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I've got a pretty steep driveway in front of my garage (maybe a 30-degree slope). I read that it's not great for your transmission to rely on it to hold your vehicle on a slope, and that it's better to put your transmission in neutral, engage the hand brake, let it hold the vehicle, and then put it in Park.

However, both my vehicles will not hold on the slope with just the hand brake. They continue to roll down until I put the gear in Park. There's also no reliable kerb along the sides: one side is just bark and shrubs, the other side is a wall.

I figured my hand brake might be worn, so I just took my X-Trail into my local auto shop and they removed the rear wheels and adjusted the hand brake travel. But when I tried parking again with just the hand brake, the vehicle still rolls downhill. I realized the rear wheels are locked but they just slide, and the front wheels roll.

Is there anything else I should do, or just accept that this driveway is too steep for parking on?

Hi there,
There are not really many options if your handbrake doesn't hold well, the car will still be relying on the parking pawl in the transmission in combination with the hand brake to keep the vehicle on a hill. The only other suggestion is to bolt a small piece of wood to the concrete as a stopper (or use anything really) for the front wheels, but not inline with the cars path into the garage.

Thanks, I'll consider that. Might be best to just clear out the garage so I don't have to park on the driveway!