Electronic handbrakes why
Discussion
Quite a few reason why I like them:
Apparently they save weight compared to the lever and cable, not sure how much though.
They avoid cars rolling away by automatically applying it when you exit the car vehicle.
They negate any problem caused by people not applying the handbrake fully.
They avoid people driving away with the handbrake applied.
Apparently they save weight compared to the lever and cable, not sure how much though.
They avoid cars rolling away by automatically applying it when you exit the car vehicle.
They negate any problem caused by people not applying the handbrake fully.
They avoid people driving away with the handbrake applied.
My Passat does not automatically apply the brake when I stop, as the finger brake must be applied to put them on, so it is possible to exit the vehicle with no park brake on. Such is my suspicion of the system, When parking and after stopping the the engine, I always put the car in gear, as I don't quite trust the electronic brake. Like the old joke goes. This airliner is fully electronic and nothing whatsoever can go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong!
Pan Pan said:
The other other advantage of a `hand' brake is that it is one more braking system which could be used progressively in an emergency. I am not sure what would happen if one stabbed on the handbrake button at speed (it may drag the wheels off the back of the vehicle?) because when I tried pressing the brake button with a tiny bit of movement still on the car (not enough to even move the speedo needle off its stop)it slammed to a halt, nearly shooting my teeth fillings out with the inertia. so I would not be inclined to try it at even 1mph.
I was told that my A6 has an emergency brake feature activated by the electronic hand brake. Naturally had to try it out, it results in a very aggressive stop accompanied by lots of beeping and flashing from the dash. I'm sure the same result could be achieved using the brake pedal it just seems far more violent given the tiny amount of effort on a little switch. Fun gimmick but doubt I'd think to use it in an emergency, in fact can't think what kind of emergency it would be useful in other than temporary loss of use of lower limbs.jamieduff1981 said:
I have an S-Type and the electronic parking brake works fine. It declutters the cabin a lot and makes space for proper drinks holders and a decent armrest for both front occupants. The S-Type is a large family car with more need of comforts than the ability to initiate drifts with handbrake by PH driving gods.
A couple of points:
a) Jag drivers are rarely the sort of muppets who want to pull handbrake turns
b) It engages automatically when parked to prevent even lazier people from parking the car on the automatic gearbox
c) You can't pushstart an automatic car the size of an S-Type so you're loosing zip there
d) It tells you in the owners manual how to park the car without the parking brake, so anyone suggesting it's to prevent home maintenance should stick to tinfoil hats.
It's not the car's fault that the OP's garage staff lacked the wit to look up on the internet how to work on a mid-market car built in the last decade - sorry. I've done all my own brakes on mine since I've had it and the EPB is great. It's self-calibrating so no worries there. A failure of the motor is no more likely than a failure of anything else likely to immobilise a modern car.
I bet you lot bemoan the lack of a manual choke and lack of a starting handle on the front too?
I had an S-Type with this feature for two years.A couple of points:
a) Jag drivers are rarely the sort of muppets who want to pull handbrake turns
b) It engages automatically when parked to prevent even lazier people from parking the car on the automatic gearbox
c) You can't pushstart an automatic car the size of an S-Type so you're loosing zip there
d) It tells you in the owners manual how to park the car without the parking brake, so anyone suggesting it's to prevent home maintenance should stick to tinfoil hats.
It's not the car's fault that the OP's garage staff lacked the wit to look up on the internet how to work on a mid-market car built in the last decade - sorry. I've done all my own brakes on mine since I've had it and the EPB is great. It's self-calibrating so no worries there. A failure of the motor is no more likely than a failure of anything else likely to immobilise a modern car.
I bet you lot bemoan the lack of a manual choke and lack of a starting handle on the front too?
As above - no issues and really suited the car.
That said, I really like the fly-off handbrake down by my right leg on my XK8.
I'd put that in first place, then the electronic one and the conventional type in third place.
Pan Pan said:
When the parking brake is engaged, either on level ground or on a hill, you can `usually' just pull
away, and the brake releases itself without any fuss, but sometimes it does not let go, and the back of the car dips as you try to pull away dragging the locked back wheels along the ground.
