Failed MOT yesterday on 'Offside rear parking brake recording little or no effort'

I remember reading about some springs that could be fitted to the rears. Would this be for this issue, or is that for when the rear brakes are sticking on?

...or is that for when the rear brakes are sticking on?

Yup.

Bugger. Looks like I have a different problem then. Booooooooooooooooooo.

Anyone else ever had this issue then? Suggested seized caliper, though I am sure it was fine before and immediately after brake disc / pad replacement.

edit - Don't think they're stuck on. Said parking brake efficiency was 13%, so I would guess handbrake is doing naff all.

Edited 8 June, 201115 yr by mark.r.cullen

Might be the same symptoms but I had a siezed caliper a few months back:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/190663-handbrake-lever-on-caliper-stuck/page__p__2274391#entry2274391

While the rear brake (foot) worked fine the lever for the brake cable was stuck in the 'On/Brake' position. However, the wheel still was free/spinning.

So, i took the caliper off, unclipped the brake cable, checked to see if the cable was free - it was - & using a hammer & half a can of WD40 I freed up the lever. Once the lever was free enough i pumped it with my hand (!!!!), added more WD40, wound the piston back in (you need a tool for that) repeated until i was happy that it was no longer going to jam up.

I wonder if you have the same issue?

Thanks Chris. It sounds like it could be.

I do remember that when changing the brakes not so long a go we did actually check each wheel with the brake pedal pressed and also the rears when the handbrake was on and it all seemed fine, so it's a bit annoying to have it fail :(

Will be checking it out after work today, so will let you know. I am hoping it'll be a free fix!

Edited 8 June, 201115 yr by mark.r.cullen

Hm. Father had a look and not sure if it is the cable or the caliper. Sounds exactly like what you had though.

Jacked up with the handbrake on, on the offside. The rear wheel moved completely freely! The lever doesn't seem to return to the stop on that side (absolutely fine on the other side) and there was some play on the caliper itself, strangely. Hit it with a hammer and attacked it with spray, but it wasn't really stuck anyway - it just doesn't quite return to the stop. After hitting it a lot the handbrake still had no effect on that side.

After much stamping on the brakes with the car running and hitting it, it seems to have done something and the handbrake now does have some effect on that side but it still had some play. Took the caliper off and just adjusted(???) it slightly with the rewind tool and this seems to have gotten rid of the play a bit. Handbrake now seems to work that side, though the wheel did still move a bit when doing the wheel bolts back up. Other side seems perfect.

It did seem to return to the stop with the brake cable unclipped?

Hm. Father had a look and not sure if it is the cable or the caliper. Sounds exactly like what you had though.

Jacked up with the handbrake on, on the offside. The rear wheel moved completely freely! The lever doesn't seem to return to the stop on that side (absolutely fine on the other side) and there was some play on the caliper itself, strangely. Hit it with a hammer and attacked it with spray, but it wasn't really stuck anyway - it just doesn't quite return to the stop. After hitting it a lot the handbrake still had no effect on that side.

After much stamping on the brakes with the car running and hitting it, it seems to have done something and the handbrake now does have some effect on that side but it still had some play. Took the caliper off and just adjusted(???) it slightly with the rewind tool and this seems to have gotten rid of the play a bit. Handbrake now seems to work that side, though the wheel did still move a bit when doing the wheel bolts back up. Other side seems perfect.

It did seem to return to the stop with the brake cable unclipped?

handbrake cable might be frayed

I've got the exact same problem right now. Going into the garage soon for a looky

if its serviced properly handbrake quadrets should be lubricated every service to stop this happening.

I've got the exact same problem right now. Going into the garage soon for a looky

Interested to know what they say. I think it might be a seized caliper. Was doing a bit of searching last night and said that the handbrake part can break if you don't use the right rewind tool? Though we did use the right rewind tool AFAIK. The fact that the lever bit moves slightly when applying the normal breaks on that side though would suggest to me that it is seized, so might be new caliper time.

if its serviced properly handbrake quadrets should be lubricated every service to stop this happening.

Tend to do a lot of things at home. Did not know this one.

This happened on mine recently, it was a case of new calipers on the rear, worth the extra money IMO when it comes to my own and other peoples safety.

Jack it up at the back

Use the foot brake and if you cant spin the wheel by hand then the caliper will be fine

Id suspect the lever on the back of the caliper has slipped off the spline...

You can adjust this at the rear caliper, think its held in place with a 13mm nut

Although ill prob get told off for telling you to do this

Jack it up at the back

Use the foot brake and if you cant spin the wheel by hand then the caliper will be fine

Id suspect the lever on the back of the caliper has slipped off the spline...

You can adjust this at the rear caliper, think its held in place with a 13mm nut

Although ill prob get told off for telling you to do this

Foot brake works fine. Saw that in one of the threads, as well as Moggy not recommending it be done. Don't really understand to be able to make a judgement myself.....

Gonna nip it back and hopefully the handbrake will still be working enough to pass an MOT :wonder: I suspect I will end up getting new calipers.

There's two rear calipers on vwspares ... unpainted are £50, painted (specifically listed as vRS) are £90... is that *really* the only difference??

Edited 9 June, 201115 yr by mark.r.cullen

My car's made a strange boing noise occiasionally from the rear since I got it 6 month ago. It's not until today that I've associated this with my handbrake only working on one side. This morning, I got the boing from the rear and now handbrake is mysteriously holding again, good & strong on both sides. Sounds like I'll need to fit one of these springs?

The levers on the caliper are probably stuck and not returning fully and thats what they little springs help with!

I had the exact same thing on my MOT recently, 13% and all i done was douse the levers in WD-40, loosen the lever bolt and keep pulling the lever back and forward constantly to help free them up and after doing that plenty of times the handbrake was so much better, was unbelievable!

a cost effective possible fix, worth giving it a go!

Thanks, I'll try it!

This happened on mine recently, it was a case of new calipers on the rear, worth the extra money IMO when it comes to my own and other peoples safety.

Exactly the same happened to mine, the small lever on the caliper to which the handbrake cable connects seized. One thing I noticed for a few weeks beforehand was that suddenly the handbrake lever was requiring 7-8 clicks to operate instead of just the usual 2-3. Ended up having a new caliper fitted as the independent repairer couldn't free it off. If my memory serves me right, the new caliper, a genuine Skoda one, and painted green, cost about £80. Now the handbrake again requires just 2-3 clicks to operate. I've had the car from new, and this work was done when it had 90,000 miles on the clock, and that's all that was required to pass the MOT - not bad eh?

A seized caliper would show up on foot-brake efficiencies/ rolling road.

Therefore, hand-brake cable suspect, being seized/broken or, caliper hand-brake operating mechanism faulty.

Whatever we did, it has now passed the MOT.

Food brakes seem fine. 88% 'efficiency' on the rear brakes. Must be the cable or handbrake part of the caliper I guess.

I'd reckon that you still need the spring mod as the internal spring is defective - its a lot cheaper than a new calliper if the calliper is otherwise okay.