Failed mot electronic handbrake cable repair?

RR_summers

Hi everyone.
I have a Renault scenic.
I had my brake pads and discs replaced on 21st June. Mechanic at the time told me my handbrake cable was sticking so he freed it and greased it.

Fast forward to Friday and my car failed its not at the same garage on rear binding brakes.

He's told me without looking at it properly he thinks it needs a new handbrake cable. I need to buy the part direct from renault and take it. (I live in hull but travel back to Manchester to use the garage I've always used) I don't want to risk being stuck there with no car on Thursday with 3 children.

After lots of googling lots of people say its hard to replace the cables on an electronic handbrake and that it could be another fault.

Has anyone had anything similar? Renault won't take the part back if that's not the problem as apparently its not the wrong part

Does anyone know roughly how long it would take to do if its possible? They sell the cable so I'm assuming it is but I've heard it can mess up the handbrake computer which is around £400 to repair!

The garage has quoted me £20 +vat for the labour.

Thanks everyone.

BeenThroughItAll

AFAIK, the EHB unit isn't generally serviceable without special equipment (thanks partly to some strong springs which may ping all over the place on dismantling) and the cables are not separately replaceable. I may be wrong of course.

If that is the case, it's a new EHB unit, for which around £400 would be likely.


I was able to fix a sticking EHB cable on a Focus C-Max Ghia by injecting lightweight gear oil into the Bowden cable using a cable oiler then repeatedly working the handbrake until it freed up. I then oiled both every service (6 months/6K).

arcon5

If it wasn't serviceable then Renault wouldn't sell the cable individually surely.

hull to Manchester to maintain your car? Considering fuel prices wouldn't be much more using a main dealer I'd imagine.

RR_summers

It is a pain but I don't want to get ripped off. It costs me £20 in fuel. Renault wanted to charge me £70 per hour for labour +vat. Then the part is £49. Even with the fuel costs the other garage will be cheaper.

The mechanic told me that because the cable has been freed before and its happened again that the problem must be the cable itself.

BeenThroughItAll

arcon5 wrote: »

If it wasn't serviceable then Renault wouldn't sell the cable individually surely.

hull to Manchester to maintain your car? Considering fuel prices wouldn't be much more using a main dealer I'd imagine.

I suspect a part number confusion more than anything else. AFAIK the cables aren't available as an individual item from Renault. There are people who sell cables intended for the EHB unit, but fitting them isn't that straightforward, although there are how-tos kicking around which suggest that it can be done.


Certainly, for £20 labour I doubt the garage has any idea how much time might be involved, just removing the EHB unit can take an hour.

colino

I wouldn't buy anything until you have had a proper diagnosis. These, and other epb, have a habit of going faulty at MOT time, just because it is the first time they have been used in anger since, well, the last MOT.
It could be a cable, it could be a the electronic unit itself, but it could just as easily need a bit of freeing up and lubrication.

RR_summers

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

I suspect a part number confusion more than anything else. AFAIK the cables aren't available as an individual item from Renault. There are people who sell cables intended for the EHB unit, but fitting them isn't that straightforward, although there are how-tos kicking around which suggest that it can be done.


Certainly, for £20 labour I doubt the garage has any idea how much time might be involved, just removing the EHB unit can take an hour.

Renault have the handbrake cables seperatly for £49. Its two cables which apparently run from the main cable to the back wheels. It's those two that the garage want to replace. Not the cable connected to the unit itself.

Going to take it to my dads and he said he will put it on his car ramp to check.

The garage are thinking it's the handbrake cable due to the cable on the drivers rear side being stuck when they did my pads and discs. They freed it and greased it then but it's happened again between 21st June and Friday just gone.

Thanks for the advice so far :T

BeenThroughItAll

RR_summers wrote: »

Renault have the handbrake cables seperatly for £49. Its two cables which apparently run from the main cable to the back wheels. It's those two that the garage want to replace. Not the cable connected to the unit itself.

Going to take it to my dads and he said he will put it on his car ramp to check.

The garage are thinking it's the handbrake cable due to the cable on the drivers rear side being stuck when they did my pads and discs. They freed it and greased it then but it's happened again between 21st June and Friday just gone.

Thanks for the advice so far :T

Ah, so does the EHB on a Scenic use a single cable to a compensator and then a pair, one to each wheel? If that's the case, should be simple cable + labour job. There will be a way to lock the handbrake and prevent it auto applying, but the easiest may be to ensure it's off then disconnect the battery. You do not want the unit auto-applying and then pulling the cable until it destroys itself (the EHB unit normally continues pulling until it encounters resistance). That's the expensive outcome.