Disco 3 handbrake screech

[shasma]

Hi all. Just joined so bear with me if I appear a bit dumb. I have a screeching noise coming from the rear when I apply the handbrake. has anyone got some advice that I could use please?

[Learner]

Hi Shasma,
Your handbrake (epb) needs adjustment. Don't use it in the meantime or you could end up with a costly repair bill.

[Tank]

Is the vehicle moving or stationary when you hear this noise, regards Frank.

[shasma]

Hi Frank. It is stationery,and my wife is generally out of the car and a few hundred yards away in anticipation of the stares I get.

[shasma]

Does that mean a costly visit to my dealer?

[p38arover]

Threads merged.

[Mike_S]

Unless you're handy with the spanners it's a trip to a dealer or a good independant specialist, depending on whether the car's still under warranty or not. The electric handbrake mechanism needs cleaning out properly & resetting, before it fails completely. Just beware that a main dealer may just go "it's knackered mate, needs a new one" when that may not be the case. Mine screeched like a banshee, all it needed was stripping down and cleaning out, the brake shoes had seized to actuating rods & backplate. It's now inaudible when operated.

[DiscoWeb]

Shasma,

Unfortunately this is a very common issue, more annoying that anything else, does give you a fright when it first happens.

I would suggest you become familiar with the manual release procedure as once it starts to scream you will shortly there after get a Park Brake failure and not be able to release the EPB.

The release procedure I think is described in the FAQ section of this channel but basically it involves removing the plastic cover directly behind the electronic park brake button with a screwdriver or similar and locating the obvious metal cable and associated loop and giving it a solid tug until you feel the park brake manually release, hard too miss as it is a fair old clunk.

I have had this happen 3 or 4 times and you need to get it reset by dealer of independent. Likely hood of a failure increases if you do much off road driving, particularly in the mud.

I now limit the use of the EPB whenever possible as this is obviously a very badly designed element of the vehicle !!!

Regards,

George

[gghaggis]

I've followed the sagas of these EPB failures closely over the years - mainly because I've never had one. In 3 vehicles over the past 7 years, never had a screamer.

The only thing that I can (anecdotally) think of is that I've never used the auto-disengage function - ie I always manually release the brake before driving off. Old habit I guess. However, most of the other owners I speak to (well actually all of them afaik) use the auto-release. I wonder if it stresses the mechanism, or at least contributes to a slippage of the adjustment?

Cheers,

Gordon

[101RRS]

Please clarify for me - is the screaming coming from the actuator up behind the rear diff, or from the actual brakes drum/s??

Thanks

Garry

[oldsalt]

Please clarify for me - is the screaming coming from the actuator up behind the rear diff, or from the actual brakes drum/s??

Thanks

Garry

I think it also comes from the driver as he bangs his head on the steering wheel and cries out ... aaaahhhhh bloody Landrover and their stupid handbrake !!!!!

[rocmic]

I've followed the sagas of these EPB failures closely over the years - mainly because I've never had one. In 3 vehicles over the past 7 years, never had a screamer.

The only thing that I can (anecdotally) think of is that I've never used the auto-disengage function - ie I always manually release the brake before driving off. Old habit I guess. However, most of the other owners I speak to (well actually all of them afaik) use the auto-release. I wonder if it stresses the mechanism, or at least contributes to a slippage of the adjustment?

Cheers,

Gordon

Gordon
I'll put my hand up to be the exception to the rule, I don't use the auto-disengage, but I've definitely had screamers and the EPB actuator replaced. I try and remind the dealer to service the thing at each normal service now.
Cheers
Mike

[gghaggis]

Well, there goes that theory ..................

:confused:

Cheers,

Gordon

[101RRS]

Gordon
I'll put my hand up to be the exception to the rule, I don't use the auto-disengage, but I've definitely had screamers and the EPB actuator replaced. I try and remind the dealer to service the thing at each normal service now.
Cheers
Mike

I have just looked at the service schedule and the only servicing is adjustment of the brake shoes - there is nothing on the actuator - so when you say you get the dealer to service the EPB actuator what exactly is done?

