BMW E91 useless hand brake

[wilsend]

I know that the subject of the BMW Series 3 hand/park brake has been one that has been done to death but I am going to ask for a different approach so hopefully someone can come up with the fix that works and not just tell me to make another adjustment. I have owned my E91 for two and a half years. It came with just 71k on the clock and a full BMW main dealer service history. I chose the car because of the great reviews by so many automotive journalists and owners who found no real failings, but I did and it seems so did many other owners. The handbrake is rubbish, it operates using a small pair of shoes set within drums at the back of the rear brake discs. My handbrake was poor from the start and as I live on a hill, and my drive also is a steep slope downwards, it had to be fixed. I purchased new discs, pads and Bosch shoes and had a mechanic friend (with a level drive) fit them. He said that the old shoes were all but worn out so I imagined that with new parts I would now be able to park my car on the drive without the aid of chocks or the hill without turning the wheels into the curb, no such luck. I bedded the handbrake in as so many people directed, after more miles I had the handbrake adjusted, and again adjusted but nothing worked, now two years on and several thousand more miles on the clock I need to get the problem sorted. Last weekend I took the whole thing apart and cleaned it all, put it together and adjusted it but no improvement at all. I have been to my local BMW agent who were very helpful in so much as they acknowledged that its a problem and my thoughts that the shoes are really just too small for the weight of the car when parked on any incline was probably correct.
Right now to the way forward. One thing I could do is sell the car and buy something else but firstly I turn to other peoples experiences and ask simply has anyone used any make of hand brake shoe that made a significant difference to the way the handbrake works ? I have been told that a softer compound would make a difference but neither me or the agent have any idea which manufacture makes a softer compound. I use my present Bosch shoes as the baseline and will call them a hard compound. Well its over to you, if you have any views using a softer compound, and if so who manufactures them, please let me know and I will be forever grateful if it works. Thank you for listening.

[twokcc]

have an 2009 E91 auto and so far not had a problem, although my e46 330ci I was always having problems with its handbrake.

The e91 handbrake has been adjusted by indie when I took it in for a service and must admit I thought it (or the rear discs) were very slightly binding. The car seemed to roll less well when freewheeling to a rounabout but it seems to have cured itself and handbrake works fine(tested in steep hill in nuetral as MOT next week)

Some instructions here for an E90
https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/BMW-...

It includes the following against pic 4
Using a long flathead screwdriver, engage parking brake service lock. A small hook will grab and hold spring once properly engaged. (green arrow)
Maybe this needs to be done to be able to adjust yours properly. hopefully someone will be along soon to advise you

[iSore]

A mistake many make is to not fully slacken the cable at the handbrake lever end first. Adjust the rear shoes with a slack cable, and do the lever end last.

Cheap non gen parts don't help: many aren't the correct shape and this don't use the entire shoe lining as a contact area. Don't be fooled by Bosch/Hella etc boxes - a lot of the stuff is ste.

[Pica-Pica]

Drum-in-hat rear brakes (drum parking brake shoes inside a disc) have been around for a long time. The only issue on my old E36 was rusting of the back plate where the shoe pins located. That can make the shoes lean away from the backplate and only engage edge on with the drum. That weakens their effectiveness and requires a new backplate, which needs to be cut to be fitted, so as to avoid removing bearings. That may still be an issue on some cars, but the principle is fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=faFito-vM1I

Edited by Pica-Pica on Wednesday 20th March 19:31

[TheGinger1]

It doesn't fix the problem per se, but if you live on a steep incline, you could always park it in gear? 1st gear when facing uphill, Reverse when facing downhill. It's what you did in the old days and no reason not to do it know for extra security.

[helix402]

Use only genuine BMW parts for the handbrake. Adjust at the disc properly. If you do both these the handbrake will work (it’ll never be the best handbrake in the world).

[iSore]

You'd be surprised at how many fit new discs but fail to clean the protective oil from the inside. I've found with pattern shoes that upon removal of the disc, they've only been touching here and there. Genuine shoes aren't that dear and last forever - you should get 7-10 years from a set if not more. There are E36's out there on the originals.

[Mr Tidy]

BMW handbrakes seem to be very hit and miss.

My 2004 E6 320td was pretty good, my 2007 123d less so - even though I bought it with less than 20 miles on the clock!

My first E86 was good, as was my 52 plate 325ti.

Currently have an E91 which is passable, and another E86 which is good.

To be honest I just pray they pass the MOT, and always park them in gear anyway.

