Corolla Handbrake

[MrAurisT]

Afternoon all. Do all Corolla's come with the Electronic Handbrake, or were any made (up to a certain date?) with a 'normal' manual handbrake (like an Auris)?

[yossarian247]

All of the current Corolla range have had EPBs since it replaced the Auris in 2019. On the plus side (tempting fate here...) it doesn't appear to give any trouble, unlike the setup used on the Avensis. 

[forkingabout]

On the other plus side Toyota also build in a pad service mode to help easily replace the rear brake pads without needing to plug in a scan tool. 

[Red_Corolla]

Sadly, it's motorised. Most manufacturers have realised it's a cheaper system than Bowden cables these days and taken the opportunity to pinch a few more pennies. It also provides an easy to solution to the problem of where to put the cup holders.

[sportse]

The motors are usually around £600 I believe if they fail.

It's not that bad considering I had a bill for £300+ just to replace a handbrake cable on an older pre 2010 car.

[yossarian247]

3 hours ago, sportse said:

The motors are usually around £600 I believe if they fail.

It's not that bad considering I had a bill for £300+ just to replace a handbrake cable on an older pre 2010 car.

The motors are built into the rear calipers on the Corolla, rather than being a separate EPB unit as it was on the Avensis. I'm not sure if the motors are replaceable separately from the calipers, but I notice 2019-onwards Corolla used rear calipers listed on eBay for under £100 with no bids on then. That's a good sign as it suggests there's little demand for them! Working secondhand EPB modules for the Avensis frequently used to sell for £400-500, and that's if you could find one. 

[forkingabout]

2 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

The motors are built into the rear calipers on the Corolla, rather than being a separate EPB unit as it was on the Avensis. I'm not sure if the motors are replaceable separately from the calipers, but I notice Corolla used rear calipers listed on Ebay for under £100 with no bids on then. That's a good sign as it suggests there's little demand for them! 

The motor will just be bolted on to the back of the calliper, easy to remove / replace but they rarely go wrong. 

[The auldyin]

The EPB isn't automatic like the one on the Seat Leon unfortunately. It came on every time the wheels stopped turning.

[Cyker]

Touch wood the sealed direct action motor units on the newer EPBs have so far been a lot more reliable and resilient than the older ones, esp. the weird system on the Avensis which had the worst of both worlds (That one was totally pointless and should have stayed as a handbrake!)

[Dylanfan]

13 hours ago, The auldyin said:

The EPB isn't automatic like the one on the Seat Leon unfortunately. It came on every time the wheels stopped turning.

Isn’t that what happens when the brake hold has been activated?

[MrAurisT]

Thanks all for the replies. My son has a 2019 Corolla and I like everything about the car (looking to 'downsize' a bit from an Avensis estate). My Avensis EPB button is under / to the left of the steering column and (in my opinion) is counter intuitive as you have to press it down to apply and up release (if you want to do it manually) which is the opposite to how a 'normal' handbrake works. The Corolla is the 'correct' way around i.e. you pull the button up to apply etc., and (the EPB lever) is where a 'normal' handbrake lever would be. I am glad to hear the set up for the Corolla rear EPB differs from the Avensis as, whilst very little seems to go wrong with the Avensis, the main thing I notice on the Avensis forum is issues with the EPB which seem to be incredibly difficult to fix/source spares for. I think I will add the Corolla to my list of possibilities. Cheers.

[forkingabout]

With a Corolla hybrid you wont really need to ever touch the parking brake button.

Leave the system in automatic mode so it applies the parking brake when the gear lever is shifted in to Park.

Use the brake hold function in normal everyday driving for when stopped at traffic lights, waiting at a junction etc. 

[Extreme_One]

5 hours ago, forkingabout said:

Use the brake hold function in normal everyday driving for when stopped at traffic lights, waiting at a junction etc. 

Doesn't that leave the brake lights illuminated, potentially dazzling the driver behind? 

I use the parking brake button in that situation, I hate it when the driver in front has their brake lights lit whilst stationary.

[AndrueC]

15 hours ago, Extreme_One said:

Doesn't that leave the brake lights illuminated, potentially dazzling the driver behind?

It shouldn't dazzle the person behind unless they have something wrong with their eyes. Irritate them perhaps but not dazzle.

When I drove manuals I'd always use the parking brake but that was over a decade ago. Now everyone sits stationary with their brake lights on so the battle is lost. In fact it could be argued that sitting stationary in a group of cars without your brake lights on hides you.

[TonyHSD]

It is also very dangerous been without brake lights , especially at night and if you are the last car at the tail.
 Many drivers does not keep safe distance because they doesn’t watch the car in front changing its speed , they don’t anticipate the conditions ahead but blindly follow the leading vehicle and waiting brake lights on to take action. Remember hybrids and evs can come to a complete stop without using brakes and brake lights. The one pedal drive when prolonged in time and distance does not engage brake lights but has enough power to slow down the car. Watch your backs and click the brake sometimes to wake up and warn your car follower behind. 

[Extreme_One]

1 hour ago, AndrueC said:

In fact it could be argued that sitting stationary in a group of cars without your brake lights on hides you.

The highway code teaches you to disengage the brakes when stationary and employ the handbrake. 

If a driver can't see a stationary car ahead, let alone a line of them, they really shouldn't be driving.

