RX8 e-brake
 

Has anybody else had any problems with their e-brakes? My house is on a slight incline, and i had the e-brake on. I don't remember if it was in gear or not..(regardless, what happend shouldn't have) because i was in such shock. I came outside and my car had hit the garage door on the house down the hill from me!! I know for sure i had the brake on because it was on when i got into the car, and my grandmother was outside talking to me before it happend. It took about 5 min before it rolled down apperently, but now my rear bumber is bent in, tons of scratches and even a pretty deep chunk taken out. It's going to the dealership on monday to see whats wrong with the e-brake, and if they find the problem they'll replace the back end for me..Pretty much sucks seeing i just got the car on monday....Sorry, had to vent.

that sucks bad. hopefully they will take care of it for you

did you have your car in 1st or was it in neutral?

Like i said...I don't remember because i was in suck shock that my car wasn't in the driveway anymore...

Sorry dude. That really sucks. Remember though, at least no one got hurt (e.g., little kid playing at the end of the driveway) and it's ultimately just a car. It'll be fixed and back to showroom condition soon.

And it doesn't excuse an e-brake failing (if that's what happened), but having the car in gear is almost more important than putting on the ebrake...just something to consider for the future.

-Eric

My e-brake won't hold my car on my driveway unless I crank the crap out of it.
Furthermore, the Renesis doesn't have enough compression to hold the car on an incline in gear.

On every other car I've owned, I could put the car in second and get out and the car would stay put, even on an incline.

If I try that in the RX-8, it slips immediately, "popping" as each compression chamber expands, regardless of what gear it is in.

I can't imagine how people in San Francisco deal with that.

That completely sucks. My E-brake works great. I've left mine in neutral on slight inclines with no problems. I was actually impressed on well the E-Brake works on an incline.

Very strange indeed...

Did you try it in Reverse or First? In your post you said you used to leave a car in 2nd.

-Eric

Tried all gears.
If I use both the e-brake and the tranny in gear, it will stay put.
I chock it anyway.

Yea...My friend races for Mazda and told me that it happends offten though. Thats whats so strange. I'm just pissed that it had to happen, but like it was said, i'm very glad nobody was hurt...although, I told my mom i wish i had been outside so i could have run after it and taken the chance of becoming a pancake to save my baby. hehe :)

Hehehehe...been there, know that feeling. It sucks. :)

-Eric

That is really too bad! If you notice in the owner's manual, Mazda is so confident of the car not moving that they recommend leaving the car in gear and NOT using the e-brake in cold weather because of possible sticking. I wouldn't be brave enough to take their advice on a hill, but I've left it in gear on level surfaces without the brake.

I hope Mazda will take care of the damage for you.

Re: RX8 e-brake
 

I know exactly what you're talking about; the same thing happened to me more than once. I wouldn't call this type of thing e-brake failure - it's more like weak e-brake from the factory. The only way to fix this sort of thing is to get more powerful rear brakes, tighten the e-brake cable system or crank the hand brake to near-vertical position, and always park your car in gear. :o