Handbrake failure

[skippy41]

I was speaking to a fellow taxi driver who has the 2ltr diesel Octavia, he was on about having to leave the car in gear, as the hand break lets itself off sometimes , he has said that when it first happened someone came to his door to say his car was half way across his road , he had it checked out and no faults where found , so he leaves it in gear now but had come out to the leaver being in the down position 3 more times over a year, Has anyone else had this problem, or is there a fix??

Edited 27 August, 2020 by skippy41

[PetrolDave]

4 minutes ago, skippy41 said:

I was speaking to a fellow taxi driver who has the 2ltr diesel Octavia, he was on about having to leave the car in gear, as the hand break lets itself off sometimes , he has said that when it first happened someone came to his door to say his car was half way across his road , he had it checked out and no faults where found , so he leaves it in gear now but had come out to the leaver being in the down position 3 more times over a year, Has anyone else had this problem, or is there a fix??

Had the handbrake come off once, in the Aldi car park in Bideford - hasn't happened again since.

[SC03OTT]

You’re advised to leave your car in gear when parking anyway, as a belt and braces approach. 
 

It has been reported On here before but I was never convinced there was actually an issue, other than people just not properly applying the hand brake. Something I have also been guilty of in the past however it’s happened when I was getting out the car plus it was in gear so no harm done. 

[Ciderspace]

Happened to me a few years ago, first time ever with any car I’ve owned, and ever since I now leave my car parked in gear - as it says in the manual, which surprised me! Partner applied the hand brake as usual, got out of the car and retrieved something from the boot, shut and locked the car and came inside the house... A little later on I looked out the window to see the car across the way - it had rolled down and bumped into the house opposite! No major harm done (could have been worse as there is usually a car in front of that house!) but like others, had it checked and no fault found... Was not impressed.

[Ootohere]

There are threads on this forum and others on Parking Brakes / e-Brake Parking brakes letting go.

 

Hot discs / drums when parked and cooling down and not holding.

 

Skoda / VW say 'Driver Error',  but it has been shown and proven that there is also 'Failures' of the Parking Brakes as well.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/436830-skoda-octavia-handbrake-issues

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/469089-electric-parking-brake-failure

 

I really find it hard to believe that drivers of a manual car do park and leave then in neutral unless maybe going to be doing maintenance on the car.

As to 'professional drivers' or those driving for a living being silly in leaving a car in neutral as a matter of course, that says more about them than the vehicles they drive.

Edited 28 August, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[langers2k]

8 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

I really find it hard to believe that drivers of a manual car do park and leave then in neutral

 

Pretty sure I was taught to leave cars in neutral when parked as it's something I've always done. The only exception would be on a steep hill, then I point the wheels at the curb and will sometime leave it in gear.

 

Then again, I've never had a handbrake fail and I expect it's a bit flatter here than Tayside

[Ootohere]

Pretty sure there are 'Driving Instructors' and Advanced Drivers on this forum that will actually remember what they were taught and teach to others about parking manual cars.

 

@langers2k

I drive Automatics, DSG's and CVT's but then i learned to drive in the North East of Scotland in and around a Fishing Town where people used Parking Brakes, In Gear and Bricks, Blocks,

Chocks and logs to stop vehicles on hills or on the flat in winter.

There are plenty villages, towns and cities around the UK with steep hills, and even roads that run straight down to the sea.

 

Park in Dundee to this day and some people still do on the likes of the Hilltown. (A few bricks around is good if stealing wheels...)

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/444279-sticking-rear-drums

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/428345-fabia-handbrake

 

 

Edited 28 August, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[SC03OTT]

2004 is when I learned to drive (and passed). I was always told to leave the car in gear when parked and I always do to this day.

[shyVRS245]

2 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

2004 is when I learned to drive (and passed). I was always told to leave the car in gear when parked and I always do to this day.

Perhaps the person that taught you was a getaway driver and needed a swift departure on their day job. In 1983 when I passed my test first time it was normal practice to put the car in neutral if a manual and apply the handbrake. My DSG gets put into park and then electric handbrake button engaged.

[TheClient]

1 hour ago, e-Roottoot said:

There are threads on this forum and others on Parking Brakes / e-Brake Parking brakes letting go.

 

Hot discs / drums when parked and cooling down and not holding.

 

Skoda / VW say 'Driver Error',  but it has been shown and proven that there is also 'Failures' of the Parking Brakes as well.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/436830-skoda-octavia-handbrake-issues

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/469089-electric-parking-brake-failure

 

I really find it hard to believe that drivers of a manual car do park and leave then in neutral unless maybe going to be doing maintenance on the car.

As to 'professional drivers' or those driving for a living being silly in leaving a car in neutral as a matter of course, that says more about them than the vehicles they drive.

 

1 hour ago, langers2k said:

 

Pretty sure I was taught to leave cars in neutral when parked as it's something I've always done. The only exception would be on a steep hill, then I point the wheels at the curb and will sometime leave it in gear.

 

Then again, I've never had a handbrake fail and I expect it's a bit flatter here than Tayside

 

Reminds me of a true story I've blocked out from my youth. I learnt to drive in a manual as well in a southern hemisphere location. Maybe that makes a difference!  I also was told to leave cars in neutral on flats. Not on steep hills.

 

Anyway, I digress, so when I first got my licence I used my mum's car which was quite a new honda prelude from the mid 1990s with 4WS.

