Can I trust electric parking brakes?

[rustic]

We are hoping to replace the Picasso soon, and some cars we have looked at have an electronic parking brake.:nenau:nenau:augie

Our drive slopes down away from the garage, and we have to get out to open the garage door...

If we turn around to open the garage door, what are the chances of still finding the car at the top of the drive?:lol

Do they fail? or being electronic, can the computer decide it wants to release it when it wants?

How steep a hill will it hold on, and do I need to carry a brick with a piece of rope attached?

Has anybody had any experience with them on other vehicles?
To me... it is just something more expensive to go wrong, and repair..:doh

Regards,
Rustic

 

[micktheshed]

I hired an Astra 2 years ago with electric parking brake, it was only a few months old at the time. The brake was 'automatic' as in: it switched itself on when the ignition was off...except for the one time I trusted it (without leaving it in gear as I normally do) when it rolled away as I got out of the door. Have you ever tried stopping a car by hanging onto the rear wiper? What fun....never again. It was also 'automatic' release when moving off, but in stop/start traffic the foot brake was the better alternative. If you can't manage hill starts without rolling back then it's designed for you LOL.

As an 'emergency' brake I dread to think what would happen, as it was either on or off, no control over in-between, so quite likely to rear-end skid.
Personally I would avoid one at all costs, but then I like to be in control of the vehicle. It's down to personnel choice in the end.

 

[rustic]

Hi thanks for the reply, it looks like I will need convincing to accept one with it.:doh

Brick and rope it could be lol...:augie

 

[cncfabs]

They do fail and are now included in the new mot regulations such that they can't be modified or altered in any way so if they go wrong they must be repaired properly

 

[terrano bob]

good question that rustic I don't no mate :nenau :thumbs

 

[jims-terrano]

I had a Scenic on an 05 plate. The brake worked fine and trusted it without issue, the display on the dashboard told you and indeed you could hear the motors. Manual overide too.
When the batter got low it came up with an error saying check parking brake. All was well until one day wife was driving it and it stuck on, wouldnt release and alarm buzzer going she had to call aa out. I got there first and due to location i just revved it and made it set off which made it release. We px'd that afternoon as it was a £1500 repair bill for a new complete unit with the motors and cables. Guess what it had to be replaced and setup by reno:doh

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Interesting, I have read about these, and thought it was one of those things where the wording was aimed at people who believe in myth and magic, and no-one would really fit an all electric operated brake...

I think I will stay well clear in the future, having read the replies so far...

 

[terrano bob]

Interesting, I have read about these, and thought it was one of those things where the wording was aimed at people who believe in myth and magic, and no-one would really fit an all electric operated brake...

I think I will stay well clear in the future, having read the replies so far...

and me :thumbs

 

[jims-terrano]

Sadly guys you wont get away from them, they will catchup with all cars im sure. Interesting point made earlier about having to have them repaired because the early scenic 2's had a manual brake on the lower models. When the electric brake went some people found it cheaper to buy all the bits and convert to manual.

 

[rustic]

...When the electric brake went some people found it cheaper to buy all the bits and convert to manual.

So if I do get a car with an electronic parking brake, I might engineer a stick that goes in to the gap in the Alloy wheels, or a brick on a rope that automatically lowers behind the rear wheels to stop it rolling back... :doh

Convert to manual...
Cars have had a great history of going back to manual... remember the MKIII cortina with the Automatic choke, that didn't work, a cheap kit was soon available.

Auto windscreeen wipers, Full beam that detects an oncoming vehicle and auto dips, and then goes back to full beam... what about the car in front of you, or the cyclist without lights, or pedestrians...sorry mate...:doh
What if you wanted to used full beam on a car coming towards you...:augie
They'll be ejecting the warp core next... Too much unproven technology...:doh

Progress.... for who? the dealers, as you will need to connect to a computer to fit new brake pads...
If you fit a tow bar to a modern car, then a computer has to be connected to disable the rear parking sensors etc etc...:doh
Soon there will be a fault code saying the ash tray is full, and that will put the car into limp mode....

Now don't remind me why my other car is a Ford Maverick, and I've still got it, and I won't remind you how long I have had it lol...:lol:lol:lol

We are still struggling to find a Picasso replacement..:doh

 

[terrano bob]

:clap:clap:clap :thumbs

 

[briggie]

im chuffed to bits with " Florence " she does over 66 mpg on a run , and around 43mpg around town ...... and its very very hilly up here ..... ok shes probably no good in the snow ...... in fact she doesn't even like slightly damp roads :lol

 

[AlexD333]

All the jags have em, they tend to stick as opposed to fail but saying that all are auto so when in park it wont budge anyway. :thumb2

 

[macabethiel]

Electic handbrakes

Mercs are now electronic on the new models.
The mechanism does not fail if you subsequently flatten the battery.
Some manufacturers use cables with the actutor mounted near the rear axle. Others have no cables with actuator operating directly on the rear discs.
Pretty useful if you have kids in the car as they cannot accidentally release them.
Its the future - embrace it.

 

[bry]

I once saw one of those new shape LR thingy in the fast lane on the motorway.Only it weren't going fast, it weren't going anywhere.Leccy handbrake decided it wanted to be on.Cops had to tow to the hard shoulder.

 

[solarman216]

Mercs are now electronic on the new models.
The mechanism does not fail if you subsequently flatten the battery.
Some manufacturers use cables with the actutor mounted near the rear axle. Others have no cables with actuator operating directly on the rear discs.
Pretty useful if you have kids in the car as they cannot accidentally release them.
Its the future - embrace it.

Do not think so, pcb's and electronic components fail, plus water/moisture effs the sh*t out of them, be safe, be mechanical, Rick

 

[solarman216]

I think electric brakes will go the same way as Female Urinals, Yes Female Urinals, check out the Geberit site, mmmm just had a quick check, seems there is nothing there, it was clearly afailure and they have deleted it all, Rick

 

[macabethiel]

Mechanical Systems fail too !!

Do not think so, pcb's and electronic components fail, plus water/moisture effs the sh*t out of them, be safe, be mechanical, Rick

We all know that handbrake cables seize up as do quadrants, ratchets etc so I see no difference really except you can't squirt PLus Gas inside the actuators to free them off.LOL
Plus the dealers will want to sell you a pricey electronic actuator to help pay for those nice showrooms !

 

[rustic]

Thanks for the replies guys, looks like my concerns are confirmed, we are off soon for a test drive of a C4 picasso, so if we do go ahead... We might have to factor in a bill in 5 years for £500 when we start to look at residuals and service and maintenence costs, and compare other vehicles.
Then the calculator needs to come out.
We spent less time choosing our house than we have on choosing a car:doh:doh

In the past, we never spent this long choosing a car, some models in the past we never test drove, and never any company cars that I drove, and doing over 30,000 miles a year, I guess someone else was picking up the bill, both for fuel and repairs on the company cars...

I loved it when I could go to the garage and say... " This one is broken... do you have another one?" Oh and send the bill to this company...:thumb2

If I can recall that far back... when we bought the Mav, we only ever test drove a Nissan Terrano, and the only thing strange with it, was when you braked hard, the front went down and the back came up, really odd. But we don't notice anything like that with our Mav now...
We chose the Mav over the Terrano, just on interior trim, we wanted John Major trim... ie plain and grey lol...
Rustic

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

maybe best switch off an d put in gear, if thats allowed