The electric parking brake on the Karoq is something I vowed never to get involved with but hey-ho, move with the times and just pay the price if it goes wrong I thought.

 

If you're a fairly steady sort like me the rear brakes hardly ever come into play and thus the discs deteriorate. On previous motors I've kept 'em reasonably 'shiny' by running with the handbrake on downhill etc / else using it to slow down from high speed whenever the opportunity arose.

 

Shortly after getting the Karoq, thinking the switch might be linear I tested the option to scrub the discs up a little and gave the button a gentle / careful tug whilst moving along our empty by-pass but quickly abandoned the idea when the rears (seemingly) locked up and the dash had a bit of a paddy.* ☹️

 

The rusty discs and the thought of £300 to have 'em sorted in the not too distant future still bothered me so I decided to give it another go.

 

Having seen Top Gear do an electric parking brake test from high speed in a Golf without any trouble I figured speed was needed.

 

So yesterday, empty road, 70mph, and pull the switch - the rears lock up for a brief moment but quickly relax (ABS sensor?) and go on to bring the Karoq to a very rapid controlled stop. The brief lock-up is accompanied by a warning sound / alert on the dash, not dissimilar to the automatic brake gizmo. 

 

You have to keep your finger under the button in the up position until the vehicle stops else the moment you let go the brakes come off.

 

However, for whatever reason, doing the same at 10-20mph does cause the rears to lock and stay locked but the vehicle stops almost instantly.

 

For me, nice shiny rear disks again. 😎

 

* Curious the first time I tried this experiment I was left with a fault light on the dash that cleared when I switched off. Yesterdays trials didn't cause any such problem.

 

No need to mess about with the electronic parking brake (EPB) button.

 

A couple of prolonged hard stops from a realtively high speed (where conditions allow) every month or so is all that is needed to keep the rear discs corrosion free.

3 hours ago, silver1011 said:

No need to mess about with the electronic parking brake (EPB) button.

 

A couple of prolonged hard stops from a realtively high speed (where conditions allow) every month or so is all that is needed to keep the rear discs corrosion free.

 

Perhaps,....and whilst I have satisfied the 'itch' I can clearly see now that my experimentation and write up is of little interest but there you go..........

Well it was of interest to me. Except that I hadn’t looked at the Karoq section of this site for a few days. I’ve tried the EPB at low speed and as you say, it just locks the wheels. I never dared to try it at high speed, but now I am motivated to do so! Thanks.

9 hours ago, Berisford said:

 

Perhaps,....and whilst I have satisfied the 'itch' I can clearly see now that my experimentation and write up is of little interest but there you go..........

 

It was of interest to me too, knowing how the EPB works when in motion was never something I was confident to try out.

 

My response was detailing the method I've used successfully to keep my rear discs corrosion free on a Skoda fitted with an EPB.

I think it's described in the handbook somewhere as an emergency stop mechanism that passengers can use if the driver becomes unwell

It is described as such.

Needs described as not fun for any passenger to apply as a joke,

or in error while trying to retrieve a coin they dropped & that fell into the space as you exit a car park / airport drop off point etc.

Edited 7 March, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

There are a few members on Briskoda now with Superb iV's.

 

It will be interesting to hear how their rear discs, and front discs stand up with possibly near no use because they drive using regen, 

maybe braking even less than some in a Manual or DSG already do.

As this topic is about brakes, I’ve just noticed on my 2 week old Karoq sel that none of the brakes appear to have any Greece on the brake pad contact patches? Is this not a done thing on a new car? 
can someone else with a new one post a picture so I know I’m not going mad?

heres a couple of picture of front and rear. 

TIA!

3 hours ago, MrAdamwood said:

As this topic is about brakes, I’ve just noticed on my 2 week old Karoq sel that none of the brakes appear to have any Greece on the brake pad contact patches? Is this not a done thing on a new car? 
can someone else with a new one post a picture so I know I’m not going mad?

heres a couple of picture of front and rear. 

TIA!

Rarely fitted on new vehicles , there are anti rattle shims, damping pads and the paint on the pads is acts as an anti seize compound 

Copper slip is used when fitting new pads to old calipers as this is when you're most likely to suffer brake squeal.

 

On a new car built in factory conditions with brand new treated /painted components there's less need for additional lubrication.

 

Grease can cause more problems than it cures, it the brakes get hot the grease can liquify and find its way onto the friction surfaces, not great for braking performance.

 

It also attracts dust, grit and dirt, another contributory factor to sticky / seized brakes.