I am fine with a foot operated parking brake, frees up the center console. But I live in a neigborhood with lots of steep ups/downs, I miss being able to visually confirm I have engaged the parking brake as I lock the car from outside, as I could with a center hand brake. Can I tell if I have actually engaged my Prius' foot brake or not from outside the car?
If you are parking on steep hills, your driver's ed teacher would tell you to turn your wheels appropriately, which is very easy to see from the outside. I'll assume you know how to do this, but in case not... If you're facing downhill, the wheels should be pointing away from the traffic lane (so typically, to the right if you're parked on the right side facing downhill). If there's a curb, you might consider inching forward until the front tire is resting on it. If you're facing uphill, the wheels also point away from the traffic lane if there's no curb. If there is a curb, however, they face into traffic. Again, if there's a curb, inch backwards with the wheels turned until the back of the front wheel is resting on the curb and the car won't go any further. Now, you've got THREE things keeping your car from rolling away; the transmission, the parking brake (assuming you remembered it, but no big deal if you forgot once), and the curb. Feel free to chock your wheels, too; this is also easy to see from outside.
:rofl: Well yes.. how close is the brake to the footrest? I haven't looked but my guess is that if it's disengaged, you'll be able to see it through the driver's side window. If it's engaged, it'll be under the dash and out of sight.
If you don't remember whether you put the foot brake on, you probably won't remember to look to see if it is engaged. So, don't worry, be happy!
