Yesterday, I let my friend borrow my car because he needed a ride. (Big Mistake)

When she gave it back to me, she said she accidentally drove with the E-Brake on. Estimated she drove around an hour going 40 on the speedometer. She felt the car being very slow, but didn't think there was anything wrong. While she was driving, the car started to smell like something was burning. After she got off the car, she also smelled the front hood burning.

Now, my question is...
Do I have to replace my E-brakes?
Are my tires going to be ok?
Should I get my engine checked out?
And Last, should I have a mechanic look at it?


If you guys had any past experience with this, please help out. Thanks a bunch!

 

I had done this once in an older V8 cause the indicator light didnt work, and the ebrake doesnt hold an old american car back much. Basically Check your rear rotors for warpage and check the pads too. Worst case scenario you will need to get new rotors (or machine them) and pads on the back. But you could prob get away with just inspecting them.

As far as you engine/drivetrain goes, it should be fine. Think of this as a one hour trip uphill towing a few hundred pound trailer. If you have auto then she prob knocked off a few weeks of the expected life time. (that is unless you have a good transmission cooler)

 

my friends gf did this a while back, and we never stopped making fun of her for it. i would have your ebrake checked, your pads and rotors checked, and yes, have a mechanic look at it, all at her expense, of course. she could have potentially done some damage do the brake mechanism, pads and rotors, and im sure the transmission and engine had to work overtime to overcome that, but i dont *think* she did any permanent damage.

if she doesnt offer to have the car fixed and diagnosed, thats really messed up IMO. when borrowing someones car, you should be EXTRA EXTRA careful, its an unwritten rule among me and my friends.

 

the unwritten rule is that nobody drives my car except me, unless of course I'm drunk and a trustworthy friend has not been drinking (then he can drive me home in my car)

 

Same here brother...same here.

 

You dont have to worry about the drivetrain, its fine. Have the pads checked and the ebrake mechaninsm checked.

 

maybe you can trade her the new break pads for something

 

underage drinking is a

 

Why do people keep saying have the ebrake mechanism checked?? Driving with the brakes on does nothing to the Mechanism! Wear the pads. Yes Possibly overheat a rotor and cause it to warp Possible. Over heat the trans fluid. Possible.

Check the trans fluid to see if it smells burnt or has an orange look (should be red). coast and pull the e-break carefully until it starts to slow the car. If you feel the brakes pulsing then you have a warped rotor. (or if you feel pulsing braking normally). Other than that forget about it. Well don't completely forget about it. Tease your friend relentlessly about it. Stuff like that is fun to bring up over and over.

 

Because its not the most robust mechanism. Its a spool attatched to the ebrake handle. If you damaged the spool when the car was moving....no more ebrake.

 

The only thing e-brakes are good for is slidin' around the corners!

 

and keeping your car from rolling down hills when parked...

 

u can just leave your car in gear when parking on hills. I always leave my car in gear when i leave it parked on a steep hill because u never know if that thing is gonna roll. And its just smart.

so technincally you dont need an ebrake

 

Unless you wanna slide.

Does Jinro have an auto or manual. Kinda dumb question, but...

 

really?? i didnt know this, cuz i always put my car in neutral when i park (6-speed)

 

wow, I can imagine how hot the rotor got, it must have been red as hell like they get in grand tourismo...

 

I'd like to know as well. IMO using the e-brake on an automatic car is completely unnecessary, and since most people wouldn't expect it to be on, things like this happen. Especially with a girl being the one borrowing the car.

 

For those of us that own a SIX SPEED the Ebrake is a necessity. OBviously you don't own a six speed if you feel the ebrake is not a "need". I would have the brakes checked. IF the ebrake was fully engages she would have not been able to drive. My ebrake is pretty solid. IF it is fully engaged the second I release the clutch my car will not go anywhere

 

not using the e-brake when parked on a hill with an auto is like using the transmission as a kick stand...its bad for it....thats why when you dont use it and go to put it from park to drive, its hard to get it in drive, and makes a big clunking noise

 

exactly...whenever i have the e-brake on, the car doesnt move...

 

Thanks for all the feedback.
My car is an auto if you were wondering.
And yes, she decided to pay for whatever is necessary.

 

Oops. I wasn't aware that the e-brake was more necessary on a SIX SPEED than it is on a five speed, which I do have. If you weren't referring to my post then I apologize but it seemed as though you were.

And about the parking on a hill and using the transmission to hold the car being bad, we don't have many hills to park on around here

 

.....Don't pitch the B!tch....

 

yyeeaa i did the same thing with my friends moms van...i just never told anyone...until now

 

Get some new rotors and rear pads, I have seen this happen way too many times at Acura, Audi, Nissan, Hyundai, Isuzu, Subaru... wherever I worked at, I seen it. No harm done, shes glazed the pads up pretty bad. If the brakes got hot enough it MIGHT have gotten the piston seals on the caliper so hot that they might have some burn marks on them. If thats the case have the rear calipers rebuild.

 

Um, just wondering how many of us "I'm an excellent driver" types have driven at least a block w/ the E-brake engaged? Extremely frustrating when it happens, um, I'm told... Now an hour @ 40 is a bit extreme.

 

ouch that sucks, i'd never let any lady friend drive my car unless i was smashed and we were goin to the crib for a little bit a.. haha but i doubt anything serious happened.

maybe it was glowing neon green!

anyhow an ebrake is necessary for an auto imo, i use it even if the road is visually flat....no matter what when you park w/o using it your car always rocks one way or the other and falls back on the tranny...no good. id rather change the rear pads just a lil sooner and tighten the ebrake just a lil more often than lose the tranny before i'm done driving the car into the ground lol

 

Dittos about using an e-brake with an auto. I've seen so many stupid people park their A/T vehicles without the parking brake and watched the car roll back and forth with that stress on the transmission. It's the same reason why with an A/T (and I imagine you should do this with a M/T as well) you should always crack your lugnuts loose while the car is still on the ground, and then remove them fully after the wheel is up.

I was working in Fort Lee for a contractor two summers ago. We stopped at a deli to get lunch in Palisades Park or Leonia and as we parked the truck this woman pulled up in a Mazda Protoge. Her rear wheel wells were literally billowing smoke. She seemed oblivious to the fact that her e-brake handle was up and we tried to tell her, but she didn't speak very good english.

 

Apparently you have an auto tranny