Looking at the workshop manual - I cannot see anything about servicing the actual actuator.

Cheers

Garry

[Mike_S]

Please clarify for me - is the screaming coming from the actuator up behind the rear diff, or from the actual brakes drum/s??

Thanks

Garry

Both. The majority of the scream is from the actuator on the diff, the plastic cogs don't like it when the brake shoes have gone stiff (as happened with mine). Servicing the brakes involved stripping the lot off the hub, cleaning off all the rust & crud then (somehow) running some lubricant along the cables. Bear in mind the shoes on mine were seized solid to the backplate & actuator arms so the screeching from them wasn't pretty either. It's now pretty much silent, in fact I have to really listen hard to hear the actuator on the diff now. I believe servicing them at the dealer involves saying they've done it, rather than actually doing anything :mad:

I was also a bugger for not using the parkbrake very often, if at all so that wouldn't have helped. Bung it in park and leave it was usually my modus operandi, whereas now I'll use it more often now it's working properly.

[rocmic]

I have just looked at the service schedule and the only servicing is adjustment of the brake shoes - there is nothing on the actuator - so when you say you get the dealer to service the EPB actuator what exactly is done?

Looking at the workshop manual - I cannot see anything about servicing the actual actuator.

Cheers

Garry
Garry
I meant the "thing" in general not the actuator itself, adjustment of the shoes is all as far as I know.
I believe the actuator fails because of the strain when the brake gets stuck so I remind the dealer to check the adjustment
Cheers
Mike.

[Warrick]

I have now had this happen twice to me over the past 3 years. The last time last night. The vehicle ended up going to the mechanic on the back of a flat top. Both times i have attempted to use the manual release and failed. Is there some trick to it. I got to a point where i thought if i pulled the cable any harder i would drage the rear diff through the centre console.:mad:
The first time it happened i was at the top of Talbot Ville and was luck that the park brake eventually disengaged otherwise it was going to be a long walk home. The deales have dismissed it saying its an adjustment not a warranty issue. Is there any fix??

[NavyDiver]

I have now had this happen twice to me over the past 3 years. The last time last night. The vehicle ended up going to the mechanic on the back of a flat top. Both times i have attempted to use the manual release and failed. Is there some trick to it. I got to a point where i thought if i pulled the cable any harder i would drage the rear diff through the centre console.:mad:
The first time it happened i was at the top of Talbot Ville and was luck that the park brake eventually disengaged otherwise it was going to be a long walk home. The deales have dismissed it saying its an adjustment not a warranty issue. Is there any fix??

re manual release. I put the bigger bar (one to remove the nuts) accros the seat and centre consol/ The put the hook bar over the other one after puting the hook in the release cable. This gave me much more leaverage. Even then I use a lot of force to release it. Mine was occasionaly giving me grief and screaming. I have had no issues since the handbrake actuator unit was replaced. I waited a while before choosing to replace it. It was worth it. Annoying but worth it. Blow out the brake is a pain in the but again worth it as well. You need to take the Disk brake off to get to the parking brake which is drum brakes on rear only. You may need a few new spanners or hex sockets to do it as well.

[Warrick]

Well its at the doctors now and i am looking at a fair bill! As this seems to be such a common issue is here any recourse with Land Rover?

[Sadie]

I've got my D3 at the dealers at the moment, as the park brake locked on over the weekend and I had to call out roadside assistance to have it manually released. They've told me that the 'module' (actuator?) needs replacing at a cost of about $2400. Has anyone had this job done as a warranty job? The dealer wasn't sure whether it'd be covered or not...:eek2:

[101RRS]

I've got my D3 at the dealers at the moment, as the park brake locked on over the weekend and I had to call out roadside assistance to have it manually released.

Why didn't you release it?

Did roadside assistance do it properly and using the release cable in the console or did they cut the rear cables from the actuator.

I would be looking to the UK to buy the required parts but if the car is still covered by warranty then it would be a warranty job.

