Parkign Brake issues....
 

Hey guys, I noticed that whenever I am on a driveway with an incline, and I pull up my parking brake all the way, I notice that it rolls back quite a bit before kicking in. I found that to be weird since the car is approx. two and a half years old (2005 model), so I really shouldn't be getting parking brake issues now (I would think anyway). I have has new pads installed since I purchased the car in November of 2007, and the Erin Mills dealership said they can't do anything about it, since it's a "self-adjusting" handbrake (please shed some light on "self-adjusting"). So anyway, the service manager is cool with me, so he asked me to bring it in again on Saturday morning to take a quick look at it. They were gonna charge me $90 + tax labour for taking apart the brakes, but they didn't do that since they were unsure of what to do. Shouldn't this be a warranty issue? What do you guys think?

Thanks and God Bless.

Ben.

Mine does not roll back. Are you sure it's your handbrake stopping it from rolling and not your gear? (Do you leave it in gear or in neutral?) Or if you have an automatic, it could be the "P" that's stopping it. The hand brake rolling sounds really odd to me. None of the cars i've driven would roll if the handbrake is engaged.

I have a six-speed manual, and it's in Neutral, and the handbrake is all the way up, so there should be no reason for it to roll. This is very weird. Any other suggestions?

Also, I could leave it in gear, but that defeats the purpose of having a handbrake, and doesn't it cause strain on the gear that the car is resting on?

I always leave the car in gear. It is good insurance against it rolling away unintentionally. It would also provide extra resistance to flying away if someone hits it while it is parked. This won't damage the gears as the entire system simply rests against itself. The wheels want to roll forward for instance, but the gears want to turn backwards (if you are in reverse but facing downhill), so the tranny and diff lock up essentially. This only creates a problem (sort of) if you start the car without the clutch in, but leave it in gear because you aren't paying attention. You had beeter have the foot on the brake because it will jump pretty hard as it stalls out.

I do leave the car in gear after the handbrake has been pulled up all the way. My question is, that it shouldn't roll back, it should lock up instantly right?

I've never trusted the hand brake. My car will roll with just the handbrake engaged. I always leave the car in gear.

To me, this rolling while handbrake engaged thing is really weird. Doesn't make sense to me. Shouldn't it have locked in place? Why is it only locking after a bit of roll? Can anyone explain this to me mechanically? I guess I need to learn a little bit more about how exactly the handbrake works...

Christinben, you said you leave it in neutral then you said you leave it in gear? Which is it?

If you leave it in gear, the handbrake doesn't seem to be stopping the car at all. It's just rolling a bit until it gets stopped by the drivetrain.

If you leave it in neutral, it could be that the handbrake is applying some pressure so that it's just on the edge of holding (which isn't safe at all).

Either way it sounds like something is maladjusted. I'm sure in the end the dealer will fix the problem and this line of troubleshooting will be useless.

It may or may not be a warranty issue. Brakes are a wear item. You'll find out when it's done.

may just need a simple adjustment to the handbrake cable.

Apparently, the dealer says the handbrake is "self-adjusting", whatever that is? And qtwre, here are the steps to how I park my car on my driveway:

1) Drive up the driveway, and stop.
2) With foot still on the brake, put car the transmission in neutral.
3) Pull up the handbrake all the way up.
4) Slowly release foot-brake, and car will start to roll back until it decides when to stop (sometimes half-way down the driveway).
5) After car has come to a stop, put the car in 1st (For extra security).

With step 3 active, there should be no rolling back what-so-ever in step 4, don't you guys agree (to whichever of you follow this procedure)? Anyway, I will find out on Saturday at the dealership, because as qtwre said, there is something mis-aligned here.

I absolutely agree that there should be ZERO roll back in step 4. There's definitely something wrong there. Sound like your handbrake is barely working (like what qtwre said).

I hope you get it fixed soon! In the mean time, have your foot on the brake, leave the car in gear, pull up the handbrake, turn off your engine, let go of the clutch, then let go of your brake. This way, you won't slide down the drive way because your gear and your handbrake will hold you still (well... at least your handbrake may help a little).

Yeah man, thanks I usually do that, but it's just a pain in the butt knowing that you can't use your handbrake properly on an elevated surface. Anybody else experience this problem, or am I the only one? Anyway, God-willingly on Saturday, they'll be able to diagnose the problem and fix it at my next appointment. Thanks again dudes. God Bless.

Ben.

Yes. I've had the problem since day 1. I also had the same problem in my '92 MX-3. I always leave it in gear. I've heard good things and bad things about doing that but I do it anyway. I'd rather not worry about the car rolling away on me.

Take comfort in knowing that some people don't even use their handbrake and their cars don't roll away. I'm not sure why you have the step where you put it in neutral.

him (way to pick an awkward name to put in a sentence ;)) has some great advice there. My driveway is also sloped and when I park it never comes out of gear. I just pull the handbrake and turn off the car.

The handbrake on my RX8 is not able to reliably hold the car on any significant incline. The car will always roll at some point. I always leave it in gear with the handbrake on on when parking on a slope.

I guess I could pull the handbrake with the car in gear and the clutch down, but I just choose to put it in neutral first, pull the handbrake, then put the car in gear! :P Call it the "double-clutching" technique of parking! lol :)

You need to keep your foot on the brake pedal while you're pulling up the parking brake.

My car sometimes rolls back when the hand brake is up but before I have it in gear. I always use the hand brake and leave it in gear when it's parked.
See what the dealer has to say.
I remember having trouble during the car's first winter...the hand brake wouldn't release the brakes even when the handle was down. The dealer fixed this and I haven't had a problem since.

Good luck!

My car rolls back when I put it in reverse

The handbrake has an adjustment nut on the handle......

The rotary engine doesn't hold in gear as well as a piston engine.....for similar reasons the engine produces low torque....leverage is low...

I've always put my manual cars in gear + handbrake, tires angled appropriately, and never had a problem. My handbrakes are always kinda crummy and leaving it in gear is second nature. No rolling that way. But remember when you start the car, you're in first.

the rotary engine unlike piston does not have the holding strength that of a piston to stop the car from rolling. So leaving it in gear will not stop it from moving should the force is strong enough to overcome the rotors. Do a search.

What? You serious? lol

Should the force be strong enough I think you have bigger problems than a handbrake. You've probably been rear ended or you've foolishly parked on an insane incline.

See threads....
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...n+gear+parking

Oh wait, you live on a flat flat land. pity....