled up as far as possible, why should the car be able to roll so far backwards when in gear? Does leaving it in 1st gear vs 3rd gear make the difference or is there something wrong with my car?

 

the gearing in a car does affect its holding ability. 1st-3rd isnt a big difference but it could be enough if your on an incline. are you sure the ebrake cable didnt snap? sorry bout the damage...is the tree okay?!