Garry

[Sadie]

Garry, I didn't do it myself, because not having seen it done before I wasn't sure how hard I needed to pull. I did try, but figured if I was doing it wrong, I'd break something, so I preferred to have someone else do it. Didn't cost me anything, and he knew what he was doing..

[Dingo Charlie]

I've followed the sagas of these EPB failures closely over the years - mainly because I've never had one. In 3 vehicles over the past 7 years, never had a screamer.

The only thing that I can (anecdotally) think of is that I've never used the auto-disengage function - ie I always manually release the brake before driving off. Old habit I guess. However, most of the other owners I speak to (well actually all of them afaik) use the auto-release. I wonder if it stresses the mechanism, or at least contributes to a slippage of the adjustment?

Cheers,

Gordon

How do you manually release? Is there a shortcut to pulling the cable?

[Roger]

I've got my D3 at the dealers at the moment, as the park brake locked on over the weekend and I had to call out roadside assistance to have it manually released. They've told me that the 'module' (actuator?) needs replacing at a cost of about $2400. Has anyone had this job done as a warranty job? The dealer wasn't sure whether it'd be covered or not...:eek2:
Hi Sadie, I was lucky to just get out of this one! My D3 rear brakes were heavily worn and I was advised that if I did not get the discs done, the park brake actuator would be damaged and would need to be replaced and would not be under warranty. Its a preventative maintenance cost well worth doing to avoid the actuator replacement. Sorry............
When it comes to releasing the park brake via the cable in the consol, I recommend everyone who drives outside of suburbia needs to have this emergency techinique practiced before you need it. It requires lots of force and is not easy but definately is the only correct way to do it. The service manager at the dealer here in Geelong told me to avoid using the auto release and to manually release the brake using the silver lever as much as possible, he advised avoid the auto release as it does cause some wear and tear prior to it auto releasing. My previous D3 got screetchy park brakes quite early on, and I used the auto release all of the time, my D4 has passed the same klm's that the D3 had with park brake issues, so far no issues at all, use auto release rarely now, the D4 emergency release is similar but not the same.

[Steve223]

had it happen two weeks ago and was mean to post here so far it just made a screeching noise but did not actually lock the break so no manual release necessary but will need to look in to the manual release and practice that a bit

[101RRS]

Because of these issues I no longer use my park brake except when parking on steep slopes.

400HPONGAS put up a good post somewhere on the design problems of the EPB actuator.

These people in the UK http://www.kmotors.co.uk/index.php/discovery-3 will supply and fit an actuator for about $1100 so the price you got from the local dealer is a bit over the top so I would be shopping around or get the part from the UK and do it yourself.

Garry

[discotwinturbo]

I dont use mine in the bush.....just in case.

Brett.....

[Sadie]

How do you manually release? Is there a shortcut to pulling the cable?

Dingo Charlie, I'm pretty sure that when gghaggis said it's better to manually release the brake he meant push the button before driving off, rather than just driving off and having it auto-release.Pulling the cable is only necessary when the brake decides to lock itself on.

The dealer informed me yesterday that he has ordered the relevant parts, and it should be fixed this week. All under warranty!!! Theyre also replacing a few steering related parts too, also under warranty. I will post up specifics when I know what they are. :)

[Sadie]

So I had my Park Brake Module replaced a couple of weeks ago. On the weekend we were driving to a friends place, towing my camper trailer, and after about 15kms, I noticed a strong vibration, which I thought was a flat tyre. On inspection, however, there was smoke coming from one of the rear wheels, and a very strong brake smell. We tried limping a bit further, but the vibration got worse, so I had the car towed home and back to the dealer yesterday.

Apparently the brake module needed 'recalibrating' as it was out quite a bit.

Does anyone know what this might involve (in basic terms) and should I be worried about it happening again? I have a big trip planned in October and will be pretty unimpressed if this happens again..

Thanks.

[Learner]

Hi,
I think that you should no longer deal with the service centre that replaced your epb. I believe that they didn't adjust it properly on installation and can't be trusted.

