Handbrake possible failure

hallster11

Hello
So, the other day I arrived at work, parked in the car park which has a slight slope facing downwards, applied the manual handbrake and put it in gear (presuming I did the last two as they are common practice).

I am actually selling the car so at the end of the day, some 9 hours later, I'm showing a lad the car which he likes. I then go to show him the mileage. So, I'm stood outside the car put the key in the ignition, turn it and the car starts rolling down the car park, glances a car, goes over a road and embeds istelf in a metal fence. Luckily theres not much damage and no-one was hurt.

So my question is what happened? The car didn't fire up (although I suppose I could've turned the key too far) and when I got to it when it had stopped the handbrake was engaged. If it was in gear wouldn't it have just lurched forward?

Could it be that I didn't quite put it in gear and didn't quite apply the handbrake fully which seems a low co-incidence?

I drove the car (Ford Fiesta 2009 Style) home parked up and applied the handbrake and it is fine (though I'm not sure if I had to pull it up a little more than usual).

I'm obviously going to get it looked at, through the insurance, but was wondering if there is any technical issues that caused it, or was it possibly down to me and what I did?

Think the price of the sale has now gone down!!!

Thanks in advance.

AdrianC

Did it roll forwards or backwards? What gear was it in?
Yes, starting it while it's in gear would have seen it start to wander. Could it have fired up, but you didn't notice in the drama of it going walkies, then stalled when it hit the fence?

If the handbrake wasn't on properly, then it could well be that starting the car overcame the static friction, and allowed it move off.

Could "had to pull it on more than usual" simply be that you were paying more attention to it?

Ebe_Scrooge

If it was in gear, there's no way it would have moved, handbrake on or not. I can only assume it wasn't properly in gear.

As for the handbrake failing - yes this can happen. The simplest cause is the handbrake is applied when the brake discs are hot. They cool down, contract slightly, suddenly the pads are not in tight contact with the discs any more. If the handbrake wasn't fully applied, this is sometimes enough to let the car roll. Which is why I always leave the car in gear (or point the wheels into the kerb) on anything other than a perfectly flat surface.

hallster11

AdrianC wrote: »

Did it roll forwards or backwards? What gear was it in?
Yes, starting it while it's in gear would have seen it start to wander. Could it have fired up, but you didn't notice in the drama of it going walkies, then stalled when it hit the fence?

[COLOR="Black"]It was facing downhill and if I had it put it in gear, which I usually do, I wonder if I put it in first...
[/COLOR]
If the handbrake wasn't on properly, then it could well be that starting the car overcame the static friction, and allowed it move off.

Sounds a possibility. So it may actually be the handbrake didn't fail I just didn't pull it up fully but enough to keep it static until I possibly turned the key to far and the car tried to start.

Could "had to pull it on more than usual" simply be that you were paying more attention to it?

Yes, that could easily be correct.

Thanks for you reply.

AdrianC

hallster11 wrote: »

So it may actually be the handbrake didn't fail I just didn't pull it up fully but enough to keep it static until I possibly turned the key to far and the car tried to start.

Yep, that's the most likely.

If your handbrake's good, there's no need to park it in gear.
If your handbrake's not good, then fix the handbrake rather than relying on the gearbox...

marlot

AdrianC wrote: »

...
If your handbrake's good, there's no need to park it in gear....

The highway code says otherwise.

Rule 252
Parking on hills. If you park on a hill you should:

park close to the kerb and apply the handbrake firmly
select a forward gear and turn your steering wheel away from the kerb when facing uphill
select reverse gear and turn your steering wheel towards the kerb when facing downhill
use ‘park’ if your car has an automatic gearbox.

hallster11

I think my error would've been that it was facing downhill and I put it in first and then didn't fully engage the handbrake. Probably turned the key in the ignition too far as well. My mate who was with me can't remember the car firing up either but it may have stalled immediately and then started rolling because the handbrake wasn't applied correctly. A terrible run of co-incidences ended up with a run away car.

Note to myself - sit in the car before I try anything like that again as well so atleast I can apply the brake pedal!

Luckily the company whose fence I damaged aren't going to claim. Theres approx £150 worth of scraping damage to the other lads car with mine also scarped and a damaged side view mirror. Got a £195 excess and protected no claims though I've just been provided with a company car (which was the reason I was selling it) so I may as well go through the insurance company as my private insurance is about to be cancelled anyway!

Thanks for all the replies and advice, guys.

YellowR360

Hi all, I’m a new joiner with a new toy and hope some of you more experienced owners can help me out with some tips. There are probably simple answers to what may be dumb questions so I apologise in advance if that’s the case.

I have purchased a new polished handbrake grip for my R360 and I notice it has 2 grub screw threads with which to hold it securely on the hand brake shaft however the grub screws themselves did not come with the handle. Is that to be expected? If not will Caterham Parts have the grub screws available? Also the original handbrake handle is a moulded type with no screws, I assume just glued in place. How do I get the old on off? I’m guessing just brake it off?

greyteam1959

YellowR360 said:

Hi all, I’m a new joiner with a new toy and hope some of you more experienced owners can help me out with some tips. There are probably simple answers to what may be dumb questions so I apologise in advance if that’s the case.

I have purchased a new polished handbrake grip for my R360 and I notice it has 2 grub screw threads with which to hold it securely on the hand brake shaft however the grub screws themselves did not come with the handle. Is that to be expected? If not will Caterham Parts have the grub screws available? Also the original handbrake handle is a moulded type with no screws, I assume just glued in place. How do I get the old on off? I’m guessing just brake it off?

You should be starting your own thread not piggybacking on a thread that is irrelevant to your query.