Owens

I notice when i pull up a little on the parking break the indicator light goes on even though nothing was engaged, anyone else notice this?
Additionally this morning when it was 5degrees, as others have noted, when I put the car in reverse it wouldnt just idle, so I hit the gas and heard this loud pop, then everything was fine, maybe it was ice...anyone else every experience this?
Man it was cold here in philly even had to pull hard to get my doors to open, now its rattlin like crazy hope i didnt break it, maybe its just the sound of the ice. Suppose to be 50degree Wed. cant wait!

RX Renesis

um... u put it in reverse? so was the car moving when the pop occured? if it was maybe something was just stuck from the cold... also... the e-break light come on even with the slightest movement.... not even 1 click then it sould come on... it's like that...

Owens

yeh i put it in reverse to get out of my drive way and it just wouldnt move in idle on its own so i had to hit the gas and thats when i heard this loud pop and then it started to move and was fine, maybe it was just ice.

As for the brake, the light goes on with the slightest movement it doesn't even have to click for it to go on...is that normal?

Maolin34

Here in Michigan and the single digit weather we have the past few days....I have noticed that my parking brake doesn't fully disengage by the handle alone. The return springs on the rear calipers are not very strong when cold, and especially when they have been streched all night long. They dont return to original shape very easily, and you may notice that your parking brake handle does not stay all the way down until the interior of the car warms up. The clunk you here is really just the rear pads letting go of the rotor after being stuck to it all night, and if its been wet in your area, as well as cold....your right...probably compounded by ice. To make sure, I parked in my garage with the car in gear only. Being a little paranoid, I also chocked the wheels so it wouldn't roll...in the morning, 2degrees...it didn't pop when I backed up, and I could back out as I always do without touching the gas.

snap-on

"...in the morning, 2degrees...it didn't pop when I backed up, and I could back out as I always do without touching the gas."

Damn...it was 9 here this AM.

I think you nailed the sticking e-brake pop..My car did it this morning also.

RX Renesis

if it was wet then it's very possible that it's ice... just like after washing ur car and water gets to ur rotor... park it all night the next day the breaks would get stuck due to the rust from rotors... but one u move it with a little gas it should come loose....

Nubo

This can happen to any car with rear disk brakes. The pads get stuck to the rotor. Most noticeable if the emergency brake is applied while the disk is wet. Salty water is even worse, of course. This can get bad enough so that even the "reverse pop" doesn't work; though that usually involves being parked for an extended time.

downshift

There are similar discussions on this thread if you're interested: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/e-brake-issue-48073/

Owens

yeh it rained here in philly on sunday then all of the sudden the temp just dropped to like 10 degrees, hence why i think it was just ice.......but does anybody else notice when they just pull the parking brake up a little bit the brake light indicator goes on, shouldnt it click atleast once before the light goes on?

Pistonless

I experienced this the first time just this week when the temperature dropped to 20F. I've also noticed when I back out of the driveway the front brakes do a similar thing as I turn into the street. It's kind of a clunking grabbing thing that then immediately stops. It's only happened in cold weather. I'm thinking the car just hates the cold as much as I do......

RX Renesis

the e-break light is like that... it's normal... the light goes off even with the slightest movement on the break handel... it doesn't take a click to make the light go off...

Paul_in_DC

Sounds like your e-brake was frozen (wouldn't move in idle) then broke free when you moved (ergo the pop). This is a problem many cars have with e-brakes in winter. Consider parking without the e-brake in colder weather.

The light does the same in mine, and in other cars I've owned. It's pretty normal - the light comes on before the e-brake is "really" engaged.

slllygrl10

Yup, when I pull up on the parking brake the light comes on even tho nothing is engage.