What is my handbrake for ?

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You can use it when you feel like. When you come to a stop, leave the car in gear with your foot on the brake.
Turn off the engine and open the door. The electronic parking brake automagically engages and you should
see the graphic in the dash. Else just press the button.

I get funny looks when I try the above at traffic lights :oops:
 
Please excuse the dumb question but when should I use the handbrake in my car ?
I didn’t even know it had one until it was pointed out to me. I thought with it being an auto , when I stop and don’t want the car to roll then I put it in park.
Was also pointed out that if I come to a stop on a slope and press the brake pedal hard then a hill assist brake is applied and releases on application of the throttle.
Have you actually passed a test of competence to drive ?

This question illustrates perfectly the argument for ongoing retests .
 
You can use it when you feel like. When you come to a stop, leave the car in gear with your foot on the brake.
Turn off the engine and open the door. The electronic parking brake automagically engages and you should
see the graphic in the dash. Else just press the button.
So - how do these cars with electrically applied parking brakes perform in the event of failure of the service brake , while the car is moving ?

Remember that in the US , the hand or parking brake is referred to as the emergency brake , and it is a legal requirement in this country to have a secondary braking system with a separate means of operation from the primary system .

With a hand or foot actuated mechanical brake it is easy to apply in the event of total failure of the primary brakes , but will these electrical systems even come on if the car is moving , and will they apply the parking brake hard enough to stop the car in an emergency?
 
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When mine is parked in the garage I find that if the handbrake has been applied for several weeks without moving the brakes stick on and I need to give it plenty of revs to release it hence I don’t use it anymore when parked for any length of time.
However I do apply it and release it every week to make sure it still works.
The other time to not use them is during very cold weather, drum brakes can freeze up and not release .
 
I don't use the parking brake in the garage but I do use it if I park up somewhere on any incline to supplement the park pawl.
I never use it on the flat ( park is sufficient ) but always use it on an incline , and if a steep incline also turn the wheels so they will choc against the kerb if the car moves . In a manual car I will engage the parking gear : whichever low gear would cause the car to move uphill .
 
I have heard this many times, do you know of any cases where the gearbox has broken and a car run away?

On my van the engine and gearbox is so worn and my driveway is so steep that it still rolls back (although extremely slowly) whilst parked in gear. So even with a effective handbrake I reverse right up to the corner wall of my garage just in case !
 
So - how do these cars with electrically applied parking brakes perform in the event of failure of the service brake , while the car is moving ?

Remember that in the US , the hand or parking brake is referred to as the emergency brake , and it is a legal requirement in this country to have a secondary braking system with a separate means of operation from the primary system .

With a hand or foot actuated mechanical brake it is easy to apply in the event of total failure of the primary brakes , but will these electrical systems even come on if the car is moving , and will they apply the parking brake hard enough to stop the car in an emergency?
There's a button.
 
So - how do these cars with electrically applied parking brakes perform in the event of failure of the service brake , while the car is moving ?

Remember that in the US , the hand or parking brake is referred to as the emergency brake , and it is a legal requirement in this country to have a secondary braking system with a separate means of operation from the primary system .

With a hand or foot actuated mechanical brake it is easy to apply in the event of total failure of the primary brakes , but will these electrical systems even come on if the car is moving , and will they apply the parking brake hard enough to stop the car in an emergency?
As DrFeelGood wrote, there's a button. You can also pretend the 'P' on the gear lever is the 'P'arking brake...
 
Foot brake on both cars , never use them on the flat only on slopes . My drive is a slight slope so the footbrake is used regularly
 
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As DrFeelGood wrote, there's a button. You can also pretend the 'P' on the gear lever is the 'P'arking brake...
As DrFeelGood wrote, there's a button. You can also pretend the 'P' on the gear lever is the 'P'arking brake...

He is on my ignore list so I don’t see his posts ; I still have to wonder how hard the button will actuate the brake , with a hand lever or a foot pedal we can choose : not hard enough and it won’t stop the car , too hard and it might lock the back wheels .

Most automatic boxes won’t go into park above a certain speed ( 5mph or so ) and even if they did you would just shear the pawl .
 
Isn't the hand brake also known as the emergency brake in the US? That would suggest it is rarely used over there and they drive mostly autos.
 
Isn't the hand brake also known as the emergency brake in the US? That would suggest it is rarely used over there and they drive mostly autos.
See post 25 😊
 
He is on my ignore list so I don’t see his posts ; I still have to wonder how hard the button will actuate the brake , with a hand lever or a foot pedal we can choose : not hard enough and it won’t stop the car , too hard and it might lock the back wheels .

Most automatic boxes won’t go into park above a certain speed ( 5mph or so ) and even if they did you would just shear the pawl .
I accidentally activated the electronic handbrake recently and it locked the rear wheels.

I know that you have said I'm on your ignore list (as such people always do without fail) but I know that you seceretly read my posts because you responded to one recently (as such people always do).
 
Park is released when you put the car into D or R..... ;)
Hand brake auto releases in my wife's 2015 B...and my SL....

No shit sherlock. Alot of cars even newer ones don't have electric handbrake. Lol 😆 🤣
 
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Having had the luxury (if you can call it luxury or just plain laziness) of auto gearbox and electric handbrake I would prefer not to go back to the prehistoric days of manual. 🤗
We have 2 autos , one with electric handbrake one without. We also have 2 manuals, one with electric handbrake one without.
 
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No shit sherlock. Alot of cars even newer ones don't have electric handbrake. Lol 😆 🤣

Thanks for your pointless observation.

I was responding to your confusing & incorrect response below - he made a statement and then asked a question (the question mark at the end of the last sentence means he is asking a question not the sentence (you for some reason answered) with the full stop). You answered the statement not the question🥺. Well done!

Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 16.51.42.png
 

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