Hand/parking brakes, and driving

GrinninBarrett

Yesterday I noticed a light on my dashboard was telling me my parking brake was engaged, but I was driving just fine. Why doesn't this stop me from driving? Isn't it a brake?

On a related note, when I was just learning to drive, I was in a car with some other students and we slammed into the back of a jeep at a red light; apparently the brakes had failed, both the driver's and the instructor's. The problem? The parking brake had been engaged the entire time, so that melted the brake, hence the accident (keep in mind this was several years ago, and maybe I'm wrong and just have parking brake prejudice; and no, I wasn't driving).

tl;dr - ok HA, what's the deal with hand/parking brakes in cars?

Virum

Your parking brake is only supposed to keep you from rolling back, it's not going to provide much stopping force. If you have it engaged while driving, you'll notice less power and a strong smell.

On my car, the parking brake is a small pad on the right rear wheel, and that's it.

tofu

If my car's brake light on the dashboard is on it means my brake fluid is low, if your light was on and the parking brake wasn't engaged you should check your fluid level (and consult your car's manual).

Iceman.USAF

For whatever reason, I find the hand brake on my car to be ridiculously strong. As in, the car will drag itself along with the brake engaged but the wheel will just drag. My car's a 1998, and in comparison my moms is a 2006 (or 5?) and it just makes the car smell funny.

Ashaman42

Also I know on the cars I've owned the parking brake ligth turns on if the brake is on even a tiny bit, can drive with it dragging but engaged fully I'm pretty sure my car wouldn't have moved. The cars I've had it's not just a case of brake on or off, there are degrees of modulation.

clsCorwin

On my 240sx, the light would come on as my leg nudged the ebrake up, but not actually engage it.

Your ebrake lever is attached to a cable that runs to your rear brake(s). Rear brakes are always smaller in the rear, and they might even be drum brakes vs disk brakes. Thats why it doesn't have as much stopping power as pushing your brake pedal.

Khavall

I really don't understand that point of parking brakes on automatic cars...

Like, manual cars, ok. But even then...my Beemer F650 doesn't have one, and I've never had it go down a hill, I just keep it in first and turn it into the curb if I have to park...

Automatic cars... you have fucking park why do they give you a parking brake?

a penguin

So you don't have to rest the car on the engine?

Also, the parking brake is sometimes called the Emergency Brake. On a few cars I had, all it was was a few cables that would directly lock down the back brakes. Better than nothing if you had some catastrophic brake line failure, I guess.

And ditto on the "could be low on fluid" thing. I've had more than one car that used that light as a low fluid indicator as well.

blincoln

Khavall wrote: »

Automatic cars... you have fucking park why do they give you a parking brake?

It's not the same thing. A car with automatic transmission in park can still move around a bit. Especially if you're parked on a hill with another car in the next spot down the hill, it is definitely important to use the handbrake as well.

Like you mention, you can put a manual transmission in gear as a kind of supplementary "parking brake" once the engine is off. Does that mean cars with manual transmissions don't need a handbrake? Obviously not. In some areas it's actually illegal to use only one means of securing a parked car on a hill.

The handbrake would also be useful in its original role of "emergency brake" if the hydraulics for the real brakes failed. Or if you wanted to intentionally lock the back wheels to do a bootleg turn or similar maneuver.

misbehavin

It's called an emergency brake on my Datsun, and believe me... I can't go fucking anywhere when it's on. If I engage it when driving (I tried it once at 15 mph) the wheels lock HARD. Your car might just have a poor e-brake.

supabeast

When I had a Civic I could yank the break and stop the car on a dime. Of course, I only know this because I drive like a complete asshole.

Weretaco

If you are driving a manual you should always leave it in gear and use the parking brake. You never know when i gear might slip out or the brake lets go a little.

I've also always heard that you shouldn't leave it in first, and should use either 2nd or reverse.

Aurin

Another fun use for parking brakes: Most of them are tied to lights that come on automatically in the dark. Thus, if you start the car with the parking brake on, and it's dark, the lights won't click on until the parking brake is released.

The first click on the parking brake normally shuts those right off, if you don't like the lights coming on with the sensor. ;-)

And why shouldn't you leave it in first gear? I leave my cars both in first, with the parking brake on when they're parked...