[wilsend]

Thanks for all the comments so far. As for correct adjustment I have followed Pelican and others to the letter with no positive effect. Also when the new parts were fitted the very talented mechanic carried out the job correctly cleaning everything and assembling per the book. I have this idea that as a car that was not cheap from new and from a company that prides itself on design and development of a high standard it should have good brakes. The idea that one cannot park safely on even a slight incline without putting it in gear and sticking the wheels into the curb does not strike confidence in the marque. Parking is of course an issue but also you try reversing out onto the hill and stopping the car rolling down it with a rubbish handbrake whilst engaging first to drive off up the hill or any other manoeuvre that needs an efficient handbrake. My greatest gripe is that my wife also drives the car often with our grandchildren in it so an effective handbrake is a necessity. I know many other cars use the same design handbrake but one might ask just what surface area does the shoe on others cars cover compared with the E91. The weight of the car is trying to be held on a slope by a set of shoes with a total surface area of 10 to 12 square inches, just not enough. My classic MGB Roadster V8 has about 3 to 4 times the surface braking/handbrake area for far less weight.
Given the discs are as good as new I am left with picking a new set of shoes but which ones? I can get the full kit from my BMW agent but as BMW do not make the shoes and the name of the actual manufacturer is not shown am I buying the same as I already have fitted which are rubbish. So which manufacturing company do I buy from, anyone got the answer please?

[wilsend]

After a lot of reading both in this thread and on the internet I have made the decision to go for the new kit from my BMW agent which I will buy tomorrow and fit ASAP. I will let you know the results after they have bedded in.
Thanks to everyone who has replied.

[helix402]

Try this way of adjusting (taught to me 25 years ago as part of my BMW apprenticeship):

Adjust shoes so the disc is solid against the shoes

Use large hammer to hit the disc (in centre not face), this centralises shoes and you’ll find they free off

Again tighten adjuster till the handbrake is solidly on

Back off adj approx 3 clicks (make sure no binding)

Been doing it this way for 25 years on my own and customers cars (when I was still in the trade).

[wilsend]

Thanks for the advice why ch I will use with the new shoes in place as I have lost all faith in the ones that are there. I think they are just too hard a material and no matter how much adjustment etc is going to change the fact that they "are not suitable for the purpose". Thanks again.

[Mr Tidy]

wilsend said:

I have this idea that as a car that was not cheap from new and from a company that prides itself on design and development of a high standard it should have good brakes.

The idea that one cannot park safely on even a slight incline without putting it in gear and sticking the wheels into the curb does not strike confidence in the marque. Parking is of course an issue but also you try reversing out onto the hill and stopping the car rolling down it with a rubbish handbrake whilst engaging first to drive off up the hill or any other manoeuvre that needs an efficient handbrake. My greatest gripe is that my wife also drives the car often with our grandchildren in it so an effective handbrake is a necessity.

To be fair the actual brakes on BMWs of this era work very well.

As for the issue with stopping the car rolling back while engaging first to drive off - do you realise E91s have Hill-Start Assist? Stop with the foot-brake, and you have time to get it into first and pull away without needing the handbrake!

But as I said before, I'm happy to admit BMW handbrakes of this era aren't really very good.

[wilsend]

I agree the brakes work well in stopping the car but the handbrake is notoriously poor. I don't have hill start assist on my car, they only fitted it to 6 cylinder models at the time my car was built, pity.

[brman]

fwiw, my wifes 2010 1 series brakes are original (I think) and the handbrake didn't work at all when we got it. A quick adjustment and they are fine now. Fine, not great......
my 2006 E91 had new rear brakes (disc/pads/shoes) just before I got it and the handbrake is also fine. Fine, not great.....

So I reckon bmw brakes work fine, but are not great....

Not great means it holds fine for hill starts etc but I would give it an extra tug plus leave it in gear if parking on a 1 in 5 hill

[Touring442]

Pulling the handbrake on whilst driving at low speeds beds the shoes in, as long as you don't overdo it.

[wilsend]

As said the handbrake works fine but only on a level surface. Living on a steep hill with the added problem of a steep drive down to the garage makes the whole situation difficult particularly for my wife. It creeps not just for a few inches whilst it settles but continually no matter how hard one pulls on the lever. I go back to my original question which if I stretch it is if your handbrake works well on hills and you have had the shoes changed which ones were fitted to do the job? The clock is ticking as I will be buying the BMW shoes Monday and may even have the agent fit them so that it then becomes there problem to get it right as I presume that under the work/parts guarantee it will work.........

[Touring442]

How much free play at the lever?

[wilsend]

Well pre adjustment prior to last weekend I had about 8 to 10 clicks on the handbrake to get something that resembled a handbrake but still did not stop the car creeping down the road on its own no matter how hard on the lever was pulled. Having stripped and cleaned the mechanisum and adjusted it up again I can say that 5 clicks has it hard on with perhaps one more click when using a JCB to pull the lever. At this point it hold the car on my drive a tiny bit better than before the clean but there is no way I would leave it without the chock and in gear as the weight of the car when on the incline is to great for the handbrake to hold it in this position.
The more I read the more I see BMW owners who experience the same problem when on an incline. I have owned many cars, several since living in this house, and never had a problem parking on my drive or in the street I live on. I even had a 2.8 Z3 and had no problem. I stand by my belief that the handbrake design dimensions for this car is at fault when used in anything more than a level road and have a feeling that even new shoes, which I will fit when I buy them for the BMW agent, is not going to make the difference I need to make me satisfied that it is "now safe" to leave on a hill on its own handbrake only.

[Pica-Pica]

Does it meet the MOT requirements (16% I believe)? Perhaps ask an MOT station to test for the value achieved.