Check your E-brakes
 

So I went to the gas station the other day and pulled up and parked in front of the store in front of a friend of mine Darrell that hadn't seen the car yet. So when I got out he started asking questions and looking over the car. I had to go through the usually what is it and how fast is it. So after a 2-3min talk with him and some other guy that walked up, I went in the store to get some OJ. Well about the time I grabbed the OJ and was walking back to the counter, I saw my buddy running through the parking lot waving his arms and yelling something. Well he is known to do crazy things some times so I really didn't think much of it. It was about the time that I made it to the counter that I saw my car by the fire pumps at an angle and him standing behind it with pushing on the trunk. The car was just rolling to a stop thanks to him about 3 feet from the poles next to the gas pumps. I ran out the store wondering WTF. So as get out I see a lady standing next to her Avalon not to far from my car. I make it to the car and Darrell starts telling me the story. He said that he heard a loud pop and saw the car starting to roll thinking that I was in it. When he looked inside he saw I wasn't and went chasing after the car to slow it down. And the lady in the Avalon was puling in and almost hit the car as it was rolling out of its spot. So now I am embarrassed that I didn't set the brake, but when I open the door, there is the brake set at about a 45.

Well that was two days ago and I have been parking on flat ground having to pull the brake all the way until the lever is tight on the boot to get the brake set tight and leaving it in 1st. I took it to the dealer and they said they would adjust it and check it out. After all that, when I get the car back tonight, after the service department was close, I check the lever and it feels good, but as soon as I hit the road and come off the gas the car starts jerking and jerks all the way back to the dealer. Of course when I get out, all I smell is brakes. And that's when it hits me... they have been dragging. So I leave it with them to look at again tomorrow.

So check your brakes and leave'em in 1st.

Hmmmm, that's really unusual... The pop noise is what strikes me though... Perhaps something broke? Either way, keeping it in gear is the only way to guarantee it wont go anywhere.

You're dealer screwed up with the adjustment, but did they Also replace anything broken? Perhaps it was adjusted fine and they unnecessarily changed it... I feel like something like this can only be attributed to something breaking.

The loud pop sound you heard, did the parking brake seem to operate and feel normal afterwards? What I'm getting at is, do you think the loud pop was something breaking or simply disengaging forcefully?

Also, always ALWAYS park in gear for this reason. I know, you'd think you should be able to trust a brand new car, and 9 times out of 10 you probably can but it seems you are the (un)lucky one here.

When I'm driving, I usually only engage the parking brake as much as I need for me to remain put and not a tick more. However, when I park I pull that sucker up tight just to be sure, especially on a noticeable grade.

oh damn, i guess its good I always leave it in gear ..
but that's pretty serious shit

never heard of that yet..

Thanks for the heads up. That's scary.

First thing I learned when I started driving a manual was to ALWAYS put it in gear when parked.

Sounds to me like maybe the cable just snapped completely. I'm guessing the loud pop was the cable itself breaking.

For now I suggest you take it to the dealer and always leave it gear. By any chance have you been doing hand break J turns or something??

bneale

Parking brakes failing happen on many cars if used as the only means to hold/help a +2k lbs object fight gravity. Park in gear and the problem fixed.

Well, I'm not alone it seems. I'm on the same exact boat as OP. Handbrake completely failed/cable snapped at 1800 miles...


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I was driving one time and heard a really loud spring type sound, like a recoil or something. my ebrake still works though. I have no idea what it was.

I've found that in really cold weather, the e-brake would stay engaged after releasing the e-brake handle. Once the car is put in motion, the e-brake would make a pop noise when they disengaged. This happened in the first 10,000 kms -ish, but doesn't seem to happen anymore.

So what did the dealership say it ended up being?


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I remember reading a post here where the guy parked his car on his drive way with the e-brake and later that day it had rolled onto the street.