E-brake coming on automatically
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 428
Likes: 121
E-brake coming on automatically
Hi folks,
I've noticed my electronic parking brake automatically comes on when I go to start the car up. I have never turned it on manually. Is this some sort of a safety feature? It's done it 3-4 times now.
I've noticed my electronic parking brake automatically comes on when I go to start the car up. I have never turned it on manually. Is this some sort of a safety feature? It's done it 3-4 times now.
Popular Reply
Jan 15, 2017, 03:14 AM
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 981
Likes: 157
It comes on automatically every so often to check the operation of the system.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 854
Likes: 302
Yep, mechanical atrophy is as bad as physical atrophy for a human. If the system went unused for a few years it might no longer engage, or worse, disengage. Use the parking brake on all of your cars at least periodically.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,517
Likes: 1,304
From: Windermere FL
Inquiring minds gots to know...
I have never seen it come on by itself and I rarely use the parking brake. But I live in the Florida Inferno, so perhaps it does have something to do with temperature?
So I checked the Helms service manuals and under the Parking Brake System Description, there is no mention of it having the capability to apply itself - except as part of the M7 Hill Assist feature. Is the OP an M7 and perhaps it is somehow sensing it is parked on an incline and using Hill Assist?
I have never seen it come on by itself and I rarely use the parking brake. But I live in the Florida Inferno, so perhaps it does have something to do with temperature?
So I checked the Helms service manuals and under the Parking Brake System Description, there is no mention of it having the capability to apply itself - except as part of the M7 Hill Assist feature. Is the OP an M7 and perhaps it is somehow sensing it is parked on an incline and using Hill Assist?
Last edited by Flame Red; Jan 15, 2017 at 05:06 PM.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7,382
Likes: 3,501
From: Lake Havasu City Arizona
I have noticed on mine that periodically, not often, when I got to start the car it displays something indicating the parking brake is on. I didn't ever remember engaging it. I didn't realize it did it automatically once in a while. Learn something new about the car everyday.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7,382
Likes: 3,501
From: Lake Havasu City Arizona
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,904
Likes: 315
From: Cedar Falls Iowa
On manual trans cars, I use the ebrake all the time because I once had my old 96 TA pop out of gear and roll into the street where it magically hit a soft mattress a neighbor left out for trash pickup that morning. If the mattress wasn't there they would've been fishing the car out of a creek.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 26,233
Likes: 4,357
From: Chirper Island
If you park an automatic on an aggressive incline w/o the parking brake, it it's possible to torque lock the transmission.
When this happens there is so much stress on the locking pawl that you can not get the car out of park, which requires the car to be pushed uphill to release the shifter. To avoid this, when parking on a hill, do as daffy says and apply the parking brake Before shifting to park.
When this happens there is so much stress on the locking pawl that you can not get the car out of park, which requires the car to be pushed uphill to release the shifter. To avoid this, when parking on a hill, do as daffy says and apply the parking brake Before shifting to park.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,872
Likes: 333
From: Olmsted Falls Ohio
St. Jude Donor '12 thru '24
On a side note, on the automatic transmissions I've had apart, I frankly am skeptical of the parking pawl mechanism. To think that this usually rather small part actually holds the entire car in place, including inclines, seems insufficient. Yes, I know the engineers have figured it out, and no I haven't seen the specific parts in the Vette's A6 or A8 yet, but I've been setting the parking brake in every car I drive, manual or auto, since way before I started using seatbelts lol
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
The parking brake has always been engaged on every car I've driven for decades. It's a simple precaution, a habit for me like the shoulder harness, and it saves wear and tear on the transmission, manual or automatic.
And yes, as OWC says, engage the parking brake before putting a vehicle in Park or releasing the clutch on a manual.
And yes, as OWC says, engage the parking brake before putting a vehicle in Park or releasing the clutch on a manual.
Last edited by Foosh; Jan 15, 2017 at 11:49 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 119
Likes: 34
My 2021 Z51 comes on automatically sometimes. I was torquing wheel lug nuts to specs and the system activated about 2 minutes after I got out of the car. I also get some squeaking while backing out of garage and I need to tap brakes a few times to get rid of noise-really embarrassing with a car with only 1,900 miles on it.