I HATE electronic handbrakes

[revjames]

I have an 11 plate Vauxhall Insignia. It has one of them electronic handbrakes with a little lever and it automatically comes off ehrn pulling away etc. There is a warning light on the dash with a picture of a brake drum with an electric symbol and a spanner underneath it. Every now an again the light comes on for no reason. When this happens you have no handbrake. This evening I had to park on a hill and even left in 1st it was creeping away.  This really pees me off. I took it to a mechanic friend who could find no fault. I did think perhaps it could be worn rear pads but when inspected they looked fine and had no wear sensors in any case.

last time it happened (2 weeks ago) it went back to normal by itself within a day or 2. However, its MOT day tomorrow. All I can do is cross fingers?

Anyone have any sensible advice? can't find any useful advice in haynes book or interweb?

 

[Sharpend]

Usually with anything electronic on a motor these days you need to have the vehicle scanned with an appropriate diagnostics tool to determine/adjust these sort of things. 

 

[Evans Electric]

I've heard speak of such modern wonders but know nothing about them I'm afraid.

They'll be having auto chokes , getting rid of carburetters , contact gap points and ignition coils and starting handles next.

 

[Blue Duck]

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php/607426-Electric-parking-brake-light

any help.?

Modern cars are a PITA too complicated, too many regulations & way too over engineered.

i can sympathise, I bought a 2006 Audi A4 with 46k on the clock. I thought it would be fine for a couple of years but no it's cost me £1500 in repairs since August and there is all manner of stuff breaking randomly.

It has to be the worst car I have owned!

And I've owned a few skips!

 

[revjames]

Usually with anything electronic on a motor these days you need to have the vehicle scanned with an appropriate diagnostics tool to determine/adjust these sort of things. 

had it connected to the one at work and it came up with nothing

 

[revjames]

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php/607426-Electric-parking-brake-light

any help.?

Modern cars are a PITA too complicated, too many regulations & way too over engineered.

i can sympathise, I bought a 2006 Audi A4 with 46k on the clock. I thought it would be fine for a couple of years but no it's cost me £1500 in repairs since August and there is all manner of stuff breaking randomly.

It has to be the worst car I have owned!

And I've owned a few skips!

yeh seen that link, doesnt really help. Tried disconnecting the battery, sitting with foot on brake and holding button down, holding it up. Driving the car over really bumpy roads, doing an emergency stop, you name it and I've tried it. If I get the MOT I am seriously considering getting rid and buying a banger

 

[Blue Duck]

Can your work obd2 scanner pick up Vauxhall faults? Sounds odd but a lot of generic scanners can't pick up all the faults displayed. 

Im on the lookout for an old banger too, tired of this high tech motoring nonsense. 

Maybe a T reg Volvo or an old Subaru.

 

[Evans Electric]

Might know where theres an old 2007  Escort van  Ducky 

 

[revjames]

thats 95 not 07

 

[Sharpend]

had it connected to the one at work and it came up with nothing

A generic obd11 scanner will not pick it up unless it has the EPB function 

 

[revjames]

A generic obd11 scanner will not pick it up unless it has the EPB function 

ah I see, its quite an expensive one but obviously as you say no EPB function..

 

[ProDave]

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php/607426-Electric-parking-brake-light

any help.?

Modern cars are a PITA too complicated, too many regulations & way too over engineered.

i can sympathise, I bought a 2006 Audi A4 with 46k on the clock. I thought it would be fine for a couple of years but no it's cost me £1500 in repairs since August and there is all manner of stuff breaking randomly.

It has to be the worst car I have owned!

And I've owned a few skips!

That sounds like the 54 plate VW Touran we owned for a short while. Worst car we ever had.

 

[Evans Electric]

thats 95 not 07

Well I never did get the gist of those number plate codes TBH  ....should have known as I probably  bought it in  1997 - 1998 :C

 

[revjames]

Might know where theres an old 2007  Escort van  Ducky 

View attachment 6662

Just noticed the number plate - Bodge.... like it!

Took car for MOT this morning. sure enough light was on so postponed MOT as it runs out on 15/3. took motor assy off car and will bench test, clean and lube and hope for the best on monday

 

[Evans Electric]

They have to try to be clever don't they ?    Whats wrong with a ratchet lever and some  steelwire cable I ask?    Why complicate everything?

 

[Andy™]

everything is electronic. next years model will be wifi controlled and you will need an app on your phone to release the brake

 

[ProDave]

I was at my friendly mechanics place last week, and a punter came in.

He had left his car parked on a hill outside his house, with the electronic hand brake turned on, and in the middle of the night his car decided to release the handbrake and it ended up at the bottom of the road and a trail of damaged cars it had hit on the way.

I hired a 7.5 ton flatbed truck when I collected all my scaffold a couple of years ago. That had an air brake handbrake but it was a very weird thing to use, it was fully on, or fully off. No releasing it progressiely as you do a hill start like a conventional mechanical handbrake. I can't say I liked it much.

But worse than electronic handbrakes are modern cars with a start stop button, no key, and they even stop the engine when you stop at the traffic lights and re start it as you are ready to go.  Now THAT is a reliability issue for future owners as the car gets old surely?

 

[Andy™]

truck parking brakes are completely different though and designed to be fail safe. unlike cars / vans where the brake is always  off until forced on, truck brakes are always on until forced off, are are pretty much designed as on or off

i dont have any problems with the cars with a start / stop button as such, but i wouldnt want anything that switches its self on / off randomly

 

[pewter]

i san francisco when park you have to aim the wheels into the kerb to avoid such accidents in a place made of hills..

apparently

 

[Andy™]

iirc, thats in the highway code