Hi there, hoping someone will be able to tell me what to do here!

My car was parked up for 3 weeks, and last night I tried to drive it and the brakes wont come off! Whats wrong? Can I do anthing to release them? Need it for work in the morning.

P.S In simple terms please, I have no clue about the jargon/technical stuff! Sorry....:confused:

Thanks!

Try it in reverse

Try it in reverse

Hi there, thanks, but tried that , any other suggestions Anyone!?:confused:

Just keep trying to go forwards and i would of though they should eventually come loss.

then go for a really long drive and keep dbbing them on and off to easethem back into use

You find they will go with a bit of a bang hen they relase

I cant park overnite anymore without them sticking dude. Just keep pushing it, they will come off eventually. Dragged Lissy half way down the road with her back wheels locked before now!

Oh and remember to park up in gear and leave hand brake off if ya not gonna use car for a while

... Dragged Lissy half way down the road with her back wheels locked before now! ...

In a previous car I dragged half the gravel off the driveway without realising and then proceeded to drive down the road to until they unstuck with an almighty bang

From then on I left it in gear with the handbrake lightly on, didn't happen again anywhere near as bad.

If you've been driving in the wet don't jam the handbrake on really tight afterwards

In a previous car I dragged half the gravel off the driveway without realising and then proceeded to drive down the road to until they unstuck with an almighty bang

From then on I left it in gear with the handbrake lightly on, didn't happen again anywhere near as bad.

If you've been driving in the wet don't jam the handbrake on really tight afterwards

Ditto! There are lovely scrape marks from the gravel i dragged off with her

Poor servicing

Is that an offer Ross?

Hi there, thanks, but tried that , any other suggestions Anyone!?:confused:

Thanks for all your suggestions guys, I have tried to get it to move again, a good few times- still nothing!

Hubby has tried hitting back wheels with hammer, still nothing...

Do you think taking the wheels off would help?

Or any other suggestions? Getting desperate now:D

I rarely use the handbrake for parking now, I always leave the car in gear. My old Vauxhall Astra used to suffer from sticking rear brakes if left for more than a couple of days.

Just gently try to go backwards a bit, forwards a bit for a while and they should free off, failing that you will have to strip the calipers off and try to unseize them.

Thanks for all your suggestions guys, I have tried to get it to move again, a good few times- still nothing!

Hubby has tried hitting back wheels with hammer, still nothing...

Do you think taking the wheels off would help?

Or any other suggestions? Getting desperate now:D

Ah, I've just worked out that you must have rear drum brakes (amazing), as Lummox said its all down to maintenance. What you hubby should be doing now is taking both sides off and sorting out the linkage. The old "bang it with a hammer" only works if the friction material is "frozen" onto the drum with rust - I'd reckon that your shoes have seized operating linkages - and that will not get any better with hoping that it will go away or just dragging the car along the road after it has happened, that trick is only suitable for freeing up the "frozen" ones. When this happened to my daughter's Ibiza I admit that I'd heard her mention it - but did nothing, when I went to move it while she was on holiday, I discovered the awful truth - again as Lummox said "bad maintenance" - and I can stick my hand up and admit that I should have stripped them down periodically - just shows what can happen when your own cars end up with rear discs, you tend to forget drum brakes like a "treat" now and again especially as they get older!

Lissy has drum brakes..... dragging the back wheels along released them eventually. One day I will get around to gettin them sorted... untill then I just wont use the handbrake lol

Ah, I've just worked out that you must have rear drum brakes (amazing), as Lummox said its all down to maintenance. What you hubby should be doing now is taking both sides off and sorting out the linkage. The old "bang it with a hammer" only works if the friction material is "frozen" onto the drum with rust - I'd reckon that your shoes have seized operating linkages - and that will not get any better with hoping that it will go away or just dragging the car along the road after it has happened, that trick is only suitable for freeing up the "frozen" ones. When this happened to my daughter's Ibiza I admit that I'd heard her mention it - but did nothing, when I went to move it while she was on holiday, I discovered the awful truth - again as Lummox said "bad maintenance" - and I can stick my hand up and admit that I should have stripped them down periodically - just shows what can happen when your own cars end up with rear discs, you tend to forget drum brakes like a "treat" now and again especially as they get older!

My previous car also had drum brakes on the back. I took them off on the evening with the help of a mate and cleaned them all up with brake cleaner. You could clearly see where the shoes had stuck against the drum . Was lots of brake dust in there too so I think brake dust + water + heat = problems. Shoes and drum were badly glazed too so gave them a roughing up.

Could still be the linkage though. I remember someone on the astra forums telling me to pump the handbrake a few times to see if it helps?? :confused:

HI !

Just to let you know guys I have the same problem, but I think it is related to water (rust I guess), cause I never had this issue before.

Two days ago we had a pretty tough rain here in Panama and I crossed through a small "pond" (its normal procedure here . lol ) ...

So today that Im gonna use my car.. NO GO . and I went like :eek: .. locked wheels

Tried fwd and reverse... the car only raised its butt, so I called my shop and they told me to take both wheels off (rear) and bang them with a rubber hammer... As kinky as it may sound, it worked!

Anyways --- I left it parked in 1st gear and I'm taking it tomorrow morning to the shop to get the brake drums open and cleaned.

Cheers and good luck 2 anyone reading this :P

Can anyone advise me on how to de-stick the handbrake release button on my Fabia? It pops back out again after a few attempts but be nice to have it working first time.