Hi
I just purchased a Mazda 3, and the manual says to apply the parking brakes every time the car is parked.
Does not using the parking brakes cause damage to the disk brakes, or is it just to keep the car from moving when parked?

 

I suppose it has it's good and bad points, though i have never seen damage that i could soley attribute to using a park brake, i have seen situations that occured using the park brake that damage to the rotor occured. Such as leaving it parked for a couple weeks with the park brake on in wet weather which imprinted the rotor. Also forgetting it is on and driving around. But generally it does no damage. I suppose using it just after a hard braking could brand the pad into the rotor.An auto trans would be ok not using the park brake because the parking pawl and sprag are very healthy chunks of metal that can take a beating. However a manual transmission could take damage overtime by constant pressure on one spot of a gear,though that would depend on the incline it was parked on. So all in all the safety benefits outway any of those points for me so using it would get my vote.

 

I think i'ts incase if you get his in any of the directions and it "jump starts" your car from driving off. I have heard of it happening. Just a little added security I guess.

 

I don't use them in the winter as the cable can freeze up (on any car.)

 

When I lived in Pa and had older cars I would just leave the car in 1st/2nd gear w/the PB off. ThenI discovered that if I forced some teflon grease into the cable housing, usuallywhile replacing them w/new ones because they froze up or broke, that they would last forever and never freeze up. I never again had a winter time freeze up when using the parking brake.
Since the '80's most cars that I am aware ofuse a nylon sleeve through at least part of the cable to make them operate more smoothly and not freeze up as easily. The grease just suppliments that and makes it a bit more water/moisture proof.