Has this damaged my car?

Inactive

There should be a red warning light on the dash board telling the driver that the handbrake is on.

Gene_Hunt_2

diable wrote: »

How long has your daughter held a license for?

Who said she has one?

Gene_Hunt_2

Inactive wrote: »

There should be a red warning light on the dash board telling the driver that the handbrake is on.

That would be the handbrake warning light, that stays on when the handbrake is on. Almost back to the day's of women pulling out the choke and hanging their handbag on it.

Hammyman

To the OP: There are two possible outcomes:

1) Nothing untowards will happen at all.
2) The brake fluid has boiled and needs changing.

In the light of number 2 being a possiblity and it costing typically a mere £30 for a brake fluid change PLUS the fact brake fluid should be changed every 2 years but nobody does, I would get myself off to the local garage/fast fit and get them to swap out the brake fluid.

keith1950

Hi, one of my cars is an Ignis and handbrake/rear brakes are drums/brake shoes via a handbrake cable. I think it would have been worse if it had been rear discs/pads as the heat could have damaged the calipers.

missile

anewman wrote: »

.... Another test you can try out if you like (might I add you should do this with extreme care and know what you're doing) - drive along, put the handbrake on and brake hard and see how hard you need to brake before the ABS makes your brake pedal vibrate as that is when your brakes lock up. You'll still find it takes some effort to lock the rear wheels and this is with the brake assistance given by your car's engine.

Does a Suzuki Ignis have ABS?

Rossy.

OP - Has it damaged your car?

NO

If the handbrake was tight the car wouldn't have moved. As she didn't notice it tells me that she released the handbrake but not fully. The burning was friction and nothing more.

Unless the pads were low and have now been worn out get them changed but if they look fine then forget about it.

you don't need to do ABS tests etc.

People on here are starting to sound like quickfit

Need new tyres sir/madam

"yes please"

"We've done your tyres but noticed you need new discs/pads, shocks, engine etc"


Why can't anyone ever give a straight answer on here anymore without going round the houses. Check this check that...Do this do that.............

LandyAndy

Katykat wrote: »

Thanks folks, quick response. I've googled this and got everything from "no damage" to "serious, get it looked at ASAP" so its a bit confusing. The car is a Suzuki IGNIS automatic and the rear brakes have only just been replaced ( 2 months ago). I've not tried it out yet but I'll drive around the block tomorrow & see. I read on a blog somewhere that it not necessary to even apply the handbrake when parked on the level. Was this windup? It obviously isn't very effective anyway, as it allowed ( EX ) daughter (!!!!!!!) to drive with it on.

Not a wind up. An automatic in Park will remain stationary without the handbrake as the gearbox is locked.

Hammyman wrote: »

To the OP: There are two possible outcomes:

1) Nothing untowards will happen at all.
2) The brake fluid has boiled and needs changing.

In the light of number 2 being a possiblity and it costing typically a mere £30 for a brake fluid change PLUS the fact brake fluid should be changed every 2 years but nobody does, I would get myself off to the local garage/fast fit and get them to swap out the brake fluid.

I did this in my Triumph Vitesse years ago. Only noticed when I pressed the pedal and it hit the floor. Stopped for half an hour and then carried on when the fluid was cool. Would have changed it but I sold it within a week.

bennymac

Wow amazing the difference of opinion really, as stated above for an automatic when the car is in P there is little need for the handbrake.
As for damage the worst to expect is the rear shoes or pads to have worn down prematurely so might need replacing, there are friction materials and are designed to wear.
Lastly it wont have done your clutch very much good as it will have been a fair old amount to drag around with handbrake on so you might have premature failure later in the cars life but again thats the worst case scenario.

Still amazes me how these young ones can drive around and not notice (I have an 18 year old son who does similar things)

anotherbaldrick

Probably all that has happened is that the friction has bedded the new pads in nicely . If the handbrake had been fully on, not even a female driver would have been able to ignore the squeals of protest that would have come from the rear wheels.