There IS a difference between an emergency brake and a parking brake. An e-brake was originally designed to be able to safely slow down and stop a car, and even drive the car short distances, if the hydraulic brake system failed, thus the term "emergency." Even in today's new cars with a manual e-brake you could safely drive carefully if there is a problem with the brake system, because you can apply it as much or as little as you need based on how far down you push the pedal or pull up on the lever. A parking brake, on the other hand, is either on of off - period. Yeah, you can use it to stop your C7 if the brakes fail, but you can't use it to safely drive anywhere because it's either on, or it's off, with no in-between.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled arguing, bickering and name calling.

 

You are either too dense, too defensive or socially inept to comprehend how your responses came across. Rather than recognize the input you dig yourself a deeper hole and alienate more people.

Example; when members replied to your original question you replied with this, "This does not address the question that I posed. I specifically said". You seriously can't understand how that came across?

What if you replied with, "Thanks for all the replies. I may have not articulated my question clearly, what I am trying to find out is..........."

Also think how someone felt when you replied, "Your quotation from the manual says "The EPB will automatically release is the vehicle is running, placed into gear, and an attempt is made to drive away". CLEARLY IN MY EXAMPLE THE CAR IS RUNNING {Stupid} <<added for emphasis.

Resulting in replies like, "We were just telling you how it's supposed to work" as in geez dude we are just trying to help.

Unfortunately, I believe this reply reveals volumes about you, "Don't tell me I'm getting upset. You have no way of knowing that and I'm not upset!" Or "There are literally hundreds of such posts by other people here in this very forum. Go bother them!" <<== not upset uh.

 

Nail on head hit.

OP, if multiple people find you abrasive and impolite, then you are that by definition.

 

Show me a car that has both. I am not saying it does not exist as I don't know everything. Or show me some evidence where an emergency brake or parking brake does not actuate only on one or 2 rear wheels. Again, I don't know everything.

 

I don't know of any with both. I was just pointing out the difference between an emergency brake and a true parking brake. While similar they are not the same.

 

I checked the service manual on my 1956 corvette. GM clearly calls it a parking brake(nowhere is it called an emergency brake). Pull the under dash handle to apply.

I then checked the service manual on my 1964 Corvette. same as with my '56.

Checked the owners manual on my 2009 Z06, same as on my '56 and my '64 except the handle in located in the center console. Same as was on my '69 and '98.

GM calls them all parking brakes and I can apply as little or as much brake as I desire by how much force I use to pull on the lever/handle.

I've had two instances where my hydraulic brakes have failed(on my '57 ford, back in 1963, when a front wheel cylinder failed) and I successfully used the "parking brake" to stop the car. Another time was in my '69 Corvette when the brake pedal clevis pin fell out and I successfully stopped the car using the "parking brake".

None of the above cars were designed to have the 'parking brake' stop the car in an emergency in the same distance as the 4 wheel hydraulic brake system.

GM made the C7's parking brake where it can be used in an emergency. If they didn't want it to be used as an emergency brake, then they could have designed the electrical circuit to block the operation on the button to apply the parking brake when the car is in motion.

 

Now don't get me wrong, if my main brakes aren't working, I'll be using everything at my disposal to stop the vehicle, including the parking brake, or downshifting and turning off the engine, etc.

However, I would never want to assume GM's intentions. For all we know, the engineers who designed the EPB system originally programmed it to only work when the vehicle is stopped, and due to orders from above, from legal department, from some guy in testing, whatever, the programming was altered.

I would say, though, that if it was designed to primarily be an emergency brake, it's a poor design. But, as a design for keeping the car still when not in motion, it's a pretty good design.

 

The actual brake is designed the same as my C6's(rear brake rotor has a small hub and has mechanically applied brake shoes within that hub, using a cable. The difference is in how the cable is pulled in order to operate the "parking brake").

Even as such, I have applied my "parking brake" on my C6 Z06 M6 on an incline, and when I pressed the clutch pedal to the floor, the car started rolling. It is very effective though, on level ground.

I ALLWAYS place my transmission in reverse even when using the "parking brake".

PS- I can't assume to get inside of GM's engineer's heads, so I have to accept what they used on the production model as the only design, not what they might have done under other circumstances before the release of the production car(and I don't know if there were other 'circumstances').

 

Just out of curiosity, how do you think the above sentence comes across to me? Pot, kettle, black.

No I seriously can't understand why that should come across as anything other than the words that are there. And apparently you can't even explain it!

Why do you feel this necessary? My response says the same thing. You are the one filling in negative sentiments that I have not expressed.

No added from your imagination. I didn't say that. I didn't imply it. I am responsible for the words I write - not your misinterpretations and blatantly negative additions . Look I know people are busy and don't always read everything. I don't always catch everything either. So rather than assume (wrongly I might add) that I meant "stupid" at the end there, why would you not first assume that I simply meant that he didn't read my example carefully? Glossing over and not reading something carefully is not the same thing as stupid. As Ron White said, "You can't fix stupid". People make mistakes. I make mistakes. Look if I thought he was stupid I'd use the word "stupid". But I didn't so it is YOU, not I, who is taken the negative viewpoint here and applying it to the situation. Hell I don't mind if you do. But when you try to stick that negativity onto me I object!

Yes because they likewise inserted the pejorative {Stupid} portion that was not said nor meant. Trust me! I said it and I know what I f-ing mean. You don't. You're filling in details then taking offense at the words and thoughts that you invented - not that I said.

Yes exactly. Same deal here - you're making up ***** in your mind and projecting it onto me then trying blame me for it. You interject the word "stupid" and "not upset". Truth is you do not know for sure - you're just guessing, and you're guessing wrongly - because you cannot know what's in my mind. And as is a paradox, it is YOU who sees negatively (because you invented it) and YOU who think you know it all like what is in my mind even things you can't possibly know.

And "upset" and "bothered" are not the same thing (can you say false equivalency Mr. Strawman?). For example, I can be bothered by a fly but I'm hardly upset about it.

Again, take your negativity somewhere else, I will not be bothered by it again. And no, I'm still not upset but there's no point in talking to you anymore. You clearly have your negative agenda to deal with and I no longer want any part of it.

 

I would call this broke, or at the very least, in need of adjustment.

 

That is all true. It doesn't, however, change how they operate. In a car with manually operated e-brake or parking brake, you can apply a little or a lot, and you can safely, albeit it very cautiously, drive it using that brake. The parking brake in the C7 is either fully on or off. There is no in between. There is no way to drive it anywhere remotely safe using the parking brake. Try it on a deserted road, just make sure you're buckled in and that you're ready for the alarm when you pull that switch up when the vehicle is moving.

 

Steve,

The electronic parking/emergency brakes are designed to be a backup in case of brake failure, and I think that's a federal safety requirement. My Jaguar F-Type, Mercedes C300, Jeep Cherokee, and C7 manuals all have EPBs and all instruct that they can be used for emergency stops. The Jaguar manual is very specific in saying that "in case of brake failure, hold the e-brake switch up to bring your vehicle to a safe stop."

Is it "safe" to drive it that way, no not technically. But, it is designed to be an emergency backup.

 

And it works as an emergency backup. I've tried it on my C7 just so I know what to expect if I ever really need it. It WILL stop you. You will NOT want to attempt to drive anywhere at any speed using it like you could with a manually operated e-brake.

It's largely a semantics argument, but they do work differently. A manual e-brake can be applied as you want while the EPB on the C7 is either on or off.

 

Yes, we are on the same page, but wasn't sure based on your previous post.