Looking for advice please. Handbrake related.

cosmic

Hi,

I'm sorry if this is a stupid post, I just don't know very much about cars and am anxious about something.

A few weeks ago I was stopped in traffic on a steep hill, handbrake engaged, and my car stared to roll backwards. Thinking that my handbrake was on it's way out, I brought it to my mechanic for a service and to check the handbrake.

The mechanic, by the way, is an old family friend and family members and friends have been using him for years. He's a completely stand up guy and excellent at what he does.

So I got my car back from him and he said there was nothing wrong with the brakes but he tightened up everything anyway. I was delighted with this news!

Then, a couple of days later, I was stopped on a hill again and the same thing happened, I started rolling backwards. Since, he said it's all good to go and I trust him, would it be likely that I'm just slipping up, myself, and not pulling up the handbrake properly? It's only happened on these two occassions so I'm thinking that might be the case. I took the car out over the weekend to some quiet, steep hills and tested it and it didn't roll at all.

I guess, what I'm just wondering if it's likely that I've not been paying proper attention the two times that it rolled, and not fully pulled up the handbrake (even though the button has popped). Is this something that happens to other people? I'm just confused because I tested it at the weekend on hills and there was no rolling. I also don't want to go back to the mechanic if it's more likely that I'm the problem, because I don't want to seem like the typical stupid clueless girl annoying him all the time over stupid things.

Thanks for any replies

Owen

Your handbrake should only have to come up about 2 inches to be engaged. Having it come up one 'click' so the button pops isn't nearly enough. You should be aiming to have it come up around 3/4 clicks distance for it to engage at all.

Good practise with a handbrake is to not have the button pop at all, you should push in the button, pull the handbrake to the right distance where you feel it get harder to pull it, then release the button for it to stay there.

Mr Benevolent

If you've used it on hills and it's held the car before now then there's definitely something wrong with it. Chances are the mechanic didn't check if it held on a hill. Might be fine on level ground.

cosmic

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Your handbrake should only have to come up about 2 inches to be engaged. Having it come up one 'click' so the button pops isn't nearly enough. You should be aiming to have it come up around 3/4 clicks distance for it to engage at all.

Good practise with a handbrake is to not have the button pop at all, you should push in the button, pull the handbrake to the right distance where you feel it get harder to pull it, then release the button for it to stay there.

Interesting, I think I understand what you're saying. I'd normally pull it up to the point that it doesn't pull up any more and I've never had any rolling. So it is possible that these two times, I just haven't been paying proper attention and pulled it up high enough that the button pops but not high enough to hold the car (ie, the highest it will possibly go)? Sorry for having to get you to dumb it down for me, I think I know what you're saying, I just want to be sure.

Oh, by the way, the car's a 97 Starlet.

Also, thanks for the reply

cosmic

Confab wrote: »

Chances are the mechanic didn't check if it held on a hill. Might be fine on level ground.

Good to know. The two times it's rolled, it's been on really really steep hills. I tested it on steep hills over the weekend and it held, but I don't think they were as steep as the ones it's rolled back on.

The reason I didn't go back to those particular hills to practice is because they're both traffic heavy areas. Not the safest place to be testing the brakes!

Owen

If it's coming up any more than 2 inches, than the handbrake needs to be tightened. Which is really easy to do on a Starlet, you clip out the handbrake vinyl gaitor/cover, and there's a bolt on a long nut there. Take a 13 spanner and tighten it a few turns.