Parking Brake Stuck
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,185
Likes: 9,324
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Is it the lever or the shoes?
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,185
Likes: 9,324
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I pull up on mine as hard as I can and hit the button with the palm of my other hand. Other than that is to jack the car up , loosen the cable that connects to the cable that runs to each rear brake cable. Then give it another shot
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 44
Likes: 5
From: San Diego
I'm worried about jacking it up because it's parked on this slope in my driveway. I'll try giving the parking brake a bit more elbow grease like you mentioned, though this repair may be beyond my skillset.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 44
Likes: 5
From: San Diego
Yea the parking brake lever is stuck all the way up. I can't release the lever, I can depress the button fully though I can't get the lever to go down as I do so.
Last edited by C3Flex; May 12, 2022 at 11:55 PM.
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,185
Likes: 9,324
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Is the plastic sleeve that hids the slot bound up?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 1,586
Likes: 956
From: Central Florida
2024 Corvette of the Year Winner - Modified
2023 C3 of the Year Winner - Modified
2021 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Take the back wheels off then take the calipers off. Don’t disconnnect the brake hoses on the calipers just sip tie them to something so the weight is not on the hoses. Then pull your rotors off and you can see the ebrake assembly. Probably just needs a deep cleaning but you should be able to see what it needs then. This only works if you don’t have rivets in the rotors. If you, a shop will charge you a small fortune to get into the rotors. The other possibility is the line and linkage going from the ebrake handle to the trailing arms. Easy to see if you simply get under the car. Have someone pull it while you are under (securing the car of course for safety). Good luck
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 1,586
Likes: 956
From: Central Florida
2024 Corvette of the Year Winner - Modified
2023 C3 of the Year Winner - Modified
2021 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Sorry didn’t see the updates for some reason until after I posted. Sounds like button is not engaging. Try to push it to a flat surface. C3 ebrake don’t really work that well, at least none of the ones I’ve seen do. Then get under the car and loosen it. You will need 2 1/2 inch box wrenches.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,380
Likes: 838
From: New York
2017 C3 of the Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '20- '21
I know this is obvious, but after depressing the button did you try pulling upwards first to disengage the ratcheting system, then letting it go downward?
You may have simply retracted it tightly and has no more room to go further up. Loosening the cable adjustment under the car might easily free it up.
Ike
You may have simply retracted it tightly and has no more room to go further up. Loosening the cable adjustment under the car might easily free it up.
Ike
Last edited by general ike; May 17, 2022 at 10:50 PM.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 44
Likes: 5
From: San Diego
You were spot on, I put the car in neutral first then depressed the button and it took a few tries though it eventually disengaged. Thanks Ike and thank you to everyone else that commented. This community is the best.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,380
Likes: 838
From: New York
2017 C3 of the Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '20- '21
My pleasure, glad I could help. You are correct, this is a great place to get some great assistance on all kinds of issues Corvette related. Ike