Handbrake slipping

crispy_chris

Hi there, hoping someone can help.

My Yaris's handbrake keeps getting progressively looser. Its been in to a garage twice to get it tightened but its starting to come loose again.

first time in the garage they popped the back wheel off and tightened it from there. Second time they did the same and checked to confirm that the teeth holding it are still ok, which they are.

They said they weren't sure what was causing it but if it happens again the car may need - something dammit forgotten what they said - either way it sounded expensive, like new brakes.

I park on a hill to go to work but am careful not to over-stretch the handbrake. I presume simply parking on a hill shouldn't be causing my problem. Any ideas what could be?

Many thanks,

flang

It sounds although the cable has stretched causing the handbrake shoes to not pull tightly enough against the drum.
You could ask them to adjust them again and see how it goes from there. The cable may have just come loose.
In the mean time always park in gear!

crispy_chris

I forgot to mention that all the visits to the garage have been since mid-December. So its coming loose at a very rapid rate.

Oh and I always park in gear

flashg67

+1 for a stretched cable. Another possibilty is that the self-adjuster(s) inside the drum are worn and not holding.

Shouldn't be too expensive to sort, and well within the capabilities of an independent garage

Joe_Horner

-1 for stretched cable It might be BUT that won't normally reduce it's ability to hold the car unless you're physically running out of movement on the lever (unlikely).

It's far more likely to be the rear brakes themselves badly adjusted which, unless your car's as old as mine are, means a problem with the auto adjuster as Flash has suggested. They're generally not the most reliable mechanisms ever invented!

Either way, shouldn't be too scary to get them sorted.