e-brake failed

[513n179]

i parked my car in front of my girlfriends house this afternoon. i went inside the house for a few minutes to help take some stuff out to the car, and when i came back out, MY CAR WAS GONE! my first reaction was that someone stole it... then i looked down the street and saw my car in the middle of an intersection. how the hell did this happen??? i set my e-brake and everything was cool. i must be lucky, there was not one scratch on my car. luckily nobody paked behind me, and it managed to stop on it's own. it just rolled down the hill without hitting anything. i think i should have my e-brake looked at... oh well, i just thought i'd share this EP related thing...

[chunky]

it's easy to tighten up the ebrake cable on your own.

[downhil]

kinda funny. thats cool its okay.

[teejoh]

e-brake + in gear = good ;)

[Jay H]

Also, if you're parking on a street with curbs, remember to turn the front wheels a bit so if the car would roll down the hill you are parked on, the curb may help stop the car too.

[civicSIracer]

you dont leave your car in gear??

[Civicvtec1ps]

Same thing happened couple months ago.
My car rolled back about 5 ft. Ebrake was on but it was on neutral.
Since then, I put it on 1st gear all the time.
Luckly I hit my friend's car and he didn't really care.
Small tiny scratch.

[pLopSI]

The only times I leave my car in gear when parked is when I'm on an a hill. Sometimes, my car does roll a little after I set the e-brake, but I just pull up the e-brake more afterwards.

[WideBody EP3]

hahaha LMAO!!!! sorry man Nothing happen to the car so thats why i'm laughing, if something happened i would not be laughing. You are so lucky nothing happened. Something happened to my buddy the other day. he has a F-150 lightning with a remote start, and his girl left it in first with the e brake up in his drive way. he went to use the remote start in the drive way and the truck started bucking foward amd before he could shut it off the e brake line broke and before he could blink his car was in his garage with his parents minivan and to top it off his garage is only a one car garage.

[BarracksSi]

Originally posted by WideBody EP3
.... and before he could shut it off the e brake line broke and before he could blink his car was in his garage with his parents minivan and to top it off his garage is only a one car garage.

Hehehehehehehehehehe........

"Let me warm up the truck first," `click` *v-r-r-PP-r-RRRRR* "... oh FUCK!" *CRUNCH SMUSH CRACK CRASH PSSSHHH RRRRRRRR*

I would've been rolling on the lawn if I got to see that happen.

[WideBody EP3]

haha i started laughing my ass off, i told him when he gets his truck fixed to mount a camera on his garage so he can post some video if it happens again

[vasi]

This happened to me at the store. it rolled into another car. the other car was a pos and the person did not care and my car was fine.

[chubbychu]

haha me toooo! i parked in my aunts driveway thats sorda on a little slant. And when i came out it was in the middle of the road. talk about woah!

[TrippZ]

ive had the car roll half a block before... but that was because i forgot to put the brake up :(

[phatfreeza]

leaving your car in gear doesn't hurt it right? so why don't people like to leave their car in gear? seems like it would be worth it to me :)

[vasi]

Originally posted by phatfreeza
leaving your car in gear doesn't hurt it right? so why don't people like to leave their car in gear? seems like it would be worth it to me :)

work at a dealer and we were always told don't leave the car in gear. One day someone did and the customer got in the car started it up and the car jumped into a brand new lincon ls an the side was fucked. My wife drives the car all the time and sometime my brother. Os to be safe I don't leave it in gear. That's just why I do it.

[BarracksSi]

The EP won't start unless the clutch is in.

BUT, it's easy enough to accidentally let the clutch back out without having the car out of gear.

Best way to avoid that is to make a habit of taking the car out of gear when you get in the car, as part of your startup routine.

[blueiedgod]

welcome to proud ownership of Si. We, old foggies with 2002's, have discussed the weak e-brake as soon as the car came out. You have to make sure you pull the brake all the way up and put the car in gear.

[ADAMnQuickCIVIC]

Originally posted by WideBody EP3
hahaha LMAO!!!! sorry man Nothing happen to the car so thats why i'm laughing, if something happened i would not be laughing. You are so lucky nothing happened. Something happened to my buddy the other day. he has a F-150 lightning with a remote start, and his girl left it in first with the e brake up in his drive way. he went to use the remote start in the drive way and the truck started bucking foward amd before he could shut it off the e brake line broke and before he could blink his car was in his garage with his parents minivan and to top it off his garage is only a one car garage.

Just wondering how that could happen since i'm 99% sure the Ford Lightning never came w/ a manual transmission. If it was an auto, you cant remove the key w/o putting it in park.
???