Why don't you "name & shame".

[D3mike]

Sounds like you need to get the brake either cleaned out or replaced. Mine went out over a 6 month period. Up to 10 secs of screeching - worse at night when I got home late with the neighbours. Sounds like you may need to replace it if the cleanout does not work.

D3mike

[Sadie]

Sounds like you need to get the brake either cleaned out or replaced. Mine went out over a 6 month period. Up to 10 secs of screeching - worse at night when I got home late with the neighbours. Sounds like you may need to replace it if the cleanout does not work.

D3mike

Thanks D3Mike, but as I said, I already had it replaced, and this happened AFTER the new module was fitted.

Learner, I would have taken it elsewhere to be done, but there are no other dealers here and as it was done as a warranty job, I had no choice.. :(

I just hope they've got it sorted now. Only time will tell, I guess.

[101RRS]

Thanks D3Mike, but as I said, I already had it replaced, and this happened AFTER the new module was fitted.



It seems that they just bunged the module in and didn't investigate why it failed and did not adjust it correctly.

I would be making sure they access the rear brake drums and ensure they are all clean and adjusted and I think I would be asking for a new module as the new one they put in is possibly damaged now as well.

Garry

[AnD3rew]

I had a screamer after a dusty outback trip. Was covered under warranty, but seeing the cost quoted here I am not looking forward to it happening again now I am out of warranty.

I had no problems with the manual release following the instructions in he manual but it does require a fair bit of force.

[Steve223]

I ad the same problem recently and with my mechanic gave the breaks and drums a good clean and that solved the issue so far, but that meant removing wheels etc and the amount of dust we blew out there was enough to cause a sand storm in the garage, all fixed so far


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Rohan]

I don't use my park brake much (old habit from driving fords). Had the screaming a week ago, let the brake off & all was good, happened again this morning when SWMBO tried to let the brake off.
Tried my usual method of fixing anything, switching it off and on again, to no avail. Then with a mental picture of doing a manual release, I locked and unlocked 4 times & bingo! The
brake released! Beauty!

How or why this worked I do not know.
Car is due a service soon, so I'll ask my (non lr) mechanic to do a rear brake service too.
From what I've read in this thread it's an in-board drum? Is that right?
Cheers guys & happy new year :)

[Rohan]

Quick update.
Had my normal service done today & mentioned the screaming epb. My mechanic said he had found a small amount of dust, but not much, it just needed adjustment.
All good now, silent operation :) thankyou Midas!

[4evershiva]

another victim of the EPB fault...does this mean I shud not be taking the D3 into muddy 4wd....i dont think so...what shud i do immediately after taking it for a off road drive...

[Geedublya]

Remove rear wheels, remove drums, clean out brake mechanism (water for mud, air for dust). Dry out brakes (if required), reassemble and adjust.

Or... remove rear wheels, remove bungs from drums, hose out drums through inspection hole.

[BigJon]

I ad the same problem recently and with my mechanic gave the breaks and drums a good clean and that solved the issue so far, but that meant removing wheels etc and the amount of dust we blew out there was enough to cause a sand storm in the garage, all fixed so far


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

With the Sport and D3 that I maintain this is done at every second service as a minimum, or more often if they have been on dirt roads.

[4evershiva]

mechanic has come back saying the epb moudule needs replacing...dont know what to do now?? any advices

[sheerluck]

mechanic has come back saying the epb moudule needs replacing...dont know what to do now?? any advices

Before doing that, get your mechanic to have a look at Disco_Mikey's excellent 'how to' on un jamming the EPB. Might save you a few hundred bucks.

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - How To - EPB repair/Unjam + Relatch (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/post1062451.html#1062451)

[4evershiva]

anyone in brisbane who can lend me jack stands for the weekend so i can try and fix this jamming of the epb...

[sheerluck]

anyone in brisbane who can lend me jack stands for the weekend so i can try and fix this jamming of the epb...

I've got a pair of 5 ton stands, but I'm a little out of Brisbane Southside.

You're welcome to borrow if you can get down here.

