Car Talk

December 1998

Dear Tom and Ray:

Several years ago on one of your radio puzzlers, you had a case of a husband and wife who had identical cars with manual transmissions that got towed. After the tow, one car worked and the other didn't. Your answer was that one car had been parked in First gear, and the other had been parked in Reverse. The car in Reverse worked. As a result of that puzzler, I made my husband start putting our '86 Nissan pickup in Reverse when he parked. In '96, we bought a Ford Contour SE with a manual transmission. The owner's manual says to park the car in First gear. Which gear should I park in? I don't want to find out the answer the hard way. -- Jana

Ray: Gee, and I thought humiliating yourself by writing to us (and publicly [redtruck.gif] announcing to your friends and neighbors that you waste your time reading our column) WAS the hard way. Oh well, what's done is done.

Tom: We happen to disagree with Ford's advice on the Contour, Jana. But this is a complicated issue. The puzzler was really about a tow-truck driver who screwed up and neglected to put the cars in Neutral. That's what he should have done, but he didn't do it.

Ray: Both cars in the puzzler were front-wheel drive (they were Honda Civics, I said). The tow truck lifted them from the rear end and towed them that way for several miles. So the cars were pulled along with the front wheels turning backwards.

Tom: Since the cars were in gear, the drive wheels (the front wheels, in this case) were connected to the engine. So when the wheels turned, the engine turned, too.

Ray: The car in Reverse came out fine because with the front wheels turning backwards, the engine was turning in its proper direction.

Tom: But the wheels on the car in First gear forced the ENGINE to turn backwards. Remember, when you put your car in Reverse, the engine never turns backwards. The engine keeps turning the same way. It's the transmission that makes the wheels go backwards.

Ray: And forcing an engine to turn backwards can cause damage. In this case, it made the timing belt jump and prevented the car from starting.

Tom: Now, this kind of towing accident should never happen to most cars, so the issue is not something you should allow to break up an otherwise perfectly good marriage, Jana. But if you want to make sure this doesn't happen to your manual- transmission car, here's our advice.

Ray: Since First and Reverse are pretty much equivalent in helping prevent the car from rolling, park a front-wheel-drive car (like your Ford Contour) in Reverse, and a rear-wheel-drive car (like your Nissan pickup) in First.

Tom: And, most important, do everything you can to avoid parking in "tow-away zones."

Wait! Don't buy another car without the mechanic's checklist that's included in Tom and Ray's pamphlet "How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows." It will help you get a good used car and avoid the clunkers. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

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