Modern Electric Handbrakes

[cabcurtains]

You know what else is coming? The end of manual gearboxes.

That wont be all, how long till you just get in the back and the let the active cruise/lane keeping assist/autobox/collision mitigating system/active sat nav etc etc drive it for you

[*srjp*]

My boss's Passat has the button on the dash for the electric handbrake and I don't like it really, just don't trust it. Not a massive fan of the pull+twist handle variants in old Mercs either to be honest. There's just something reassuring about pulling a lever tightly, you know it's done properly - like tightly putting the lid on a jar of jam!

On the technical side, do these electric handbrakes do away with the cables etc altogether? I guess a benefit of that would be they can never freeze solid in extreme cold?

[rambler]

The only reason i started this thread was that a freind of mine in wales HAD a disco 3, he runs a company called " Get-Wet " outdoor adventure's.

Last year near Bala his home village,he parked his disco on quite a steep hill for a chat to a friend who lives nearby,whilst standing in the front garden chatting merrily,he ' watched in horror ' above the hedge ,as the roof of his disco went backwards downhill.

He could'nt get to it fast enough....it rolled down hill and straight into a 4' deep river......wrecked.

He told me.....when the vehicle had been recovered,that a soleniod valve had failed...which released the hand brake ?

The insurance paid out.

This i why i am juvious of such gadjets,as said earlier i prefer a good old lever to pull up.Not relying on electronic wizardry to work properly.

[Davrav]

The only reason i started this thread was that a freind of mine in wales HAD a disco 3, he runs a company called " Get-Wet " outdoor adventure's.

Last year near Bala his home village,he parked his disco on quite a steep hill for a chat to a friend who lives nearby,whilst standing in the front garden chatting merrily,he ' watched in horror ' above the hedge ,as the roof of his disco went backwards downhill.

He could'nt get to it fast enough....it rolled down hill and straight into a 4' deep river......wrecked.

He told me.....when the vehicle had been recovered,that a soleniod valve had failed...which released the hand brake ?

The insurance paid out.

This i why i am juvious of such gadjets,as said earlier i prefer a good old lever to pull up.Not relying on electronic wizardry to work properly.

Trouble is Jamie. mechanical handbrakes aren't 100% either. Many years ago I parked a Volvo 340 outside my parent's house on a hill where I had parked for years. Happened to look out having been there a while and thought car had been nicked........

Went out to check and saw it 50 metres down the road parked in the back of a Lada

Handbrake pawl must have set between the ratchet teeth and slipped off. Fortunately the Volvo had a big rear bumper and only ended up with a 50p piece sized dent in rear wing. Lada was written off........

Irony was that the Lada owner had moved the car there for safe keeping whilst on holiday

[*srjp*]

This i why i am juvious of such gadjets,as said earlier i prefer a good old lever to pull up.Not relying on electronic wizardry to work properly.

Even though I agree, isn't it odd that we won't trust an electronic hand brake but will put our faith in power steering, brake assist, ABS etc etc...?

It's pretty much impossible for me not to park on a slope around here so always double up with the car in gear too, and maybe the wheels to the kerb if on a road. A runaway car demolished the yard wall of our house in Sheffield a good few years ago; was a new model Corsa at the time. It had slipped down from a side-road and even crossed a fairly busy road to get over to our place so it was lucky not to hit any other vehicles or pedestrians.

[rambler]

[

Even though I agree, isn't it odd that we won't trust an electronic hand brake but will put our faith in power steering, brake assist, ABS etc etc...?

Yes ...but you are in the vehicle driving,when that stuff is used....hopefully in your control.

When you apply the handbrake,generally you walk away....when the car is parked that is.

You TRUST that the vehicle is anchored to the spot.....or is it???

By the way......on a slightly different note folks....

How do you partially quote a fellow members post ?....i've tried above,don't know if it will work.....here goes

[*srjp*]

By the way......on a slightly different note folks....

How do you partially quote a fellow members post ?....i've tried above,don't know if it will work.....here goes

Re quoting:

Assuming you've clicked the reply button on my post and what I'd written appears in your typing window, just delete everything except what you want to keep and the starting and trailing code containing the word QUOTE surrounded in little brackets. For example, when I click reply on your post I see this (ignore the colour coding, it just does that!):

[quote name='rambler' timestamp='1321734594' post='1163423']
[

Even though I agree, isn't it odd that we won't trust an electronic hand brake but will put our faith in power steering, brake assist, ABS etc etc...?

