Drum roll!!! How do pull your handbrake on?
Discussion
Captain Muppet said:
The only way these threads are ever worth it are if people can be goaded in to a pointless fight.
I've had to replace a handbrake assembly with the teeth worn round by previous owners. The idea it doesn't wear is somewhat perverse though I'll grant the cheapness of the assembly and size of the ratchet teeth have some bearing on the issue - most are small teeth and cheap mild steel. Of courser in the pivot which allows the handle sideways movement such that the often flimsy catch literally falls off the side of the thin ratchet.Howard- said:
98elise said:
Always on the ratchet. Never had a rachet failure in 30 years of driving, or know anyone thats had one. Its a myth that it damages the ratchet..
Indeed. The notion that a ratchet can fail by being operated exactly how it is designed is laughable.LuS1fer said:
Why on earth would anyone ratchet it on, it just wears the teeth round so the handbrake can slip off.
You need to use the button and release it to lock it in position.
It's not only mechanical sympathy, it avoids entirely unnecessary wear and danger.
You need to use the button and release it to lock it in position.
It's not only mechanical sympathy, it avoids entirely unnecessary wear and danger.
How do we know that ratchet wear is caused by people using them as a ratchet and not by people pulling up with the button out and then it slipping a notch into place?
I usually use the button but on occasion I have presumably released it in the wrong place and it has slipped into place with an almighty bang.
I usually use the button but on occasion I have presumably released it in the wrong place and it has slipped into place with an almighty bang.
I always use the ratchet as it's called a "handbrake release button" for a reason.
When my brother got a recall letter for the handbrake on his Vectra, the letter said something like "incorrect use of the handbrake by applying the handbrake whilst depressing the release button may cause failure"
ETA: found the exact recall on the AA website.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls....
When my brother got a recall letter for the handbrake on his Vectra, the letter said something like "incorrect use of the handbrake by applying the handbrake whilst depressing the release button may cause failure"
ETA: found the exact recall on the AA website.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls....
Vauxhall said:
Following a small number of complaints of Vauxhall Vectra and Signum vehicles rolling away due to allegedly defective handbrakes. Vauxhall engineers in conjunction with consultants and other bodies, have conducted rigorous testing and found that provided the handbrake is applied correctly without depressing the release button, the handbrake is perfectly safe.
My bold.Edited by jhfozzy on Friday 3rd January 12:15
people dont always pull up to the same notch in the ratchet though so would wear more than one, and then you have the situations of releasing the button too early on the way down and jamming it into a lower notch.
I'm not saying you are wrong Lusifer and if you have experience I cant argue with it I just find it hard to believe that a simple ratchet system (presumably made of metal) wears itself out so easily.
On a side not my OHs little sister has just passed her driving test and while learning her instructor gave her a b
king for not using the button, it was the noise he moaned about though not any mechanical issue.
I'm not saying you are wrong Lusifer and if you have experience I cant argue with it I just find it hard to believe that a simple ratchet system (presumably made of metal) wears itself out so easily.
On a side not my OHs little sister has just passed her driving test and while learning her instructor gave her a b
king for not using the button, it was the noise he moaned about though not any mechanical issue.Not the sort of thing most people take photos of but:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r-c107-sl-slc-clas...
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r-c107-sl-slc-clas...
LuS1fer said:
Captain Muppet said:
The only way these threads are ever worth it are if people can be goaded in to a pointless fight.
I've had to replace a handbrake assembly with the teeth worn round by previous owners. The idea it doesn't wear is somewhat perverse though I'll grant the cheapness of the assembly and size of the ratchet teeth have some bearing on the issue - most are small teeth and cheap mild steel. Of courser in the pivot which allows the handle sideways movement such that the often flimsy catch literally falls off the side of the thin ratchet.Howard- said:
98elise said:
Always on the ratchet. Never had a rachet failure in 30 years of driving, or know anyone thats had one. Its a myth that it damages the ratchet..
Indeed. The notion that a ratchet can fail by being operated exactly how it is designed is laughable.LuS1fer said:
Why on earth would anyone ratchet it on, it just wears the teeth round so the handbrake can slip off.
You need to use the button and release it to lock it in position.
It's not only mechanical sympathy, it avoids entirely unnecessary wear and danger.
You need to use the button and release it to lock it in position.
It's not only mechanical sympathy, it avoids entirely unnecessary wear and danger.
jhfozzy said:
I always use the ratchet as it's called a "handbrake release button" for a reason.
When my brother got a recall letter for the handbrake on his Vectra, the letter said something like "incorrect use of the handbrake by applying the handbrake whilst depressing the release button may cause failure"
ETA: found the exact recall on the AA website.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls....
Yep, Vx advice was to firmly press the foot brake too and then apply the handbrake on the ratchet. When my brother got a recall letter for the handbrake on his Vectra, the letter said something like "incorrect use of the handbrake by applying the handbrake whilst depressing the release button may cause failure"
ETA: found the exact recall on the AA website.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls....
Vauxhall said:
Following a small number of complaints of Vauxhall Vectra and Signum vehicles rolling away due to allegedly defective handbrakes. Vauxhall engineers in conjunction with consultants and other bodies, have conducted rigorous testing and found that provided the handbrake is applied correctly without depressing the release button, the handbrake is perfectly safe.
My bold.Edited by jhfozzy on Friday 3rd January 12:15
And they definitely did fail, my job Vectra rolled about 10 yards.
The in car video recorded it sat on the incline quite happily for 30 minutes, followed by the clunk of the handbrake dropping, and the car moving off.
It parked itself into the front of a snotty MX5!
For those complaining about the 'not this old chestnut again' nature of this thread, I didn't go looking for a thread I saw six months ago that I could revive, I have only been on here four months. I thought it was an original thread and indeed it maybe to other newcomers like myself, not everyone has been on here since God was a lad. And no suggestions about using the search box
that's akin to asking for directions or reading the instructions.
that's akin to asking for directions or reading the instructions.Step (1) - Identify a group of girls
Step (2) - build up some speed
Step (3) - align car with group of girls at speed
step (4) - yank up handbrake and turn steering wheel hard
step (5) - reap the sexy sexy rewards
Or
Upon stopping, depress button, lift up handbrake, release button, take foot off footbrake. Option of going into neutral and resting legs for a bit.
Step (2) - build up some speed
Step (3) - align car with group of girls at speed
step (4) - yank up handbrake and turn steering wheel hard
step (5) - reap the sexy sexy rewards
Or
Upon stopping, depress button, lift up handbrake, release button, take foot off footbrake. Option of going into neutral and resting legs for a bit.
wolfracesonic said:
For those complaining about the 'not this old chestnut again' nature of this thread, I didn't go looking for a thread I saw six months ago that I could revive, I have only been on here four months. I thought it was an original thread and indeed it maybe to other newcomers like myself, not everyone has been on here since God was a lad. And no suggestions about using the search box that's akin to asking for directions or reading the instructions.
You could reasonably have assumed that this might have been discussed (at length, far too many times) on a motoring forum which has been around for years, though. that's akin to asking for directions or reading the instructions.
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