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Foot operated parking brake on a manual CLK....help!

lucklesspedestrian

New Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2019
Messages
20
Location
Perth, Scotland
Car
CLK (W209) convertible
Hi

We've just purchased a 2006 (facelift) CLK 200 Elegance convertible with the 6 speed manual (which I actually like). It's a good car overall, I'm really pleased with it and will doubtless be back here a lot over the next few weeks with various questions.
I didn't fully appreciate however, just how counter-intuitive and just blooming awkward the foot parking brake with the hand-release arrangement is, in a non-auto, especially on hills.

Has anyone developed a technique for pulling away smoothly on hill starts that doesn't involve the surgical attachment of a third leg? We bought the car down in the Fens where this is obviously not so much of a problem but I live in Scotland!!
 
Easy. Just release the brake as you engage the clutch...it'll be second nature very quickly. I had a manual C Class many moons ago.

You soon become adept at not using the parking brake and just going from the foot brake to accelerator and away smoothly. I still do it that way in our big van when I can't be bothered using the handbrake.
 
Hi

We've just purchased a 2006 (facelift) CLK 200 Elegance convertible with the 6 speed manual (which I actually like). It's a good car overall, I'm really pleased with it and will doubtless be back here a lot over the next few weeks with various questions.
I didn't fully appreciate however, just how counter-intuitive and just blooming awkward the foot parking brake with the hand-release arrangement is, in a non-auto, especially on hills.

Has anyone developed a technique for pulling away smoothly on hill starts that doesn't involve the surgical attachment of a third leg? We bought the car down in the Fens where this is obviously not so much of a problem but I live in Scotland!!

Plenty of hills here in the Yorkshire Dales, and I have no issue with hill starts in my manual C class. I just use my right hand to release the parking brake at the same moment that I would have used my left hand to lower a traditional centre mounted handbrake lever. :thumb:
 
Think I'm going to have to find a quiet road on a hill and just practice. Teego's comment re the clutch is a fair one, I really need to get better coordinated on the handbrake to save frying the damm thing!

Scoops, I know there are hills in Yorkshire, stopped off overnight in Masham on the way home to Scotland after buying the car yesterday near Cambridge. Absolutely glorious this morning and a couple of really nice pints last night!
 
Knock it into neutral just before you come to a stop.
Apply the parking brake
Reselect 1st as needed
Release parking brake as the clutch bites.

Takes a bit of practice and is a bit of a pain.
You'll get it.
 
Think I'm going to have to find a quiet road on a hill and just practice. Teego's comment re the clutch is a fair one, I really need to get better coordinated on the handbrake to save frying the damm thing!

Scoops, I know there are hills in Yorkshire, stopped off overnight in Masham on the way home to Scotland after buying the car yesterday near Cambridge. Absolutely glorious this morning and a couple of really nice pints last night!
Have you been driving long?
 
Think I'm going to have to find a quiet road on a hill and just practice. Teego's comment re the clutch is a fair one, I really need to get better coordinated on the handbrake to save frying the damm thing!

Scoops, I know there are hills in Yorkshire, stopped off overnight in Masham on the way home to Scotland after buying the car yesterday near Cambridge. Absolutely glorious this morning and a couple of really nice pints last night!

Great place to stay overnight!!! Black Sheep or Theakston? I personally like a nice pint of Theakston Old Peculiar, but I also like Tennants Super :thumb: Been glorious here all day, been sat in the garden all afternoon, but they do say it's God's own county ;)
 
Great place to stay overnight!!! Black Sheep or Theakston? I personally like a nice pint of Theakston Old Peculiar, but I also like Tennants Super :thumb: Been glorious here all day, been sat in the garden all afternoon, but they do say it's God's own county ;)

Both, is the obvious answer. Had a really nice pint of Black Sheep best at the Brewery and a pint of OP before we ate at night. Tennants super....ooooh, that's just tramp juice!
 
Hi

We've just purchased a 2006 (facelift) CLK 200 Elegance convertible with the 6 speed manual (which I actually like). It's a good car overall, I'm really pleased with it and will doubtless be back here a lot over the next few weeks with various questions.
I didn't fully appreciate however, just how counter-intuitive and just blooming awkward the foot parking brake with the hand-release arrangement is, in a non-auto, especially on hills.

Has anyone developed a technique for pulling away smoothly on hill starts that doesn't involve the surgical attachment of a third leg? We bought the car down in the Fens where this is obviously not so much of a problem but I live in Scotland!!

When I went to view my C class it was the first Mercedes I'd viewed and test drove. After a once over I was passed the keys. I started the car, pushed the parking brake pedal as hard as I could, and applied accelerator pressure. The revs climbed, I smiled, and I went nowhere!!! After trying this 2 or 3 times the salesman approached the car. I lowered the window. He asked if everything was ok, and I proceeded to explain the procedure I was carrying out. He then went on to explain about the release lever. It was rather embarrassing, especially after I'd told him I'd looked at a few other examples already (Trying to look experienced in Mercedes car viewing). It took some getting used to, especially building up confidence to engage the parking brake whilst in traffic, rather than just holding the car on the brake pedal, but it eventually became second nature. Now I struggle driving my wife's car with the traditional hand brake!
 
I'm sure with practice it will become 2nd nature as C class manual gearbox drivers have had the same setup since the W202 (W201 had a proper handbrake). I imagine the issue is that the parking brake release is an all or nothing effect i.e. you can't modulate it only release it completely. Or did that change when the W204 was introduced with hill start assist as standard.
 
When I went to view my C class it was the first Mercedes I'd viewed and test drove. After a once over I was passed the keys. I started the car, pushed the parking brake pedal as hard as I could, and applied accelerator pressure. The revs climbed, I smiled, and I went nowhere!!! After trying this 2 or 3 times the salesman approached the car. I lowered the window. He asked if everything was ok, and I proceeded to explain the procedure I was carrying out. He then went on to explain about the release lever. It was rather embarrassing, especially after I'd told him I'd looked at a few other examples already (Trying to look experienced in Mercedes car viewing). It took some getting used to, especially building up confidence to engage the parking brake whilst in traffic, rather than just holding the car on the brake pedal, but it eventually became second nature. Now I struggle driving my wife's car with the traditional hand brake!

Okay, if we're doing embarassing MB related moments here's mine: Driving the first leg of the journey home yesterday having just bought and collected the car it was a lovely sunny day and getting a bit warm in the cabin. I 'turned on' the A/C and was most annoyed that it didn't work. I even went so far as to text the dealer who sold me the car and had assured me that the A/C was fine. Thankfully he did have the foresight to ask "you do know that when the red light is illuminated on the A/C switch that the A/C is actually off don't you?" Oh well, I do now!
 
When I went to view my C class it was the first Mercedes I'd viewed and test drove. After a once over I was passed the keys. I started the car, pushed the parking brake pedal as hard as I could....!

I came back from holiday in the US, where you release the 'emergency' as they call it there, brake, by pushing the pedal, and tried to do the same in my car. I was completely baffled why it wouldn't release - I tried pressing hard and jabbing it. Eventually i got out of the car and went in the house for a few mins, thinking I'd have to call Mobilo.

Came out again and started from scratch and just reached for the release handle without thinking about it!
 

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