Anyone had a problem with Vauxhall handbrakes?

Seems to be the way these days, I wouldn't trust them - it only needs one BIT to be unset and the brake comes off.

I write software for a living and i know how easy it is to introduce bugs into code and how hard it can be to find and fix them.

 

In principle I agree, but ASDA wouldn't release the video (he'd had to pull a few strings to get to look at it), the incline was slight so the damage minimal - and life's too short.

 

Re: Whoa!! ...

F*ck me!! Which Driving Instructors?? I was a D.O.T. driving instructor for several years and no-one in the Driving Instructors Association that I knew would EVER have advised that. Furthermore if you repeatedly did that on your test it would have counted as a minor error in each case but when you accumulate sufficient minor errors you would get failed althogh that changed in 2007. . Think about it though. Constantly dragging the locking mechanism over the teeth wears them away and rounds them off eventually leading to the handbrake failing. We always taught that you hold the button in and then release near the top when you feel resistance then give it one or two 'clicks' to ensure it was 'locked off' but NEVER pull it up from the bottom without using the release button. I still wince if I ever get in a car where the driver pulls the handbrake on without holding the button in.

Cant see why that would have changed that unless they have fundamentally altered the way the handbrake mechanism works. Vauhall did at one time blame handbrake failure on incorrectly use as per the button out but Ford anotably advise NOt to use the button to ensure it is locked. Howvere the best way is STILL to use button until you feel resistance then release and click once or twice.

 

Re: Update

It's an ordinary manual brake then?

I'd be very surprised if even very hot disks would shrink in cooling enough to let the car roll if you applied a reasonable amount of force when applying the brake. Usually the disks have two surfaces with gaps between to dissipate the heat and to reduce thermal expansion.

I just did a search about hot disks expanding and found very little on it - mostly saying that the disk diameter increases rather than the thickness.

When you got back in the car was the lever still pulled up? If not then it was the ratchet which slipped - a definite fault on such a new car.

 

I always park in gear because I've always worried about something like this happening.

 

leave the car in gear?

 

good luck with getting them to admit it

I once had a Vauxhall that had a fault, the local dealer swore blind they had seen nothing like it, couple of years later turned out there had been loads of similar reports

 

Re: Whoa!! ...

Yep! Like I said there are two views on this. I still think that the first few clicks take up the 'slack' and so you use the button to avoid wearing the rachet teeth until you feel resistence. THEN release the button and pull firmly so you hear one or two clicks to ensure the handbrake has fully engaged. The two 'teeth' that you click over will vary as the handbrake cable stretches and the rear brake linings wear (The handbrake only operates the rear brakes) hence the reason the handbrake between services over time has to be pulled on further although some have a self adjusting mechanism I believe.
The thing about cold weather and metal on the disks contracting is definitely true though so ensure the handbrake is well on. That is usually the reason cars roll away after a period of time has elapsed - i.e. not applying the handbrake firmly enough.

Better to use the belt and braces as has already been said. Handbrake on and leave in 1st or 2nd gear ( 3rd 4th and 5th allows the car to travel further relative to the movement/compression of the pistons and once momentum builds up the car may continue to move even in gear (like when you jump start a car by pushing it you should use a higher gear as the wheels usually lock in 1st and 2nd due to the compression being too high relative to car speed)
Yours 'anally'
T.

 

Re: Update

That is the crux of the matter. Holding a ton of metal on a hill with 4 cold brake pads - the contact material of which is designed to work at a high temperature probably about 12 square inches pinching a shiny plate of steel which shrinks (even marginally) as it cools aint great if the initial force applied was insufficient. The same pads slow a car efficiently because the force is applied via the footbrake and greatly assisted by the servo and hydraulics. I am old enough to remember cars with drum brakes and disk brakes without servo assist and it was surprising how much force was needed to bring the car to a halt. moral is - never trust the handbrake alone to hold an unattended car on a hill.

 

This thread is making me think. I've never parked and left my car in gear in the 8 years I've been driving but thinking about it, I'm not sure I've ever parked up on a hill either. I know I was once stationary on a very steep hill in traffic and after about 10 mins I felt my car slowly moving backwards but I just presumed I hadn't put the handbrake on properly.

 

i honestly cant believe anyone parks their car in neutral,whether on a hill or not.

 

Then there must be a lot of things you honestly can't believe.

For example, if you have a garage, and it's a flat area, why would you need to leave your car in gear? Or perhaps more pertinently, why can't you honestly believe you would leave your car in neutral? Does it damage something?

 

i've a garage,parts of this country are flat and i always leave my car (and bike) in gear.force of habit,prevents me being absent minded and my car/bike going walkies.

 

never known of them suddenly releasing

but several years or so ago they did have a problem with them locking on. I had an astra and was, in the winter months, very reluctant to apply the handbrake too hard ... and mostly just parked in gear (obviously except on a hill)

 

Re: Update

Quite agree.

You're right about the non-servo assisted brakes as well, about 8 years ago I did a driving day on an old airfield converted into a race track and drove an old E-Type Jag. The bloke told me to put my foot to the floor which was great, but then told me to brake. So I put my foot on the pedal like I would do in my car and nothing happened. I was almost standing on the pedal and nearly pulled the steering wheel off. Almost cacked myself.

Incidentally I had an old Discovery over ten years ago and parked it on the drive which only has a slight slope away from the house. We got a knock on the door from a neighbour to tell us that the damned thing was sitting across the road. luckily there were no parked cars in it's way and it didn't gain enough speed to bump up the kerb opposite, otherwise in might have demolished their house.

 

Bloke I work with has an insignia.

Not a real handbrake but one of those buttons.

He swears he put it on. And when he looked out the window an hour or so later it had rolled into the corner of the building.