 

The car was automatic as my mum only drove automatics. 2 factors combined to create a rather embarrassing incident when i was about 17 or 18.  At the girlfriends house, at the top of a steep hill I had hastily exited the vehicle. Handbrake on. Car I thought put into park.  Actually because of the press button transmission release I had stopped short and it was in R.  So after about 20 mins as the car had a tendency, the handbrake would start slipping on the rear disks unless pulled on very hard..

 

A knock on the door, some neighbours came by to say the car had rolled down the hill and badly taken out one car which bumped into another... It was quite a long way down that steep hill and none of the cars were writeoffs but it was not a cheap incident for the insurers and was not my proudest moment...

 

[PetrolDave]

35 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

2004 is when I learned to drive (and passed). I was always told to leave the car in gear when parked and I always do to this day.

I was taught by BSM in 1975 in Guildford (which has quite a lot of steep hills) and was always taught to leave the car in neutral and apply the handbrake when parked.

Edited 28 August, 2020 by PetrolDave

[TrinityJay]

Having driven manual for many years I never bothered with leaving it in gear unless on a really steep hill. Then again, I knew the handbrake in my GTi6 worked...

 

I park on an incline in front of a brick fence, so looks like I'm leaving it in gear from now on!

[BNT1985]

2.0TDi owner.

Have had the car 4 years, this has happened to me once.  Probably around 3 years ago.

Luckily the parking bay was level so the car did not roll (did not leave in gear).  

Since then I leave in gear on the flat, if next to a curb turn the wheels into the curb also.

Edited 28 August, 2020 by BNT1985

[J.R.]

I was always told to think for myself, not to blindly believe what I was always told, to think for myself, to always try to understand the reasoning behind what you are always told, to decide for yourself if it was correct and to always re-evaluate if its still correct in a chnaging world (E handbrakes etc).

 

Because in many cases it was an old wives tale passed on by someone who did not think for themselves.

 

Actually nobody told me the above, I worked it out the hard way. I am very much the exception in the country which I have made my home.

 

I should also add that I will have more or less confidence dependant on the person passing on said advice, those that repeatedly trot out "I was taught XYZ honkytonk years ago" or "I was always told" I give less credence to.

Edited 28 August, 2020 by J.R.

[PetrolDave]

I would add that in the 40+ years I've owned my own cars (which have all been manual not auto, and on counting back is more than15 different cars) the ONLY car where I have ever had the handbrake release by itself is my current Octavia. BTW it fully released, the handbrake was down, so it wasn't the case of hot discs cooling and the pads gripping less.

 

Based on that experience, and those of some others here, it does seem that the Octavia handbrake system is less effective than most cars.

[J.R.]

Yes, there are too many reports of the ratchet pawl releasing.

 

I had one of the first Mitsubishi Shoguns & if you were to lean across to reach something and put light pressure on the top of the handbrake it would release with a bang all the way to the off position, quite disconcerting but it never did it unattended, it needed an external force. 

 

And even if the pawl was only slightly engaged on the Skoda handbrakes it should only release one tooth on the ratchet not release completely.

 

I preferred a fly off handbrake as you had to physically engage the pawl & it was a positive engagement not a sprung action and you could feel that it was fully home.

 

Does anyone else have the habit that I have of keeping the button depressed when raising the handbrake & releasing it to lock? I do it to prevent wear on the pawl which might just be the problem with these self releasing handbrakes and also to prevent noise for the passengers.

 

I also always roll my foot off the brake momentarily at the point of the vehicle coming to a complete halt, a PSV drivers reflex but I rarely see bus drivers doing that any more even when there are standing passengers.

[PetrolDave]

9 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Does anyone else have the habit that I have of keeping the button depressed when raising the handbrake & releasing it to lock? I do it to prevent wear on the pawl which might just be the problem with these self releasing handbrakes and also to prevent noise for the passengers.

I too always keep the button depressed when raising the handbrake.

[gregoir]

When I learned to drive with BSM in 1968, putting the car in neutral  and  pressing the button on the handbrake before engaging it was a must. I was obsessive about waggling  gear knobs . Habits have changed and I always leave the Octavia in gear and the front wheels towards the kerb if on a hill. Having to press the clutch pedal in modern manuals before starting gets around the old jump forward, tinkle manoeuvre . 

[Rodge]

On 28/08/2020 at 08:23, e-Roottoot said:

Skoda / VW say 'Driver Error',

If it's that easy for the driver to make an error then there's something wrong with the car. If it's possible for other drivers to make a mistake then so can I. It doesn't exactly instil confidence in the car.

[Oldmansomerset]

Yes - this does crop up from time to time and has been mentioned.  I was in Germany in the 60s where the winters tend to be a but harder than in UK.  With a Land Rover, the handbrake operated on the prop shaft and had a tendency to freeze on during overnight frosts.  This resulted in us leaving the handbrake off but in gear.  Coming from the 'Very Old School of Motoring' there were all sorts of tricks that used to be used such as carrying a block or house brick to stick under a wheel especially on a hill.  Anyway, I always park with handbrake on and in gear except in my garage where it is just left in gear, the floor being level.

[MarkyG82]

Passed test in 2000 and was originally taught by my dad to leave in neutral.  Then the BSM instructor said the same.  I don't think there is a mechanical reason either way (aside from failing handbrakes).  I also press the button when lifting even though taught to put the brake on by counting the clicks.  I find it best to put it on by feel. Harder if needed and in gear/into curb if unsure.

[GlitchGolder]

Could play it extra safe and take the wheels off before leaving the car unattended, no chance of it rolling anywhere then .