Electric Handbrakes
Discussion
Hi.
I have a small garage, mainly electrical stuff. A few months ago my business partner and I came across a failed Renault Scenic electric handbrake (bear with it). We came up with a way of fixing these, by replacing the motor, and a few other electrical parts. Since then we have done hundreds of the things, and can offer Renault handbrakes at a much lower cost than new,and much better quality than used.
Now I happen to know that VW handbrake units occasionally fail, but as yet, I haven't been able to get my hands on one to be able to reverse engineer a fix.
Is there anyone out there with a failed caliper with the electric bit on? I'd love to be able to do a bit of a deal to buy it off you, and see if I can fix.
Not interested in the normal seized caliper or slides, the problem has to be specifically with the electric motor drive.
Many Thanks
I have a small garage, mainly electrical stuff. A few months ago my business partner and I came across a failed Renault Scenic electric handbrake (bear with it). We came up with a way of fixing these, by replacing the motor, and a few other electrical parts. Since then we have done hundreds of the things, and can offer Renault handbrakes at a much lower cost than new,and much better quality than used.
Now I happen to know that VW handbrake units occasionally fail, but as yet, I haven't been able to get my hands on one to be able to reverse engineer a fix.
Is there anyone out there with a failed caliper with the electric bit on? I'd love to be able to do a bit of a deal to buy it off you, and see if I can fix.
Not interested in the normal seized caliper or slides, the problem has to be specifically with the electric motor drive.
Many Thanks
Greg66 said:
a solution to a problem that never existed.
Much like *any* handbrake on an automatic, then.But on a manual car, (unless you want to do handbrake turns) I find an electric handbrake is a thing of great joy: Perfect hill starts with no fuss, no stretched cables due to gorillas pulling the thing an extra three clicks "to be sure". If I had one fail on me I'd think differently, but I've had much more hassle with conventional ones.
Three years and 50,000 miles ago I really didn't think I'd be writing that, but there you go.
They do fail , there is a thread here somewhere, they had one calliper fail , car had To be lifted and taken away , within a few weeks same agin , and again car had to be lifted and taken away. I recall both were. In excess of £500 per wheel. So. Very expensive when they fail and very complicated for a very simple task . Servo motor and. A 150/1 ratio gear box to apply the camper . Survey sample of one for sure !
The brake system in operation is very efficient as it fully applies the 2 rear callipers, and here is the rub you have no ability to moderate the application , it's on , or it's off . Now when I drive a car I tend to use the hand brake all of the time often only barely nudging it on in traffic so I find the brakes going on fully and the noise of the motor,s going into stall not an entirely satisfying noise , but them most Audi,s in traffic show 3 red dwarf suns at the rear as the drivers just sit with their foot on the brakes , for minutes if not hours in a jam !
Yes occasionally you might have to adjust the hand brake cables in my case once in over 200k miles , and the odd sticky slider but both either simple DIY or cheap fixes
I find the system slow , both to apply the brakes and to release , I often find I am driving off with the brakes dragging
But I dare say this is all part of AUDI,s long term aim of removing all driver input and removing the driving experience from the driver
The brake system in operation is very efficient as it fully applies the 2 rear callipers, and here is the rub you have no ability to moderate the application , it's on , or it's off . Now when I drive a car I tend to use the hand brake all of the time often only barely nudging it on in traffic so I find the brakes going on fully and the noise of the motor,s going into stall not an entirely satisfying noise , but them most Audi,s in traffic show 3 red dwarf suns at the rear as the drivers just sit with their foot on the brakes , for minutes if not hours in a jam !
Yes occasionally you might have to adjust the hand brake cables in my case once in over 200k miles , and the odd sticky slider but both either simple DIY or cheap fixes
I find the system slow , both to apply the brakes and to release , I often find I am driving off with the brakes dragging
But I dare say this is all part of AUDI,s long term aim of removing all driver input and removing the driving experience from the driver
I had to replace a caliper on a friends car when it leaked after a garage had changed the pads, I was unable to swap the pads myself as you need the diagnostic kit/laptop to retract the piston.
The first replacement caliper was identical apart from a different electric socket so had to be returned, meaning the car was off the road for nearly 3 days for a simple pad change.
To rub salt in the wounds it is a Taxi so this outwardly simple pad change cost nearly £300 plus lost earnings, progress? I don't think so.
To the OP - there is a well illustrated guide to stripping and repairing these VW calipers on one of the Passat forums, the internals are surprisingly flimsy, plastic gears like a kids toy etc.
The first replacement caliper was identical apart from a different electric socket so had to be returned, meaning the car was off the road for nearly 3 days for a simple pad change.
To rub salt in the wounds it is a Taxi so this outwardly simple pad change cost nearly £300 plus lost earnings, progress? I don't think so.
To the OP - there is a well illustrated guide to stripping and repairing these VW calipers on one of the Passat forums, the internals are surprisingly flimsy, plastic gears like a kids toy etc.
Chippo1 said:
I find the system slow , both to apply the brakes and to release , I often find I am driving off with the brakes dragging
Maybe an adjustment needed? However, I have the optional "Hill Hold assist" which uses hydraulic pressure to hold the car for hill starts and stop/start motoring. So the 'real' electric handbrake only gets engaged when I actually stop the car and switch off.
