......My parking brake works fine, use it every time to keep the car from rockin freely on the transmission, there's no torque converter to cushion the transmission from that......
Apologies in advance for the "powertrain 101" Poindexter lesson:
The parking pawl in the transmission, as in any [modern] passenger car auto transmission, locks the final drive. Meaning, a chunk of metal is forced into a gear that is positively continuous to the wheels, to prevent rotational movement. There is no torque converter connection. The torque converter is between the engine output and the transmission input. A torque converter is a fluid coupling. The Voltec powertrain has no torque converter. In vehicles with a torque converter, it is, essentially, a well lubricated bearing when the engine is off (and the reason you can't push/pull start an auto). The hydraulic fluid flow necessary to act upon the torque converter turbine is caused by the engine input to the transmission main fluid pump. The "rocking" you feel when P is engaged is no more than gear lash, torsional absorption, and tire cushion, all against the parking pawl.
Keep in mind, P only locks the drive wheels, while the Parking brake locks the rear wheels. Using the P brake while parking on slippery surfaces or hills is advantageous. 4 wheel traction is better than 2. There is one caveat, though. If you live in very cold winter climates, using parking brakes can cause issues when you want to drive again before a thaw. Any moisture that may be present in the wheel areas may cause the parking brake pads to freeze to the rotors (or shoes to the drums, as the case may be). If this happens, you will not break them free with engine power (even with bigazz engine are rear wheel drive), which is none on a front drive vehicle. If they lock up due to freezing, the wheels will not turn until the ice bond is melted, by one means or another. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. If you park at a curb on a hill during freezing weather, turn the wheels toward the downhill curb, and let the curb secure the vehicle movement (really, really old school parking strategy, but it's worked for over 100 years), and forgo the parking brake engagement.
