Hyundai i20 Handbrake

Car_54

Chloed1993 wrote: »

It’s a slight incline not a steep hill.

That's all right then. The Law of Gravity won't apply.;)

Chloed1993

I’m not disputing that. I don’t really think there’s any need for comments like that. I’m only asking to see if there is anyone else with problems with the handbrake. It only works on the 7th click (there is 9 in total)

Deneb

Chloed1993 wrote: »

I’m not disputing that. I don’t really think there’s any need for comments like that. I’m only asking to see if there is anyone else with problems with the handbrake. It only works on the 7th click (there is 9 in total)

When you say there are 9 clicks in total, do you mean you can pull the lever up through 9 clicks if you put the brake on as hard as you are able, or have you disconnected the cable from the brakes and found that the lever moves through a maximum range of 9 clicks until it hits its travel stop?

I don't know the recommended setting for your car, but I have a copy of the workshop manual for the 2012 i20 and Hyundai recommend that the parking brake lever travel should be set between 6 to 8 clicks when fully applied. On that basis, 7 clicks seems about right.

maninthestreet

Check the owners handbook for the correct way to apply the handbrake - the last car I had, the handbook explicitly stated that the button on the end of the handbrake should only be used for releasing the handbrake and never when applying the handbrake.

Car_54

maninthestreet wrote: »

Check the owners handbook for the correct way to apply the handbrake - the last car I had, the handbook explicitly stated that the button on the end of the handbrake should only be used for releasing the handbrake and never when applying the handbrake.

You're right, but the fact that he can count the clicks suggests he's not pressing the button.

BeenThroughItAll

maninthestreet wrote: »

Check the owners handbook for the correct way to apply the handbrake - the last car I had, the handbook explicitly stated that the button on the end of the handbrake should only be used for releasing the handbrake and never when applying the handbrake.

What car was that then?

Chloed1993

I do press the button. It was the garage that counted the clicks when I took it in for the handbrake test.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

As someone who has driven for many years, back in the day it was simply a given that you had to press the button and that dragging the brake was not only bad form but potentially damaging.

However, I would say that any handbrake that needs some form of magical incantation (e.g. pressing brakes, or using a specific technique for applying it that if not used can cause failure) rather than simply being pulled up firmly is not fit for purpose. If the design is such that a casual or new user of a car has to use the handbrake in a special way, then that needs to be prominently brought to the user's attention. A good dealer would ensure that this was part of the handover, and a good car manufacturer would bring that to the user's attention with some labelling or other device. It is not reasonable to expect the user of a car to read a handbook checking for special features on the off-chance there is something unusual. The handbook is there as a reference.

A quick Google gave me the sense that it is not unheard of for Hyundai's to have handbrake hold issues. It may well be that they are not applied as expected, but if there is an issue, either cooling, ratchet sticking or simply a false sense of the brake being firmly applied because it has hit resistance of the system rather than resistance of the brake itself then there is a fault. Hiding behind the handbook is the same as hiding behind the small print of a contract, any unusual features need to be explicitly brought to the user's attention.

Having said that, my daughter has a 60 plate i20 in Sheffield and has successfully parked it (if you don't know Sheffield then there is hardly a road that is on the flat). It's ages since I drove it and didn't get the sense that there was anything special about the handbrake.

Lorian

I have a six month old i20 (also new model).

The handbrake feels fully engaged at 3 clicks, and I can just get it to 4 if I really try. YES I know I need to press the button - mechanical sympathy is my middle name, - 've just done this for the sake of providing some feedback. at 3-4 clicks it feels its engaged at the right height to me. Any higher and I'd feel the need to adjust it (or have the garage adjust it in the first year).

I'm not going out to look at the moment but I'm 99% certain it will be dual cables back to independent shoes and is not connected to the discs.

Make of the what you will.

I presume the road wasn't icy? The tyres were cold?
The lever was still up at the top of its travel when recovered? Did The handbrake did or didn't need to be disengaged to recover it?

Lorian

IanMSpencer wrote: »

A quick Google gave me the sense that it is not unheard of for Hyundai's to have handbrake hold issues. It may well be that they are not applied as expected, but if there is an issue, either cooling, ratchet sticking or simply a false sense of the brake being firmly applied because it has hit resistance of the system rather than resistance of the brake itself then there is a fault. Hiding behind the handbook is the same as hiding behind the small print of a contract, any unusual features need to be explicitly brought to the user's attention

I think maybe you refer to the small roll-back that can happen on some older models. this is not the same thing as giving completely. and it doesn't happen on my i20.