I was changing out my crappy tire, and I put the parking brake on. I havn't tried driving yet, but when I pulled the release and tried to set it again the pedal didn't click at all, so I'm worried it'* stuck. If it actually is (i'm going to try and move it later) is there an easy way to get it to release?

Why oh why do all these stupid little things keep going wrong...

thanks

i dont think its stuck
that happens to me every time it gets too cold outside. Its not that your parking break is stuck, its that you can't set it again. Dont worry about it being stuck, you'll notice extreme resistance on the car if the parking break is set.

If you're still uncertain try this:

Move the car forward (or backwards) witht the parking break pedal all the way up (i.e. in off position) and then press it down some and see if the car slows down (as it should) when you push down the pedal, and then if the braking effect goes away as you release the pedal. That'* about it.

Or yet another thought:

think of it this way: The parking break is a mechanical device controlled only by your parking brake pedal, a long braided steel wire and the brake shoe/drum itself.
Know that if that parking break pedal is up, that cable MUST be retracted (brake = off) unless something crazy happened like the wire broke. So this shows chances are your parking brake is off

Or even more confirmation:

Your parking brake shoe in the rear drum has heavy duty spring that is constantly trying to move it to the non-brake position. If your cable did snap somehow (I REALLY doubt it) then the spring would still push it into the non-brake position. Afterall, the only thing keeping the parkign brake applied is the ratche mechanism inside yoru pedal assembly! The parking brake shoe itself is constatnly under a high tension spring force trying to retract it to the non-braking position.

I think that'* enough. Of course the best test is just to move the car some and see if you feel heavy resistence and playing with the pedal as i first mentioned.

oh yeah, if its like mine, it will work intermittantly in this cold, and come back when it gets a little warmer (i.e. tomrorow afternoon if the sun is out, or if you drive it for a good while.)

mikie diaz

Thanks for the help.

I went out to see what was going on. There was no resistance when trying to drive, so it isn't locked (if there was resistance it wasn't at all noticeable). I tried driving a little with my foot depressing the parking brake, and there was no resistance moving the car. When I pressed down the parking brake however, the "! Brake" light comes on. I pull the release and the "! Brake" light stayed on. I manually moved the parking brake pedal up with my foot and the "! Brake" light shut off.

So I guess my parking brake is just frigged? I don't ever really us it, and my normal brakes are still as good as ever.

well those are 100% exactly same things that happen to my parking brake. I woudln't worry about it. I guess they are old enough that the cold gets to it.

Wait you said "I tried driving a little with my foot depressing the parking brake, and there was no resistance moving the car."

Are you saying you get absolutely NO braking action from pressing the parking break pedal? Even if you press it all the way down? (I'm not expecting it to stay in place i'm expecting it to stop the car) Mine stops my car if i hold it down far with my foot but wont stay down.

And yes, same with mine about the BRAKE light staying on when i release it UNLESS i push pedal down far, then let it go completely and let it snap up (or, as you did pull it up the extra inch or so to turn off brake light).

I wouldn't call it "frigged' cuz it should regain normal functionaliity with a little warmth, unless there is something broken in it... Tell me this: do you feel any resistance when you push the pedal down? (i.e. does it feel just like it would when it used to work with the exception of the pedal not staying down, and also make sure you test pushing it down all the way and seeing if it provides stopping power).

Yep...there was resistance when I pressed it. I tried driving when it was pressed down, but maybe I wasn't pressing it hard enough. I was kind of worried because that brake light came on, so I didn't want to mess around with it. Next time I'm out there I'll go for a little spin and see if I can stop with the parking brake.

thanks for the help man.

yeah, remember the parking brake alone isn't all tha tpowerful , for me I'd test it by driving till i was like at 5mph and then pressing it very hard. You should be able to stop the car pretty quiick but it wont be at all compared to a medium to hard brake pedal press).
I just doubt your parking brake cable could be out thought.

Yeah, the E-Brake isn't going to stop you for ****. I remember when I lost my power brakes, and tried stopping with the E-Brake, and all it did was have the rear end come out. Never really stopped me. With winter driving.. chances are all you will do is slide around without slowing down. But, all it will do is lock up the rear wheels. You'll know, trust me .


-justin

what normally happens is the cable freezes up due to years of being on the road and generally on auto cars you dont use the parking brake

I use mine, all the time. When I raise the car in the front, it likes to roll backwards, so I set the E-Brake then. Unless I park on a hill [had to park on my driveway incline once [ran out of gas, couldn't get up it], and the front end would slide off, so I set the E-Brake then too. But, just regular parking or whatever, it'* off.


-justin