I jacked the car up to rotate tires and install splash guards. The left front tire was locked up by the parking mechanism as expected. When I moved to work on the right front tire, I could spin it with small and smooth resistance. Then I found the left front tire could spin too! Did I break something? I then turned the car READY then OFF. No the tires could still spin. I lowered the car to the ground and jack it up again. Now the front tires were locked up as expected. But after some time the tires could spin again. How does the parking mechanism work? It seems to depend on the tires being loaded (weighed down)?
The parking pawl locks the final drive ahead of the differential, so if both wheels are unweighted they can spin opposite directions but the rest of the driveline stays put. . _H*
