i put my e-brake up, for no apparant reason, cuz i dont need to because my max is an auto. but i put it up, my driveway is very steep. anyway, my dad moved my car without me knowing. and i just went outside to move my car and i noticed the e-brake is very very very loose. so i go to back up and it felt like the wheels were locked up in the back. so i looked at the back tires while driving and they were locked, but the e-brake handle was down and the e-brake light was off. whats wrong?
thanks

 

ive been having the same proble i put it on becuase i was on a hill and i think its becuase the cold climate made the cable freeze or something like that because on dry roads im not gettin the acceleration i usually get and i hear a very suttle sound on back right brake when i am driving, I too would benefit from this information, but again my hypothesis is its cold and the cable is hard and frozen and kinda having rigamortis..

 

well the weather here is very cold this time of year... i cant drive around at all though, the wheels are completely locked up in the back

 

well, even if you have an auto, the best thig to do on a hill is to use the parking brake anyway so you dont put all of the weight and pressure or the car on the tranny.

but yea, the "frozen" cable idea is a good guess. got me though.

 

so what can i do to fix it?

 

were gonna have to thaw that ***** out...lol

 

i just went outside and pumped the brakes like crazy and fiddled around with the e-brake. the back tires arent locked up anymore, but theres a little bit of drag... it got worse as i was driving. also, my abs light came on. i didnt know that i had abs because they never worked before. so im thinking theres something very wrong with the rear brakes of my car. seeing as the abs never worked and the e-brake thing...

 

o man... two more months of this new england winter weather, i hate it

 

new england weather! Bro, you're going to have to replace those cables shortly. Same thing happened with me...took the car into a shop to have the axle changed. When they put the car on the life, one of the hooks grabbed on to the cable and tore it open. Next morning in 2 degree weather, I try to back out of my driveway and the car would not move, spun the front wheels like crazy. Anyway, I jimmied the cable at the caliper just a bit and it loosed up. I could not use the parking brake after that in the cold...i'd put it on and it's freeze up...anyway the cables are like $180 at the dealership

 

If you cant find a warm nterior overnight parking to thaw the cables, try at least to disconnect the ebrake cable from the lever it pulls on the rear calipers, on both wheels.

 

here's a question: if the e-brake is loose, how do you tighten it? it seems mine doesn't do too much at all.

 

If it's loose because the cable is stuck, or frozen in it's sleeve, you must wait for it to thaw, or release it somehow. If it's working normally, but you feel the lever is just a bit too slack, the only available adjustment for the ebrake is the small nut on the ebrake lever itself. Undo the lever vinyl / leather sleeve to see it. Be careful not to apply to much torque on that small nut, else you will damage the threads. I did.

 

yeah it just feels a little loose. thanks for the info, i'll try that tonight.

 

I agree with this...it should get you going and you can drive a while without using the ebrake. I don't know if its frozen or in a bind, but either way I wouldn't wait for it to fix itself.

 

That's been happening to me too lately! Ain't that some BullCHIT!! Actually, it only happened once. Since then I don't use my 5-spd's e-brake if it's gonna sit over night.

I will be fixing it this weekend, though. You'd be surprised at the wealth of info in those stickies. Check this one out... http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/303

Good Luck