At night there would be a line of rear lights which should provide rather a big clue as to what's ahead.

[AndrueC]

28 minutes ago, Extreme_One said:

The highway code teaches you to disengage the brakes when stationary and employ the handbrake. 

If a driver can't see a stationary car ahead, let alone a line of them, they really shouldn't be driving.

At night there would be a line of rear lights which should provide rather a big clue as to what's ahead.

I think you're missing my point. If you have several cars in a line all with their brake lights on and you are the last without your brake lights on (even worse a multi-lane queue with you slightly ahead) you could be less visible.

This isn't a defence of the practice so much as an acceptance of the unfortunate situation we've ended up in. 'I was in the right' always made for a poor epitaph. Almost no-one now uses their handbrake in traffic queues. That's just the way it is. No amount of hand wringing is going to change that.

Good drivers always adapt to the road conditions and in this case I think that 'doing it right' is not the best choice.

I thought it was sad when I got my first automatic and realised how much easier it was to just leave the car in gear (plus some auto boxes advise against putting the care in neutral) but after ten plus years I don't care. Brake lights in front of me - even those on SUVs - just don't bother me.

[AndrueC]

Additional: For what it's worth I did complain to Honda once. My last Jazz had auto engine off and with the manual version you could engage neutral and the engine would remain off if you released the foot brake. The engine would restart when you next pressed the clutch.

The CVT auto (the one I had) the engine would restart as soon as you lifted off the brake pedal. Even if you'd put the car in N beforehand. What made no sense to me was that having put the car in N (without the engine restarting) selecting anything else would restart it. So there was no reason for release the foot pedal to start the engine that I could work out.

I think that might have been the point at which I gave up on releasing the brake.

[Cyker]

22 hours ago, Extreme_One said:

Doesn't that leave the brake lights illuminated, potentially dazzling the driver behind? 

I use the parking brake button in that situation, I hate it when the driver in front has their brake lights lit whilst stationary.

 

6 hours ago, AndrueC said:

It shouldn't dazzle the person behind unless they have something wrong with their eyes. Irritate them perhaps but not dazzle.

When I drove manuals I'd always use the parking brake but that was over a decade ago. Now everyone sits stationary with their brake lights on so the battle is lost. In fact it could be argued that sitting stationary in a group of cars without your brake lights on hides you.

It will dazzle anyone actually looking at your rear - Less so in the day time but I find it particularly eye-fatiguing when it gets to dusk onwards. Brake lights are *extremely* bright compared to all the other lights on the car, except maybe the fog lights.

However, most people do not, and will be on their phone, eyeing up some passing skirt, chatting with passengers, rummaging around the rear seat/glove box, eating/drinking, looking at their hair in the mirror, applying/touching up makeup etc.

Strictly speaking, Extreme_One is right that everyone should be handbrake+neutral or Park when stopped for more than a brief moment so as not to unnecessarily show their very bright brake lights to the person behind for extended periods.

However, convention means this is now largely pointless as practically nobody else does, and even I don't bother any more - When I did I'd usually be the only person in the entire block of traffic without their brake lights on, although if it was low-light and I was at the tail-end of traffic I'd be in handbrake+neutral AND my brake pedal just to make myself easier to notice and thus not be crashed in to  

If I still drove a manual I probably would still, but the hybrid makes it quite a bit more awkward, and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em as the saying goes...

 

[Extreme_One]

37 minutes ago, Cyker said:

the hybrid makes it quite a bit more awkward

Well, I hadn't realised I'd mastered some tricky skill. 😆

It feels very natural to click on the HB button just before I take my foot off the brake.

I find that easier than remembering to activate Brake Hold - it does default to off at each new journey IIRC?

[Cyker]

Yeah it does default to off, but you only have to turn it on once when you start the car; It's the first thing I press after I press the Start button to start the car.

I find the EPB awkward because I have to look for it, and it makes the car lurch unlike the brake hold, which uses the hydraulic brakes on all 4 wheels. If I'm stopped for an extended period I find it much easier to shift to P, which locks the front wheels with the parking pawl and the rear wheels with the EPB with no lurch.

I rarely do it though as it's much slower to engage and disengage than the brake hold, and tends to drag on the rear wheels when I move off because the screws don't unlock quickly enough compared to the hydraulics, which release near-instantly.

[Ian saunders]

Is it correct when parking the car to active the handbrake button and then enter park mode to ensure that the handbrake holds the car rather than the transmission holding pin? 

[Red_Corolla]

8 minutes ago, Ian saunders said:

Is it correct when parking the car to active the handbrake button and then enter park mode to ensure that the handbrake holds the car rather than the transmission holding pin? 

I just shift into park and let the parking brake engage automatically, then release the pedal. You would feel a bit of movement from the backlash in the gears if the brakes weren't holding. It takes a second or two for the motors to finish winding, and you will indeed feel that movement occur if you take your foot off a bit too quickly.

[Ian saunders]

Watched this video at around 11min Mark his comment suggests to engage the handbrake then park or else the transmission is holding the car, trying to establish the correct procedure 

 

[AndrueC]

Great video. The comments about holding the car with the transmission are only a suggestion and he admits that it's unlikely to be a problem. Unless you frequently leave your car for many days at a time on a steep incline it's not worth bothering about.