Kyanilis

Why do automatic cars have parking brakes? I'll tell you why. The other day the line from my shifter to the transmission came lose (the codder pin apparently broke off) and the car stuck itself in neutral since well, it couldn't shift to anything else. So sticking it in park to you know, to keep it stopped was a no go.

That's why, just in case something goes wrong that might inhibit its normal ability to stop or stay stopped. Makes sense to me at least. That and extra "rollback" protection on hills is definitely nice to have, park works for the most part, but better safe than sorry, no?

Weretaco

Aurin wrote: »

Another fun use for parking brakes: Most of them are tied to lights that come on automatically in the dark. Thus, if you start the car with the parking brake on, and it's dark, the lights won't click on until the parking brake is released.

The first click on the parking brake normally shuts those right off, if you don't like the lights coming on with the sensor. ;-)

And why shouldn't you leave it in first gear? I leave my cars both in first, with the parking brake on when they're parked...

I don't kow why not to leave it in first. I think a friend of mine (who's a mechanic) said it was the same for bump starting a manual and parking it (maybe first is a weaker gear or there is a better chance to slip out of it).

variant

You SHOULD leave your car in first gear... because the parking brake can't be trusted to hold up the car, if it fails and the car isn't in gear...look for it down the hill, maybe wrapped around a poll.

Most people say don't leave it in first gear because if you forget that you left it in gear and start the car without your foot on the brake and let go of the clutch...bye bye front-end (the car will jump forward, in to your house or maybe another car).

Gafoto

variant wrote: »

Most people say don't leave it in first gear because if you forget that you left it in gear and start the car without your foot on the brake and let go of the clutch...bye bye front-end (the car will jump forward, in to your house or maybe another car).

Do pray tell how your car is going to go anywhere with no gas while in first gear? Whatever car you drive is quite magical in that it can shift into first and start moving of its own accord with no input on the gas pedal.

clsCorwin

It will hop forward and promptly stall. If you are parked right behind someone, or right up on your wall/garage door/etc you can hop into it.

variant

Yep, I think the distance varies by car though, my dad made this mistake a while back and just touched my rear bumper(about 1ft). Whereas my friend's 911 jumped about 3 feet right in to their garage wall.

Gafoto

You know some pretty retarded people.

gundam470

After you check your brake fluid, check your brake pads/shoes.

It might be time to change them.

EggyToast

I believe this is the big difference between automatic and manual transmissions. Every manual I've driven has had an incredibly strong parking brake -- enough so that it truly is an emergency brake and immediately locks the wheels (which can be bad given that you then just skid until you stop). Every automatic, though, utilizes the break truly as a parking brake. If the car is in park, the brake will lock the wheels and the car won't "rock." You can see this by putting your foot on the brake, putting the car in park, putting the parking brake on, and turning the car off. Then take the parking brake off -- the car will rock to adjust, which will put extra tension, I don't know, somewhere in there.

Most automatics either disengage the parking brake when you take it out of park, or significantly reduce its ability to stop the car, as it's pretty easy to drive a car with the parking brake on. it also may be a relatively recent technology change, though, as my old '86 Honda had a parking brake that also stopped the car at all cost.

DasUberEdward

Because you can utilize it to improve your cornering/parking. There are some really neat hand brake parking tricks. Sure they ruin your car but think of how impressive you'll look sliding into a parking space.

Edit: I own a 96 Probe GT Manual and a 93 Probe base ATX. There is a huge difference in the parking brake designs with the 96's actually being responsive and effective while the ATX basically has the brake for me to slide around corners in the winter.

AtomBomb

I will occasionally use the parking brake to slow down the car without having the brake lights come on. Like, I just noticed the cop behind me and I'm going over the speed limit. You just have to hold the button in so it doesn't lock. Since it's just a cable (mechanical system) it bypasses the hydraulic system to which the brake light sensors are connected.

Telemachus

AtomBomb wrote: »

I will occasionally use the parking brake to slow down the car without having the brake lights come on. Like, I just noticed the cop behind me and I'm going over the speed limit. You just have to hold the button in so it doesn't lock. Since it's just a cable (mechanical system) it bypasses the hydraulic system to which the brake light sensors are connected.

Wow...that sounds really dangerous. I'm sure it's not that bad; I haven't tried it, but...yikes. Minnesota winter driving is the tops with an e-brake, though. On lonely roads and in midnight parking lots, nothing beats whipping a shitty in a sexy Geo Prism.