View Full Version : And you thought you knew how the EPB worked
400HPONGAS
27th February 2012, 08:40 PM
Have a read of this PDF found it while I was researching the screaming Park Brake disease.44069
Mike_S
28th February 2012, 07:58 PM
And after all that, I still don't see what's wrong with a traditional handbrake lever operating a cable, that doesn't require an electric motor and several pages of explanation :p
Glynhouse
28th February 2012, 09:23 PM
And after all that, I still don't see what's wrong with a traditional handbrake lever operating a cable, that doesn't require an electric motor and several pages of explanation :p
      And after reading that I take it that if the battery is dead or the electrics play up you have no emergency or hand brake at all   ??
        The way it works with a drum inside the disk is the same as on my current 80 series, but that is muscle operating the cables not electrics !
   DD
101RRS
28th February 2012, 09:34 PM
My 1979 Subaru had the handbrake working on the front disks, so I have no idea why a 2005+ D3 etc needs to have a separate drum system and the ridiculous electric operating system - at least they could have made the manual override system simple to to use without having to pull half the centre console apart - even harder in the RRS than it is in the D3.
Garry
Stuart02
28th February 2012, 09:46 PM
My 1979 Subaru had the handbrake working on the front disks, so I have no idea why a 2005+ D3 etc needs to have a separate drum system and the ridiculous electric operating system - at least they could have made the manual override system simple to to use without having to pull half the centre console apart - even harder in the RRS than it is in the D3.
Garry
The separate drum/transmission brake is quite common and very effective, particularly if the (normal) brakes have been compromised.
The EPB makes for some pretty sexy hill holding and emergency stopping, but it's still a scary liability, for sure!
DI5CO
28th February 2012, 10:27 PM
Thats rediculous!! I can see why it costs SOOOOO much money to develop cars, I think there was about 10mil that went into the development of that alone!!:eek:
Dingmark Jim
28th February 2012, 10:43 PM
I've heard that in some legal jurisdictions, the regs require that parking brakes be "idiot proofed".  That's why in the (no longer available) manuals the PB's automatically applied when the engine was turned off.  Here in a delightful, but small/remote country, we end up with a rump of requirements which aren't required here but are required elsewhere.
Celtoid
28th February 2012, 10:54 PM
I went to Fraser Island a month or so ago and the conditions from Kingfisher Bay to Central Station were pretty hairy.   It had been dry for months, which on Fraser creates very deep, soft sand.   But just before I got there it had been raining for a week or so......the tracks were torn to shreds and had huge water filled holes and ruts.   I had sand and mud everywhere.
 
After a stop at Lake Mckenzie, there was this god almighty screaching when I tried to drive away.   I was in low range and was unaware of any reluctance to move, but the noise was horrendous.   After a few hundred meters it stopped.
 
Was that the EPB?
oldsalt
29th February 2012, 06:51 AM
Did you check under your vehicle for a Jap 4 X 4 rental full of non english speaking tourists who think that "four wheel drive" means "you can drive up Mt Everest and through 8 foot of water" ??? :twisted:
SBD4
29th February 2012, 08:57 AM
After a stop at Lake Mckenzie, there was this god almighty screaching when I tried to drive away.   I was in low range and was unaware of any reluctance to move, but the noise was horrendous.   After a few hundred meters it stopped.
 
Was that the EPB?
Yes, most likely it was.
rocmic
29th February 2012, 12:53 PM
After a stop at Lake Mckenzie, there was this god almighty screaching when I tried to drive away.   I was in low range and was unaware of any reluctance to move, but the noise was horrendous.   After a few hundred meters it stopped.
 
Was that the EPB?
Almost guaranteed it was the EPB, have had it couple of times after spendig some time in muddy puddles. Very annoying while it lasts, but at least every body else in the group knows where you are.
Cheers
Mike
spudboy
29th February 2012, 05:56 PM
Whoa!  How to make something simple, really really complicated :eek:
 
Interesting reading though.
400HPONGAS
29th February 2012, 08:00 PM
Dont worry,lots of Euro cars use the same setup,its actually a bit of precision GERMAN engineering (apologies to GG).
Concerning the screaming disease, its quite simple, if it any time it screams ,its stuffed and you need a new "Parking brake module" In the meantime ,Keep it clean,keep it well adjusted,and use it sparingly . Wot you dont believe me
Then read installment 2 LOL, Read em and Weep !!!
44125
101RRS
29th February 2012, 09:07 PM
Then read installment 2 LOL, Read em and Weep !!!
44125
So when is the mod kit coming out -absolute crap design and engineering.
400HPONGAS
29th February 2012, 09:37 PM
Exactly Garrycol, and the Fools kept on installing into D4's/RRS's as well. That was a excellent report,well written .You would think .if enough owners got together and Lobbied TATA,LRA,JRA,whatever they call themselves ,then this obvious design fault could be eliminated .and a general re-call of all vehicles fitted with this POS,and retro-fitted with the upgrade module(when and if ever it exists)
101RRS
12th March 2012, 11:58 AM
Have been tinkering around under the car - on the hand brake system - what exactly do I need to do the maintain them so I do not get the brakes staying on.
I have had a look at the workshop manual and it has the process for adjusting the brakes shoes (hmm me thinks for the cost of the car why not put in auto adjusters in (my Freelander has them on its drum brakes).
So other than adjusting the brakes and cleaning dirt etc out of the drums what should I be doing on a regular basis to keep them in good nick.
I also only use the hand brake when parked on hills and no longer use the auto drive off function.  I am not satisfied with the safety of just using "park" on the gearbox for hills as the little pin that locks it is quite small and there is always a remote chance (exceptionally remote but has happened in other cars before) that it could sheer.  Also in some vehicles it has been known not to to be able to get gearboxes out of park if there is a lot of weight on the pin.
Cheers
Garry
SBD4
12th March 2012, 08:18 PM
... I am not satisfied with the safety of just using "park" on the gearbox for hills as the little pin that locks it is quite small and there is always a remote chance (exceptionally remote but has happened in other cars before) that it could sheer.  Also in some vehicles it has been known not to to be able to get gearboxes out of park if there is a lot of weight on the pin.
Yep, I have to agree with you Garry. 
I have never relied on "Park" as the means to hold my vehicle. I always apply the hand/park brake while in neutral and allow the weight of the vehicle rest on that before putting it in "park" - much the same as you would a manual vehicle (substituting park for 1st gear). I am sure that anyone with "mechanical sympathy" would agree that the  clunk heard from the gear box when disengaging "park"is not at all a good sound and not least, there is that possibility of a single point of failure.:o
101RRS
12th March 2012, 08:44 PM
I would encourage everyone with a D3/D4/RRS to try and disengage the handbrake via the cable in the privacy of your own driveway.  I cannot speak for the D3/D4 but you have to remove the lift up hand brake lever to get at the cable and you do have to know how to get that out.  I would hate to have to do this job in anger having never tried it at home.
I always wondered why the only tool in the non existent tool kit was a screw driver - and now I know - it goes in the hole in the end of the jack handle that also goes in the loop in the hand brake cable.  The provided screw driver can also be used to remove the handbrake lever.
The only thing not provided is a light to look down the hole to find the hook - but I always keep a windup torch in the glovebox.
Cheers
Garry
400HPONGAS
29th March 2012, 08:10 PM
For all those that have ever experienced a Hand Brake or EPB fault of the "Screaming"
you need to read this thread !
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.4 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.