Is it just me, or is there a problem with my car?

Say I am on a straight road, I stop my car completely while still in drive, pull the e-brake...but the car still moves! Im not even pressing the gas pedal (or air pedal, DBM)....

My brakes DO squeal ALOT every single day, since I changed them myself 6 months ago.

Is something wrong, or is this normal?

 

Your handbrake is not working. This is not normal. This problem could be caused by rusted control cables, defective rear calipers, or completely worn-out rear brake pads.

 

When you did the brake job were you careful to turn the piston while pressing it back into the caliper?

There are 4 recesses in the surface of the piston. You should align any one of those recesses with the raised nub on the brake pad. Did you do this?

For further information please refer to the Chilton manual (page 9-9) or the Haynes manual (page 9-9). Yes, the same page in each book. Coincidence.

 

 

thomas am i still too slow??

 

I actually forgot to mention how MUCH (or little) my car moves...its not very much...just, the car rolls. It doesnt move like when Im not holding the e-brake, but it still moves forward.

Is the car supposed to be completely non-moving when I hold ebrake while still in drive?

 

With the handbrake firmly applied the car should not move at all. How far does it move? One inch? One foot? One city block?

 

The cable might simply be loose, making it extremly hard to fully engage the brakes.

 

ya tighten the cable to i think it's 44lbs of resistance at 10 clicks. you can get a good fish scale and figure out some way to measure it. if the cable it loose this is what could cause it. tighten the cable. and go out and pull up the ebrake slowly and listen for the clicks, see how many you get before it gets really hard.

 

There is an adjustment screw under the ebrake handle that can be found if you open up the vinyl boot around the handle. Are you pulling the ebrake up all the way? As tight as it will go? Because sometimes pulling it up a couple clicks isn't enough to hold the car.

 

There is an adjustment screw under the ebrake handle that can be found if you open up the vinyl boot around the handle. Are you pulling the ebrake up all the way? As tight as it will go? Because sometimes pulling it up a couple clicks isn't enough to hold the car.

 

maybe cause your using it as an emergency brake! First thing is you should keep in mind its a parking brake or hand brake. in an emergency, pull that brake and see if it stops you. Ill buy you a drink if it does.
ANYWAYS....there is a spec for how many clicks your handbrake should click. I think its 5 clicks. Anything more needs adjustment. There is a 10mm adjuster nut that you turn to tighten the brake.

 

i'm pretty sure it's 10 clicks.

 

The factory service manual calls for 10-11 clicks or 44 pounds of effort.

 

Im sorry, I should elaborate. The car moves, non stop, as much as you want it to...it rolls, slowly.


I just went into my garage and pulled the brake as hard as i could, slowly. I counted 6 clicks before pulling any harder, it feels like if I pull anymore, its going to rip out.

Maybe you guys are right, I needed to pull it harder? But is the car still going to be stopped if the button is pressed and the lever is held up? What if my brake pads are warm/hot?

Thanks for your help guys, and sorry if I sound stupid.

 

you need to get it up to 10 clicks and see what happens. i said that before but no one believes crazy old me until danny B backs me up.

 

Then, without a doubt, your handbrake is not working.

The brake handle should move 10 clicks and hold the car. Your brake handle moves 6 clicks and does not hold the car. Something is wrong, and you must investigate. Please focus attention on the cable mechanism first, and move on to the calipers if the cables are not at fault.

 

Let us know what it is- my guess is the cable i'm pretty sure it is, as its most likely to fail or get loose.

 

I'm having the same problem with my 3rd gen. I have been meaning to tighten that nut for some time now and finally today I got to it. E-brake feels a lot tighter, but I think it need to be even tighter. I had to stop because my sockets were too shallow. I'm gonna have to go buy a deep well 10mm socket.

Tare care,
Kevin

 

i'm having a problem with my emergency brake so i did a search and found this thread. if the cable is loose what do you do? i was putting disc brake quiet on the backs of my brake pads and shims and i didnt get the calipers off at first because the e-brake was up. i tried to force them off before i realized that it was up. when i finally got the caliper off i let hang towards the ground still connected to the e-brake line. would this cause it to stretch and come loose.