When applying the handbrake do . . .

The rtachet in the handbrake mechanism would need to ground down mnay hundededs of thousands of times for it to make the slightest bit of difference to the question of holding the car or not by the handbrake.

In any event if you are parking on a hill, you should leave the car in 1st gear, just in case.
 
RS2K said:
The rtachet in the handbrake mechanism would need to ground down mnay hundededs of thousands of times for it to make the slightest bit of difference to the question of holding the car or not by the handbrake.

In any event if you are parking on a hill, you should leave the car in 1st gear, just in case.
Click to expand...
I had a five year old tractor that the handbrake released itself after being parked. The tractor rolled down the yard and crashed into a shed.
 
Re: When applying the handbreake do . . .

jackswift said:
When releasing the handbrake pull it up slightly before pressing the button. Less effort needed that way.
Click to expand...

Always do that when releasing the handbrake, it makes sense that that helps since it's controlled by a ratchet.

Never heard of pressing the button in before engaging the handbrake. Always just pull the thing up. The idea of pressing the button in first is ridiculous. The button releases the ratchet mechanism that prevents the handbrake slipping off when engaged. The ratchet doesn't prevent the brake being engaged so the button doesn't need to be pressed in when pulling the lever up.
 
Although some handbrakes are now complteley different, most are a simple ratchet mechanism. They are designed to work just by pulling them up. Yes, this will wear the machanism, but never to the extent of damaging it, or it needing replacement: if this was the case the design would be flawed (not that that never happens, of course :rolleyes:) .

The only reason to press the button is to make the whole thing quieter. There is a slight risk I guess on some mechanisms it won't latch correctly if you release the botton at a particular point on the ratchet, but I would have thought this would have been pretty unlikely.

Me: I press the button, but would always give an extra yank with it in at the top, just to be sure.

Safest I guess is not to press, but that sound can be quite annoying on some cars, which I guess explains the rant, above.
 
RS2K said:
You should have left it in gear too.
Click to expand...

That has its own risks (ever start a car in-gear? and yes, I know you should always check...).

Mind you, I've owned some cars that had me well trained to leave it in gear when parked, the state of their handbrakes....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top