Yes ...but you are in the vehicle driving,when that stuff is used....hopefully in your control.

When you apply the handbrake,generally you walk away....when the car is parked that is.

You TRUST that the vehicle is anchored to the spot.....or is it???

By the way......on a slightly different note folks....

How do you partially quote a fellow members post ?....i've tried above,don't know if it will work.....here goes
[/quote]

So I just delete the lines I don't want, keep those I do, and preserve the

[quote name='rambler' timestamp='1321734594' post='1163423']


[/quote]

.

Then type your new message at the bottom, after the

[/quote]

.

You can click Preview in the window too to see if it has worked before publishing to the site.

[CharlieFarlie]

[

Even though I agree, isn't it odd that we won't trust an electronic hand brake but will put our faith in power steering, brake assist, ABS etc etc...?

Yes ...but you are in the vehicle driving,when that stuff is used....hopefully in your control.

When you apply the handbrake,generally you walk away....when the car is parked that is.

You TRUST that the vehicle is anchored to the spot.....or is it???

By the way......on a slightly different note folks....

How do you partially quote a fellow members post ?....i've tried above,don't know if it will work.....here goes

Having and currently using an electric handbrake I can say with honesty I have no issues at all with it !! I trust it no problem..

Many years ago many said ... I don't want them new fangled electric windows.. They wont catch on .............. :lol:

Wee Charlie.

[benxt5]

Another feature is that when you have locked the car via the black button You can pull the door handle Once to check the doors are locked.. This will not open the door... Pull again and the doors will unlock..

Wee Charlie.

Do you mean on your Jag? My xt5 will just open again if I touch the handle immediately after locking. Pain in the ***** when you are stressed/distracted and not sure whether you locked it or not. Great idea to have say 20 seconds where you get a free pull to check!!!

Other than that, the keyless entry and go are wonderful on the xt5, especially when you gt the warning beep to tell you tha you just tried to lock the keys in the car! I always say thank you to it for that one!!!

Will have to see if it is as impressive a system on the other half's Juke that we pick up next week. Will have a bit of fun in that one - 180bhp in a little thing like that!

[redlew]

"Well you better get used to them because it is only a matter of time before ALL cars have electric handbrakes. There are moves afoot for new legislation (Brussels again) that will mandate the fitting. The reason is quite simple - a little old lady is entitled to buy a Range Rover but she can't necessarily haul the handbrake on so we have to provide for her."

If she can't haul the handbrake, she shouldn't be allowed to buy one. Simple. Why dumb down?

[MarsKy]

If you pull the handle after you hear the locks shut you should find you can check the door is locked by pulling on the handle (take your thumb of the button on the handle though).

Sorento has a foot parking brake which is almost at half shin level to activate so you end up doing river dance because your never sure you've set it right.

[CharlieFarlie]

Another feature is that when you have locked the car via the black button You can pull the door handle Once to check the doors are locked.. This will not open the door... Pull again and the doors will unlock..

Wee Charlie.

Do you mean on your Jag? My xt5 will just open again if I touch the handle immediately after locking. Pain in the ***** when you are stressed/distracted and not sure whether you locked it or not. Great idea to have say 20 seconds where you get a free pull to check!!!

Other than that, the keyless entry and go are wonderful on the xt5, especially when you gt the warning beep to tell you tha you just tried to lock the keys in the car! I always say thank you to it for that one!!!

Will have to see if it is as impressive a system on the other half's Juke that we pick up next week. Will have a bit of fun in that one - 180bhp in a little thing like that!

No Mate both cars work exactly the same... Press the wee black button on the door handle to lock.... You can then check its locked by pulling the handle Once... Pulling twice will open the door...

If Your door is opening on the first pull after locking something is wrong......

Wee Charlie.

[anchorman]

"Well you better get used to them because it is only a matter of time before ALL cars have electric handbrakes. There are moves afoot for new legislation (Brussels again) that will mandate the fitting. The reason is quite simple - a little old lady is entitled to buy a Range Rover but she can't necessarily haul the handbrake on so we have to provide for her."

If she can't haul the handbrake, she shouldn't be allowed to buy one. Simple. Why dumb down?

Because our friends in Brussels say that we need to cater for Granny as the consequences of a runaway are too much of a risk.

Its why we have "brake assist" on the footbrake. That senses a quick brake application and deems it an emergency and will double the input force to allow granny to stand a Range Rover on its nose - try it and see (make sure nobody is behind you!)