[HondCivc91]

lol, reminds me of a time i snuck into my g/fs house one night :D when i went to go leave she told me that she didnt want her parents to wake up (my car was parked underneath her parent's window), so i turned it on to the battery (to get steering), put it in neutral, ebrake off and literall rolled it down her frigen winding driveway all 3000 feet uphill of it. LOL i was pissed i had to do it but it I was laughing about it the next day.

:D

[esmith13]

I don't park my car in gear anymore. I used to before, but now with the turbo timer I have to leave it in neutral since the car keeps running when i get out and take my key. I however tighten my parking brake every few months on my own.

All it is really is a manual acuation of the rear calipers. As your rear pads wear down you have to tighten your parking brake to insure the pads make firm contact with the rotor. As you keep doing this, you will find when the rear pads wear out completely and you install new ones you will have to loosen the parking brake back up to where it was.... Sucks.

Eric

[Si3]

Originally posted by chunky
it's easy to tighten up the ebrake cable on your own.


how? mine needs tightening too!

thanks. -aj-

[WrathOfAZSI]

That's nothing. First day I had my car, I rode to the AM PM near my house. Parked right up front to show it off, and ran inside for a hot dog. As I walked out, I freaked out when I saw my car was gone. Looking arund I noticed it rolled about 30 ft backwards. If it wasn't for a curb that sweeps out to protect the AM PM grass my brand new EP would have rolled into one of the busiest intersections in town. Of course, no one did a damn thing to stop it; five more inches to the left and it would have been scrap metal. Assholes

[esmith13]

Si3,

1. Push both seats all the way forward.
2. using a phillips screwdriver remove the two screws at the bottom rear of the center console at floor level.
3. pull your parking brake up half way - not all the way.
4. grab the lower rear where the screws were and pull it straight up. Everything behind the sliding cup holders will lift up and off as one piece over the brake handle.
5. lower (disengage) the parking brake.
6. Take an open ended wrench or adjustable wrench and tighten the nut on the end of the parking brake. Don't tighten it too much or it will be engaged even when you completely disengage it!!
7. put cover back on and replace two screws.

Your done.

A good way to know how tight is enough is this:

Park on a level surface. Tighten the nut ALOT.
take off the brake and try and push your car with the door open using the B-pillar to push on. If the car dosen't move, it's too tight. Loosen it a little again and repeat until you can push your car when the brake is off.

Originally i did it on a hill and would tighten it alot, then loosen it till the car would roll down the hill if i took the brake off. That didn't work well cause the car is sooo heavy it would start rolling even if the pads rubbed a little when the brake was off, so my rear pads wor out faster. The pushing method insures the pads are off the rotor cause your wimpy ass wouldn't be able to push the car otherwise. ;)


Eric

[Si3]

Thanks eric, now i got something to do when i get home! :D

-aj-

[phatfreeza]

Originally posted by vasi
work at a dealer and we were always told don't leave the car in gear. One day someone did and the customer got in the car started it up and the car jumped into a brand new lincon ls an the side was fucked. My wife drives the car all the time and sometime my brother. Os to be safe I don't leave it in gear. That's just why I do it.

you have a point.. but i guess since no one else drives my car i've gotten into the habit of taking it into neutral before i start the car up...

and yeah tightening up the ebrake is pretty easy.. a little time consuming but it's better than leaving it at the dealer for a day.

[BarracksSi]

Originally posted by esmith13
... cause your wimpy ass wouldn't be able to push the car otherwise. ;)


That just had me laughing...

Good explanation, too. I feel like I can do it in ten minutes.

FWIW, I found out another way that the rear calipers are the parking brake.

I had my car parked at an airbase while I was away on tour for a month and a half, and when I got back, the brake discs had corroded.

No big deal, right? Happens all the time when a car's parked for a week or five.

When I got back and started driving, I discovered that, since I had the parking brake on, the rear discs were corroded everywhere EXCEPT where the pads were clamped.

So, the rear brakes would make a sort of rhythmic grinding sound along with giving the sensation of warped rotors. It took about two weeks of driving to get them worn down evenly again.

They've been fine ever since, but it sure bothered me on the drive home from the base. I don't leave it parked for long periods with the parking brake anymore.

[Cyrus]

Haha, talkin about the weak e-brake. oh man. i left my car in my driveway one day, ran in to grab a new CD and when i came back out my car was in the middle of my street. some truck was stopped right in front of it yellin at it like i was inside. oh man, whatta moron.

[03SiBlack]

get into the habbit of putting ur car in gear when parking i dont even think about it anymore i just do it

[SpoonEP3]

hahahahahahahahahah....:D

[enecks]

Originally posted by ADAMnQuickCIVIC
Just wondering how that could happen since i'm 99% sure the Ford Lightning never came w/ a manual transmission. If it was an auto, you cant remove the key w/o putting it in park.
???

i was wondering about that myself...

