Handbrake button fell off

[Isleman]

This morning went in the car on my way to work and realised that handbrake was down and button was missing with the spring hanging out.

I locate the missing chrome button under one chair and tried to fit it back but did not succeed as when pushed it seem it did not grip to the lip on the lever inside.

Took the spring out and tried to see if it holds and it now the button  will not come off. I don't want to force it as I am sure I will break it.

Anybody got any advice on how to fit this ?
 

Edited 6 August, 2019 by Isleman

[Stuart-h]

my last mk3 done it. Its a new handbreak job.

[ords]

 

[Isleman]

Thank you for your replies.

Will be good if somebody knowledgeable could share his experience of how to fix this issue which seems to become more common.

[TheWanderer]

On 06/08/2019 at 17:02, Stuart-h said:

my last mk3 done it. Its a new handbreak job.

 

Must be strong if you break your hand on a handbrake.

[Stuart-h]

Sure is lol

[Mythic]

Bit late reply, but I had this on a Seat Leon (same handbrake type) and I didn't want to pay for a new handbrake so I fixed it with a bowl washer to hold the spring in place, should be able to get these from any DIY store for a few quid.

The button can then be put back over the end, glued on if you want to but I left mine loose and it hasn't fallen off.

 

 

[johnboy615]

Nice one, I'll give this a try. Thanks

[beikul]

Same thing has just happened to me with my 2013 Octavia VRS.

 

This might be a silly question but how did you actually attach the cup/bowl washer to the shaft (guess this is aimed at @Mythicbut also @johnboy615if you tried the same and managed to get it to work)?

[johnboy615]

Sorry, I'm still trying to find a washer big enough to fit!

[beikul]

2 minutes ago, johnboy615 said:

Sorry, I'm still trying to find a washer big enough to fit!

Thanks for taking the time to reply, if I have any success myself I'll post it here 

[johnboy615]

Unfortunately @Mythiconly commented on this one post and seems to have left. I've just ordered  12 gauge and 10 gauge and am just waiting delivery. I'll let you know @beikul if either fit.

[beikul]

Thanks.  In my case the problem has happened because a bit of plastic has snapped off the internal shaft (not the button itself, don't know if that's the same for others). 

 

I did find the bit that snapped off and tried gluing it back on but without success (there just wasn't enough space to secure it whilst the glue was drying).  Think I'll visit the local DIY shop thus weekend and see what they have in the way of washers.

[beikul]

Got impatient so had another go 😁

 

I measured the shaft diameter @ 8mm so used a 7.5mm drill bit to make a hole in a jam jar lid whilst wiggling a bit to increase the size to just below 8mm.  I then used tin snips to fashion a crude washer shape. 

 

With a bit if fiddling I was able to push it down the shaft over the spring and the fit is tight enough to keep it in place.  Put the switch back on (obviously it's not secured but you wouldn't know) and the handbrake now works fine.

 

I might add a bit of epoxy glue as an extra measure and if it doesn't come flying off in the next few days then I think that might be good enough.