Ok

Octy was parked the other day on a slight slope with the handbrake on, car then went walkies about 100 yards down the road on its own, yes slight damage but nobody hurt. Got into the car & the handbrake could be pulled up a few more notches if you tried really hard so the questions are

1. I think I am correct when I say the Octy brakes work on the discs so do they

suffer the same problems as Citroen's in that as the disc cools after being

driven they shrink slightly & the effect of the handbrake becomes less.

2. The car had been serviced a few days before, is it possible that the garage

cocked something up although I think this unlikely

3. Are the Octavia handbrakes shall we say not the best.

I would add that most times the car is left in gear as well & on steep slopes we always leave them on full lock (learnt afer having owned 2 Citroens, these are worse because the handbrake is on the front wheels where discs get hotter therefore shrink more)

Any thoughts "apart from serves you right" would be apreciated

Thanks

Stuart

Stuart

Strange how we are both having 'issues' at the same time !

The same thing happened to my girlfriend's (2001) Mondeo a couple of months ago - I use this as an example as the set up as the same as the Octavia as far as I know. She had driven moderately hard round a dozen roundabouts (Milton Keynes for you!) before parking on a sloped drive.

This sounds exactly like the problem on the Xantia some 10 years ago - Citroen recalled the cars and... wait for it... Ford recalled her Mondeo a few weeks later. They fitted a new handbrake mechanism which made sure that it was fully 'on' with moderate arm pressure rather than part or 3/4 on.

I now normally put the Octavia handbrake on and leave it in gear to be safe - particularly when I've been leaning on the brakes before stopping.

Rob

I have to say, sometimes the octy handbrake doesnt feel as secure as I'd like.

Just my opinion

Jono

I have to say' date=' sometimes the octy handbrake doesnt feel as secure as I'd like.

Just my opinion

Jono[/quote']

I second that opinion. When mine goes into its service in another month or so I will specifically ask them to tighten it up as it needs quite a long haul to secure it.

Yeah i've noticed that - it's far harder trying to handbrake round a corner in the Octy (even when using the old Scandinavian flick) than in other cars

Leaving it in gear would be best just to be on the safe side, but remember to take itout of gear before starting up otherwise it will end with a crunch!

Handy tip, from someone who doesnt trust handbrakes :wave:

Leave it in gear, and turn your wheels full lock towards the kerb. Its worth the minor inconvenience for the peace of mind

Leave it in gear for the peace of mind

Spot on MonkeyHanger, I do this all the time as I totally agree. Have you tried pulling a handbrake skid, its hard work, even with traction control off.

Handy tip' date=' from someone who doesnt trust handbrakes :wave:

Leave it in gear, and turn your wheels full lock towards the kerb. Its worth the minor inconvenience for the peace of mind [/quote']

Agree, although when in some town (a good few years back) the old fella got a ticket because he had full lock on (was an XM so not huge wheels) But the warden thought it was an obstruction (was quite narrow as I am aware) as the wheel extended beyond the mirror housing...or somthing like all that...I think he paid it aswell...ho hum.

Handbrake, yes does feel a bit loose at times, nearly always put in gear on any slope..oddly the 4x4 felt worse than the rs. Least it's a handbrake and not the XM's lovely footbrake, dam impossible to contemplate a handbrake turn in that :gay:

Colin,

A Traffic Nazi ticketed him for that??? You couldn't make it up...

I'm guessing a wheel on full lock doesn't stick out a lot further than a wing mirror. I think i'd have argued the toss on that one.

There was a problem with Citroen Xantia handbrakes a few years ago - my "L" reg Xantia was recalled. The "P" reg one was OK, though.

I've not heard of a problem with Octavia handbrakes, though. Mine works fine - and I guess it has to work harder than most, because it's always fighting the automatic transmission "creep".

Ah well,

Chalk it up to experience I suppose & always leave in gear from now on. The handbrake on the 4x4 is def better than the L&K so perhaps some Octys are better than others.

The other pain is its now going through the Insurance, The car is quite lightly damaged, would have been