I just picked up my car a week ago. I'm having a new radio installed in my car today. When I arrived at the store where I am having it done, my emergency brake would not engage. The stick is completely limp. When I got back home, I called my Brand Specialist (all my papers are in the car). She set me up with a Service Appointment on Monday (unfortunately, my dealer does not have Saturday service hours). She had never heard of anyone with this issue (couldn't find anything specific to this issue using search). It feels like a screw came loose or something. The car is still drivable, I just can't leave it anywhere out in public. Bummer! Fortunately I have Monday off work already, but I took it off in order to sleep in from a late evening the night before. So much for that...
Why can't you just leave it in PARK? I don't think I've ever used my emergency, er parking brake. Well, I did pull it once just to see if it worked. We hardly ever use the manual parking brake on any of our cars, stick shift or automatic.
Upon delivery, I did ask this specific question to the technician. His answer was that, in "P", a simple pin blocks the gearbox. It can bend out, therefor the parking/handbrake should be used at all times when the car is parked.
In the old days, the VW Bug/minibus had a handbrake that would freeze overnight in winter, so we did leave the car "in gear" and didn't use the "parking" brake...
Just a note about terminology: it's a "parking" brake. Good luck with the fix.
If your brake fluid leaks out, it becomes an "emergency" brake. It's directly cabled to the brakes themselves, bypassing the hydraulic assist. Stopping a car that's going 30mph with just this brake is hard as hell but if it's all you have, it's better than nothing.
Why can't you just leave it in PARK? I don't think I've ever used my emergency, er parking brake. Well, I did pull it once just to see if it worked. We hardly ever use the manual parking brake on any of our cars, stick shift or automatic.
Also, parking on a hill... if you rest a car with an automatic transmission on "Park", your car's entire weight is on one pin; shifting out of Park can be tough. Like a previous poster said, if the pin breaks, your car goes on a joyride of its own. I'm guessing the automated manual is similiar in that respect to an automatic.
If your brake fluid leaks out, it becomes an "emergency" brake. It's directly cabled to the brakes themselves, bypassing the hydraulic assist. Stopping a car that's going 30mph with just this brake is hard as hell but if it's all you have, it's better than nothing.
As well open a door and drag a foot, when used in conjunction with the parking brake, could halve your stopping distance. (plus, it'll warm your foot nicely)
Well, wouldn't it be easier for somebody to somehow push the car away without the parking brake on? Also, if not parked on a flat street, I would think the joy ride on its own thing could happen too.
For the record, I have always used the parking brake when parking the vehicle for every car I've ever driven. I just brought the car home from having a new radio installed, the brake is sort of hit and miss. There's definitely something amiss here. It will be at the dealership Monday morning for a fix. I will report on the fix after it's done.
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