[chubbychu]

woah good news. I went to get my e-brake button replaced, and the guy tightened my ebrake. WOW what a difference! i can pull up half way up and its really right now.

[potator]

So what gear do you guys leave your cars in? Does it matter? I remember in the driver's handbook, it states to put the car in first gear (or any of the forward gears) when you're parked facing uphill, and put the gear in Reverse if you're parked facing downhill. And yea, good question, does it effect/harm the car at all if we always leave the car in gear when we park?

Most of the time I don't put my car in gear, only because I don't need to when I'm on a flat surface. When I park on a hill or something, I always put it in gear.

[phatfreeza]

Originally posted by potator
So what gear do you guys leave your cars in? Does it matter? I remember in the driver's handbook, it states to put the car in first gear (or any of the forward gears) when you're parked facing uphill, and put the gear in Reverse if you're parked facing downhill. And yea, good question, does it effect/harm the car at all if we always leave the car in gear when we park?

Most of the time I don't put my car in gear, only because I don't need to when I'm on a flat surface. When I park on a hill or something, I always put it in gear.

i'm gonna go out on a limb here, but since the manual says we should leave it in gear, it shouldn't hurt our car. but i'm still pretty n00bish when it comes to the tech stuff, so bump for an answer!!! oh yeah i usually leave my car in first, unless i'm parked downhill, then it's reverse.

[esmith13]

our car will not be hurt at all parking it in gear. It is only recommended you don't by some because there are morons out there that start their car in the morning and let off the clutch and stall if the parking brake is on or slam into other cars if it's just in gear. Asuming you have an average or higher IQ, and your wits are about you in the morning - parking in gear is recommended. Especially on a car with a parking brake not an e-brake. A parking brake is nowhere near as strong as an e-brake. Especially on hills up or down, you need to put the car in 1st or reverse, respectively as well as turn the wheel left or right, respectively. If you love your car you will do it. :D

[/end public service announcement]

Eric

[Jay H]

One good way to minimize stress on your transmission when parking is to set the parking brake first. Then, insure the car won't roll away with just the e-brake on (take your feet off all the pedals and insure the car is in neutral). Finally, put the car in gear. The emergency brake system will do all of the 'heavy lifting' and hold the car in place. The transmission is there as a secondary back up and will only be stressed if the parking brake system fails or can't hold the car in place.

If you store your car for an extended period of time, you should use wheel blocks to hold the car in place instead of the emergency brake system or the transmission.

[Bificus]

I had my 02 si for 2 days before I had a knock on the door, 3 cars standing still and my car blocking the road! My car rolled down my driveway into the road causing a backup. Dohh. Anyway I think we have a neutral safety switch so leaving it in gear should be no problem. 1 st uphill rev downhill.

[eggsi]

Originally posted by WrathOfAZSI
That's nothing. First day I had my car, I rode to the AM PM near my house. Parked right up front to show it off, and ran inside for a hot dog. As I walked out, I freaked out when I saw my car was gone. Looking arund I noticed it rolled about 30 ft backwards. If it wasn't for a curb that sweeps out to protect the AM PM grass my brand new EP would have rolled into one of the busiest intersections in town. Of course, no one did a damn thing to stop it; five more inches to the left and it would have been scrap metal. Assholes
Hey wrath your pm box is full, i have been trying to contact you about the status of the bumper.;)

[WrathOfAZSI]

I only have 1 PM in my box! WTF

[esmith13]

1) goto pm box.
2) in upper right where there is a pull down that says "Inbox" change it to "Sent Items"
3) delete all the PMs on this screen - they are copies of PMs you sent to others
4) Enjoy sending and recieving PMs again.


Sent Items count towards your PM box storage limit... ;)


Eric

[minileedxr]

I always put my car in gear, but hate it when my brother backs out my car for any reason. Dumb ass doesn't put his car in gear, so when he gets into my car, he doesn't put the car back into neutral and i can hear him stall. He F*^% up my car!!! :mad: I told him to put his car in gear and he'll get used to it, but he has this idea that it will mess up his car. I should make him read this thread ;)

[BlairSpeed]

Originally posted by WrathOfAZSI
I only have 1 PM in my box! WTF
You have to eraser all messages i think. your probably just checking your "in-box."

And thanks for the info Eric on tightening your e-brake. My e-brake sucks, i have to leave it looking like a boner when i park. :D

[esmith13]

No prob. Helping fellow EPers and telling them a GTI WILL kick their asses is what I'm here for. ;)


Eric