That might be why I'm happier with the system. Mrs SB's car (which I'm occasionally allowed to drive) doesn't have that, and it's definitely a bit coarser in that respect.
bearman68 said:
Hi.
I have a small garage, mainly electrical stuff. A few months ago my business partner and I came across a failed Renault Scenic electric handbrake (bear with it). We came up with a way of fixing these, by replacing the motor, and a few other electrical parts. Since then we have done hundreds of the things, and can offer Renault handbrakes at a much lower cost than new,and much better quality than used.
Now I happen to know that VW handbrake units occasionally fail, but as yet, I haven't been able to get my hands on one to be able to reverse engineer a fix.
Is there anyone out there with a failed caliper with the electric bit on? I'd love to be able to do a bit of a deal to buy it off you, and see if I can fix.
Not interested in the normal seized caliper or slides, the problem has to be specifically with the electric motor drive.
Many Thanks
Damn it! I just spent £1400 on my wifes Passat to get the calipers replaced for a fault with the motors. I was going to buy new calipers and fit them myself but I learnt from the interweb that they have to be coded to the car as they come with the ABS sensors at which point I lost interest and paid up.I have a small garage, mainly electrical stuff. A few months ago my business partner and I came across a failed Renault Scenic electric handbrake (bear with it). We came up with a way of fixing these, by replacing the motor, and a few other electrical parts. Since then we have done hundreds of the things, and can offer Renault handbrakes at a much lower cost than new,and much better quality than used.
Now I happen to know that VW handbrake units occasionally fail, but as yet, I haven't been able to get my hands on one to be able to reverse engineer a fix.
Is there anyone out there with a failed caliper with the electric bit on? I'd love to be able to do a bit of a deal to buy it off you, and see if I can fix.
Not interested in the normal seized caliper or slides, the problem has to be specifically with the electric motor drive.
Many Thanks
The fault was with the motor housings on the calipers which are plastic and crack, then crap and water gets in causing the motors to die a slow death. Can't wait for bonus time and to kiss this car goodbye!
There are no adjustments , maybe hill hold assist works a bit better , but where does it improve the driving experience , apart from giving ones left wrist less exercise , or are you saying Mr Brown that your driving skills are not up to the odd hill start.
£1700 squids Crikey , so a car not many years old and that will effectively be the end of it , uneconomic to repair or is it all part of a planned obsolescence scheme to prevent cars. Lasting to long , kept theosophy sales up .
The guy who I had dealings with at Audi UK admitted he didn't like the dam things either .
£1700 squids Crikey , so a car not many years old and that will effectively be the end of it , uneconomic to repair or is it all part of a planned obsolescence scheme to prevent cars. Lasting to long , kept theosophy sales up .
The guy who I had dealings with at Audi UK admitted he didn't like the dam things either .
Greg66 said:
Can't help, but the S8 has an electric handbrake and I regard it as a solution to a problem that never existed. Never use it - just leave the car in Park and ignore the e-handbrake.
Hateful thing.
I think the same motor also winds the rear brakes in and out for adjustment automatically. They can still fail.Hateful thing.
Chippo1 said:
There are no adjustments , maybe hill hold assist works a bit better , but where does it improve the driving experience , apart from giving ones left wrist less exercise , or are you saying Mr Brown that your driving skills are not up to the odd hill start.
While it doesn't improve the PH "driving experience", it doesn't detract either - unless you're on a rally stage. And when you're just wafting rather than belting it, it's one less thing to worry aboutTypical example: You're in traffic waiting - on a hill - to turn onto a busy road. Every time a the queue moves forwards it's hill-start, move forwards a car length or two, re-engage handbrake. With HHA you never need to touch the handbrake. Engage first, drive forwards, stop with footbrake and into neutral. Rinse and repeat. And yes, I can do hill starts (last time I checked!), but I don't miss not needing to.
That said, the repair costs quoted are enough of a shocker that I'd reconsider if I had one fail.
Chippo1 said:
Stuck this morn behind an A5 that displayed red dwarf suns for 10 mins on and off .
Probably treating a DSG like a slushbox. Just because they have a handbrake (of any kind!) doesn't mean they know how to use it.Have you ever driven in the USA? If the car in front isn't blinding you in traffic, either it's bulbs have burnt out (surprise!) or it's going to roll back into you.
Edited by silentbrown on Thursday 15th January 20:46
Often not fully appreciated but the EPB is not just an alternative to a conventional parking brake, or for hill starts or low-speed crawling use, but also part of a very powerful emergency braking system – passengers need to be advised not to fiddle with it when you're driving at speed because it will stop you very quickly indeed..!
NBirkitt said:
Often not fully appreciated but the EPB is not just an alternative to a conventional parking brake, or for hill starts or low-speed crawling use, but also part of a very powerful emergency braking system – passengers need to be advised not to fiddle with it when you're driving at speed because it will stop you very quickly indeed..!
As indeed my sister in law found out when her father wondered "what does this switch do?".Luckily in work, our newest diagnostic computer seems to do all the common E-brakes out there. Seems a little easier than winding them in manually, but as mentioned above, if the previous system works, why fix it?
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