Lucky escape here...

BBC NEWS | Wales | Girl talks of cliff plunge escape

I couldn't work out if it was an electronic push-button handbrake or a mechanical one? (The girl talks about an ECP button, but the news story says she "couldn't pull it back up" which suggests a machanical one)

But still a good idea to leave your car in gear when you park it on a hill...

:eek:

Was it the C4 Picasso then? Difficult to tell from that piccy.:confused:

Looks remarkably unbattered following its fall,

I hate those electronic 'handbrakes'.

Just another example of uneccessary electonic gedgetry nonsense, so prevelant in todays cars.

Don't get me ranting about auto wipers and headlamps either.

Electronic handbrakes are on the new passat too and I hate the things.

I would like to point out that plenty of fabia/octavia (and in fact almost any car with all round discs) have also had the handbrake "fail" because of cooling discs.

I would like to point out that plenty of fabia/octavia (and in fact almost any car with all round discs) have also had the handbrake "fail" because of cooling discs.

Yeah I know - I had a Volvo roll into mine in a carpark for exactly this reason.

But if you were in a car with a conventional handbrake and it started rolling because of cooling discs, you'd at least stand a chance of pulling it up further and stopping the car.

With a pushbutton handbrake I don't know if it's possible to re-engage it once the car starts moving (especially if the ignition is off)??

Electronic handbrakes are on the new passat too and I hate the things.

I would like to point out that plenty of fabia/octavia (and in fact almost any car with all round discs) have also had the handbrake "fail" because of cooling discs.

Some (BMW/Volvo) have a small drum brake inside the disc just for the handbrake, and these aren't affected as badly.

Always leave the car in gear regardless of make/model/handbrake type/whatever.

My Citroen Xantia rolled into and wrote off the garage door last year, half an hour after I'd parked up.

I can only presume the discs had cooled of sufficiently to allow it to roll back. The handbrake was still on, only not sufficiently it would seem.

I was actually in the garage when it hit it. The noise was horrendous, and the sight of a tow bar sticking through it was a bit of a shock.

Needed a new garage door anyway, so it actually did me a favour.

My Citroen Xantia rolled into and wrote off the garage door last year, half an hour after I'd parked up.

the Xantias were recalled very early on in their manufacture for this very problem , modifications to the lever were required , so you had to pull it on further before it would lock

She was listening to music in the car when she accidentally knocked off the brake and despite frantic attempts, she could not pull it back up.

Who said the handbrake failed?

Fairy snuff.

I also like the "God was looking down on us" quote. Presumably He was laughing, as the implication is that He doesn't like Citroens.

Always leave the car in gear regardless of make/model/handbrake type/whatever.

My Citroen Xantia rolled into and wrote off the garage door last year, half an hour after I'd parked up.

I can only presume the discs had cooled of sufficiently to allow it to roll back. The handbrake was still on, only not sufficiently it would seem.

I was actually in the garage when it hit it. The noise was horrendous, and the sight of a tow bar sticking through it was a bit of a shock.

Needed a new garage door anyway, so it actually did me a favour.

IIRC the xantias handbrake operates the front wheels.... correct me if im wrong....

the Xantias were recalled very early on in their manufacture for this very problem , modifications to the lever were required , so you had to pull it on further before it would lock

Yes I believe so. Mine's a late one on an X so it shoulld have had the mod. done.

I reckon it was my own fault anyway for not pulling the handbrake up far enough.

Wasn't a mark on the towbar! :P

Who said this car that 'fell' off the cliff was a Citroen anyway? I don't reckon you can identify it from the picture.

Who said the handbrake failed?

I was more thinking it's a "Design Fail", if you can you release a handbrake but not reapply it again as you plummet downwards...

Who said this car that 'fell' off the cliff was a Citroen anyway? I don't reckon you can identify it from the picture.

That was me - you can see the top of a Citroen chevron on the end of bonnet in the video, but there are other pictures here and I reckon the rear lights are pretty distinctive.

This page says it's a Citroen too, but since it reckons it's a "Citroen CX" it's hardly the most credible source...

I was more thinking it's a "Design Fail", if you can you release a handbrake but not reapply it again as you plummet downwards...

That was me - you can see the top of a Citroen chevron on the end of bonnet in the video, but there are other pictures here and I reckon the rear lights are pretty distinctive.

This page says it's a Citroen too, but since it reckons it's a "Citroen CX" it's hardly the most credible source...

CX?!

Obviously not a 'car buff' that wrote that then!

Defo an ex C4 Picasso looking at those piccies.

Some (BMW/Volvo) have a small drum brake inside the disc just for the handbrake, and these aren't affected as badly.

Quite possibly, I know the scooby had this although the extra cost of such an arrangement means that many manufacturers don't do this.

CX - WFT who are they kidding.

It's a C4 picasso. The CX had a oddly placed real handbrake, operating the front discs and might not have moved too much as it would have "sat down" on itself.

Another reason that I love the DSG, you cant move the gear selector unless you have your foot on the brake, very simple effective safety feature. Put in park and it locks.

IIRC the xantias handbrake operates the front wheels.... correct me if im wrong....

Yes and the BX before them too.

This makes it a bit more vulnerable to the effects of cooling as the front brakes obviously do more work.

The Xantia mod was to remove the lower teeth on the handbrake lever so that as said it didn't lock until higher up and so more "on".

IIRC a similar mod was applied to some Vauxhalls and a few other cars too.

They might mean the bigger C8

so she steered the car but didnt hit the proper brakes.....

They might mean the bigger C8

so she steered the car but didnt hit the proper brakes.....

My thoughts exactly, theres a middle pedal for a reason

to be fair i didn't actually read the article, so given she's 11 we'll just call her a lucky girl

Just to add my two pence worth. I guess the keys were still in the ignition? since there was no mention of steering lock coming on? or do Chitroens not have them?

Yes every car has a steering lock (Legal requirement).

I can only guess the keys must have been in though as I thought the electronic handbrakes didn't release without the ignition on.

I had a look at a cuppla Ford C-Max Ghia's with electronic handbrake before I decided it had to be a Skoda (oh you lucky people!! ) ...on those, the handbrake does release without the key being in - you can hear an electronic noise on release & re-apply. I guess it's a motor removing/applying tension to the handbrake cable?! :confused:

No idea if it's the same on a Citroen though...

I've only every driven one car with it and it wouldn't operate without the key in the car (but it was an electronic key, rather than a real key.

That's a fecking ridiculous idea to allow it off unless it has an interlock with another system such as the foot brake.

I'll have to have a squiz at a Citroen in a dealer purely to see the electronic brake

It does say she dropped her phone and must have knocked the handbrake off when reaching for it.

I asked a guy who has just purchased on and he confirmed there was an interlock on the key on the ones he test drove.

Assuming that is the case across the board it sounds like the keys had been left in the car.