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Hand Brake Light keeps turning on.

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Old Sep 25, 2008 | 11:17 AM
  #1  
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From: 20 minutes north of San Antonio
Hand Brake Light keeps turning on.

Ok, so I have a wierd problem that I have searched the forums and could not find an answer too.


Whenever I do a bit of spirited driving, including accleration, cornering, and brakes, my hand brake light comes on. Just normal spirited driving, I'm not do full throttle redlines or taking corners so fast that my tires start to make a lot of noise, just a little bit quicker than normal laid back driving.


I have made sure that my hand brake is completely down and the light will still come on.


Could it be a loose senor that is moving under heavier than normal G forces? Even some bumps in the road will cause the light to come on for a few seconds and then turn back off.


Thanks,
-Chris
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Old Sep 25, 2008 | 11:35 AM
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did you check your brake fluid level?
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Old Sep 25, 2008 | 12:30 PM
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Ngo beat me to it; check the fluid level
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Old Sep 25, 2008 | 12:42 PM
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same has been happening to me. my fluid level is fine. some other posts on the forum said it could be a signal to change brake pads. but the light only comes on randomly and turns off randomly as well. any other suggestions?
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Old Sep 26, 2008 | 09:54 AM
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My brake fluid is good. There doesn't seem to be a problem, the car still stops on a dime, but I will have the dealership check it ou the next time I go in for an oil change.


I also need a rotor resurfaced as I get slight vibrations when braking above 90mph. (It was on a drag strip, no street racing from me)
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 03:48 PM
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this just happened to me too over the weekend... Yesterday, my hand brake light came on just driving normal and i thought something was weird as my brake was down and there was no resistence... I pulled over and turned the car off and back on to see if it was just an electrical thing.. it was still on... after 5 minutes though, just turned off.. Happened to me again this morning as it turned on, then off after 5 minutes or so of driving... so i hopped ont eh forum and found this thread...

definitely confused... I have to bring in my car to the the lastest flash, so i can get it checked out then i suppose...
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Old Oct 7, 2008 | 01:44 PM
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From: Dayton, OH
i changed my front brake pads the other day and it fixed the e-brake light issue
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Old Oct 7, 2008 | 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by jhmbl05
i changed my front brake pads the other day and it fixed the e-brake light issue
that is because you pushed the piston back into the caliper, therefore raising the fluid level in the master cylinder. you should still add brake fluid before it comes back on.
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Old Oct 8, 2008 | 12:17 PM
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From: Aliso Viejo, ca
^Cool. I'll try adding in new fluid as i didnt know the ebrake light could be related to low brake fluid... Can i get any brand as long as it meets the car manual standards or is a particular one better?
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Old Mar 3, 2009 | 11:34 AM
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Just had the exact same problem this week.

3 days ago I was driving also in a 'spirited way', simply taking a long S corner in 3rd gear and suddenly light went on. Thought maybe I touched the handbrake but it was well disengaged.

Tried turning the car off but still didnt change anything. Thought maybe it's a fuse or a disfunctional electrical connection.

Second day, turned off the DSC and took a corner in 1st gear on snow, light when off. OK cool.

yesterday night, I was braking (70% hard) and the light came back. its still on...

Brake fluis is good and when I last checked my pads more than 50% was remaining.

You guys believe it's the pads??
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Old Sep 19, 2011 | 05:16 PM
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Here is a 2 year bump but I have just started to get the same problem. In the last month I have spent $2k on a body kit and installed a new clutch and got 2 new tires on order I really don't want to have to buy brakes too. I'll check the fluid first.
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Old Sep 21, 2011 | 03:45 PM
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i just had this too, i know i need new pads and rotors which I'm installing sat anyway. Ill top of the fluid too while I'm at it
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Old Sep 24, 2011 | 07:27 PM
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I just wanted to follow up with this, I topped up the brake fluid reservoir today and it has fixed the fault. The fluid was nearly at the min so I topped it up to Max and life is good. No more handbrake light.
Thanks for the help.
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Old Sep 24, 2011 | 09:03 PM
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You need to change your brake pads and when your break fluid is low it means you need new breaks...
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Old Sep 25, 2011 | 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by bennyblanco2121
You need to change your brake pads and when your break fluid is low it means you need new breaks...
ugh! I have spent a fortune on my car this month, I will wait till next month or something when I have some cash available.
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Old Dec 14, 2011 | 09:22 AM
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From: NJ
The brake light on my 2009 started coming on intermittently. It doesn't seem to be related to the way I drive.
I will probably check and top up my brake fluid to see if that fixes it. What brake fluid are you guys using anyway?
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Old Dec 28, 2011 | 05:33 AM
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probably should have invested in brakes first.. gotta make sure the car can stop safely before increasing hp and looks..just a thought
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Old Feb 13, 2017 | 11:57 PM
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+1 on topping up the brake fluid fixing the issue, despite mine being about half way between F and L
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Old Feb 14, 2017 | 12:15 AM
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Good time to do a brake flush, don't just pour good fluid on top of old....
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