[4evershiva]

Ohh Dave...that will be great...pm me your address and the best time to come and pick it up....

[Mutley]

I just had my actuator replaced in my D4 after it crapped itself pretty quickly. There's a difference between the D3 and D4 ones - about $600 difference as it turns out!! 2K later and a new EPB. This is through a specialist, not a dealer. He felt bad so gave it to me at cost. Suggest people jump on this immediately, even if the sound goes away!!

Back pocket hurty!

[jammers]

Chalk up another failed epb. Mine had to be manually released with car stuck on slightly sloping driveway. Talking to a local independent and hopefully repairable - $2k+ otherwise 😩

[stewmair]

I avoid this, I hope, by not using the EPB ever. Now it's so long since I bought the Disco3 I am sure I will not take the risk.

[Rich84]

Mine has just started doing this too - will pull the rear discs off and clean/lubricate this weekend following Bodsy's brake bible, which is fantastic. Hopefully that sorts it, I have a 20% graded driveway with a gate in the middle and I have to park the car to open the gate - too steep to rely solely on the trans park pall. So I don't have the luxury of not using the EPB!


Thankfully I haven't had to manually release at this point.

[Mutley]

Nows the time to sort it @Rich84!!

[jammers]

Car back from my local indie turns out a clean out of drums and adjustment and we are good. A few $100 lighter but could have been worse. Lesson learnt : learn how to keep drums clean after playtime...

[Rich84]

Mine has just started doing this too - will pull the rear discs off and clean/lubricate this weekend following Bodsy's brake bible, which is fantastic. Hopefully that sorts it, I have a 20% graded driveway with a gate in the middle and I have to park the car to open the gate - too steep to rely solely on the trans park pall. So I don't have the luxury of not using the EPB!


Thankfully I haven't had to manually release at this point.


I had a chance to do the clean and adjustment over the weekend with the guidance of Bodsy's brake bible.


I noted I need new rear discs and pads anyway, so I just hit the EPB with compressed air through the adjustment hole for now to blow the dust out of it and adjusted it. Was very dusty!
Judging by the amount of tension added and then released, my EPB system was quite out of spec.


So far so good - applied and released several times since then with no issues. All very quiet.

[Gyroman]

What brake is actually applied by the elec hand brake..?

[PerthDisco]

What brake is actually applied by the elec hand brake..?

Gyroman, inside the rear discs there are two pads on each side that are forced outward via cables by the electric motor when you activate the HB switch.

Same as an old fashion drum brake.

Search and download Bodsy's Brake Bible and it is not a hard task to inspect and service them properly DIY if you are reasonably handy. The setting up is key to long life and smooth operation and is not something I believe is well known outside the dealer or very good Indys. When mine first screeched and raised a fault I was initially told mine was kaput but I made them do another calibration (with me watching having pre-read BBB and like-magic it worked perfectly again. Now I do it myself.

I use mine enough just to keep it moving but avoid using it when I don't have to.

Oh, and don't drive off with handbrake on. Always release it at rest is the tip.

I was also told on steep hills to engage D (or R) to unload the brake before releasing (without moving off).

[ATH]

This whole thread reminds me of a work colleague’s trouble with her Mercs brakes. She told me she got a loud bang every time she pulled the transmission lever out of P into D.
Sure enough her whole method was totally wrong as she never bothered applying the PB....ever. So I showed her how I do it.

Stop car.
Leave foot on foot brake.
Move shifter into N
Engage PB (electronic or otherwise)
Take foot off foot brake and allow car to “rest” on PB
Move shifter into P.

Her and hubbie were amazed at the difference. A bloke I knew vaguely (another Merc driver) used to shove it straight into P virtually as soon as it seemed to have stopped then wondered why he had to have it towed away as it wouldn’t come out of P!

Probably the way I was trained but I always use my PB whether on a slope or not and have never yet had a problem and use this same method with the D4……plus I never use the auto release.
Of course my way may well be irrelevant in this brand new age of a gadget to do everything for drivers…..
AlanH.