This could also be linked to the driver not wearing a seat belt. In my experience of a Passat electronic handbrake, if the electronic hand brake is on and the driver isn't wearing his seat belt it won't let you move. Especially annoying when moving from a petrol pump to the air/water machine at a petrol station or when stopping to quickly open a gate to your driveway or garage for example. Another annoying "feature" it had was that if the car was ever stalled it would automatically put on the electronic hand brake.away, and the brake releases itself without any fuss, but sometimes it does not let go, and the back of the car dips as you try to pull away dragging the locked back wheels along the ground.
First thing I used to do was turn off the electronic hand brake when I got in, mainly for the seat belt thing.
Mr2Mike said:
How strange that so many large, heavy SUVs have had a mechanical handbrake that worked perfectly well?
AJB said:
In my experience mechanical handbrakes are great with drums, but more of a compromise with discs.
Mr2Mike said:
plenty have conventional rear drum handbrakes, e.g. Toyota Landcruiser, Mitsubish Shogun and the big pickups like the Navara and L200. Handbrake power has little to nothing to do with the adoption of electric handbrakes IMO.
I still think that, in my experience, mechanical handbrakes are a bit compromised with rear discs on heavy cars, and that's one advantage of electric handbrakes. Another advantage is freeing up cabin space, and another is no need for a cable route to the rear wheels with no sharp turns.I don't think it's about generating future workshop revenue, as they'll pay out in warranty repairs if they make an expensive and unreliable system. They might do that by accident, but not on purpose.
LeoSayer said:
Quite a few reason why I like them:
Apparently they save weight compared to the lever and cable, not sure how much though.
They avoid cars rolling away by automatically applying it when you exit the car vehicle.
They negate any problem caused by people not applying the handbrake fully.
They avoid people driving away with the handbrake applied.
1. They save weight...a motor and controls less than a lever and cable?Apparently they save weight compared to the lever and cable, not sure how much though.
They avoid cars rolling away by automatically applying it when you exit the car vehicle.
They negate any problem caused by people not applying the handbrake fully.
They avoid people driving away with the handbrake applied.
2. If you are unable to apply a brake before leaving your car you need a slap, you'll only do it once
3. See above
4. Driving away with the handbrake applied usually only lasts a few seconds before you understand what is going on.
Against
1. They are a PITA to work on
2. They are way more expensive to fix
3. They are on/off so sod all use if you want to creep a car down a ramp
4. They are much more likely to fail
Jimmyarm said:
You do realise that EPB's don't apply any more parking force than a simple, 'old fashioned' hand brake lever don't you ?
You do realise that an 'old fashioned' hand brake lever applies no force at all? A person applies the force, therefore the force through a hand brake is inconsistent - how can you say that the same force is applied? I bet I can apply more force to the brake than e.g. a little old lady.gf15 said:
More complexity for no benefit.
No, there is a benefit... The manufacturer gets to plumb some software into it which will be programmed to 'fail' every so often, thus facilitating the opportunity for them to relieve you of a three figure sum plus VAT just for them to re-code it at virtually zero cost to themselves... just like BMW with their s
tty electronic steering lock. Old sheds never never looked more appealing.MitchT said:
gf15 said:
More complexity for no benefit.
No, there is a benefit... The manufacturer gets to plumb some software into it which will be programmed to 'fail' every so often, thus facilitating the opportunity for them to relieve you of a three figure sum plus VAT just for them to re-code it at virtually zero cost to themselves... just like BMW with their stty electronic steering lock. Old sheds never never looked more appealing.xRIEx said:
You do realise that an 'old fashioned' hand brake lever applies no force at all? A person applies the force, therefore the force through a hand brake is inconsistent - how can you say that the same force is applied? I bet I can apply more force to the brake than e.g. a little old lady.
You barely need any strength at all if you press hard on the footbrake before pulling the lever up. I'm always bemused by people that wrench the lever up hard - it's not supposed to be a test of strength.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff