new honda civic's recalled

velvetybubbles

hi
my daughters got a 56 plate honda civic,
shes just got a letter from the manufacturers saying theres a problem with the handbrake,not to push in the button and pull up handbrake just pull the lever up.
they will be contacting her again to arrange when to take it to check or replace whatever the problem is in may
if it hasnt rolled down a hill before then!!

Horace

Velvety, if I were your daughter I would be taking her car to her local Honda dealership taking the recall letter with her. You can't entirely trust the dealership when it comes to carrying out recall work either - I found out last year that there had been a recall on Toyota Yaris cars and despite my taking it into the dealership to be serviced annually since the vehicle was bought new in 2001 - they only bothered to to do the recall work last year some 4 years after the recall! What was even more worrying was that it was a recall for a problem with the braking system!

Take the car in now.

cajef

velvetybubbles wrote: »

hi
if it hasnt rolled down a hill before then!!

Always leave a car in gear when you park it, that way if the handbrake fails it ain't going anywhere.;)

Sounds like the button could stick in, ask your local Honda dealer about the recall, I have a Honda and find their dealers are always up to date with things.

Lorian

Spring was fitted the wrong way round. I'm looking to buy a civic and have seen several references to it, you might take a google.

anewman

On my car, a Skoda Favorit, the handbrake once failed due to pulling up the handbrake while pressing the button. Luckily it was ontside my house on flat ground, and I managed to figure out a pin had fallen out and managed to wiggle it back in eventually and stuck duct tape across to keep it in. Unfortunately they don't make cars as simple as that anymore, no doubt the repair Honda needs to make will be quite involved.

Leave in first or reverse gear and so long as the clutch is good it shouldn't budge much.

ryanm198

Hi, Ive actually experienced this problem first hand, I own a 56 honda civic sport, parked it on a hill outside the house not in gear (i know stupid), strange thing was went back ten mins later to get my phone and it was still there hadnt moved. Then got a knock from my neighbour saying my car had hit his. Turns out its rolled down the hill at least 20 mins after i left it, what makes it worse his car was a porsche 911. All sorted with insurance company. Paid 125 excess, does anyone think that i'm able to claim anything from honda themselves. Thanks Ryan.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Parking brakes will often release of their own accord. What happens is that the discs are hot after driving. When something increases in temperature, it expands - metal particularly. The parking brake shoes press against the brake disc, holding the car. The disc then contracts as it cools down, and the shoes no longer have enough grip to stop the disc from rotating, which means your car is free to move.

You should always use the button when pulling the parking brake on though. Its mechanical sympathy more than anything.

deltic_2

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Parking brakes will often release of their own accord. What happens is that the discs are hot after driving. When something increases in temperature, it expands - metal particularly. The parking brake shoes press against the brake disc, holding the car. The disc then contracts as it cools down, and the shoes no longer have enough grip to stop the disc from rotating, which means your car is free to move.

You should always use the button when pulling the parking brake on though. Its mechanical sympathy more than anything.

Your reasons for how it happens are spot on.

I disagree with the advice though. If you push the button in you only have 'feel' to tell you if you have pulled it far enough. As some of us are left and some us are right handed, and as we all have different builds and strength, the furthest we can pull the handbrake can be very different. As a result it's not always possible to know if you've pulled it far enough to maintain the brake's grip after the brake cooling has occured.

If you pull it without the button in you can hear the click as well as feel the strength of engagment. You should then aim to pull it as hard as you can and get as many clicks as possible, and always at least one more than your normal strength pull would let you (you will know this by the extra effort vs. normal), or as many clicks as you can get it past your normal effort (which is the ideal).

Then leave it in gear as a failsafe, but remember to use 1st and disengage it before starting !

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

deltic wrote: »

Your reasons for how it happens are spot on.

I disagree with the advice though. If you push the button in you only have 'feel' to tell you if you have pulled it far enough. As some of us are left and some us are right handed, and as we all have different builds and strength, the furthest we can pull the handbrake can be very different. As a result it's not always possible to know if you've pulled it far enough to maintain the brake's grip after the brake cooling has occured.

'Feel' is exactly what you should use. Relying on clicks is a recipe for trouble since parking brake cables become slack with regular use. One day you pull on your regular 3 clicks, and the car rolls down the hill as you walk away.

deltic wrote: »

If you pull it without the button in you can hear the click as well as feel the strength of engagment. You should then aim to pull it as hard as you can and get as many clicks as possible, and always at least one more than your normal strength pull would let you (you will know this by the extra effort vs. normal), or as many clicks as you can get it past your normal effort (which is the ideal).

Pulling a parking brake handle 'as far as you can' will eventually lead to a slack cable and the expense of having it tightened.

An old boss of mine used to pull the parking brake on so tightly that he eventually ripped the handle off the chassis. You could see tarmac underneath it.

The ratchet isn't a means of gauging taughtness - it is a means of stopping the handle from dropping back down and releasing the brake.

Horasio

Also make sure your front tyres are at an angle when you park - there is a Jag that always parks on the hill near my with their front tyres at an angle.

At least it isn't a Dolomite (if anyone saw that episode of Top Gear):D

cajef

deltic wrote: »

If you pull it without the button in you can hear the click as well as feel the strength of engagment.

Do it on your driving test and you will get marks for 'Incorrect use of Handbrake'

The reasoning being that it causes undue wear on the mechanism, which will lead to failure of the ratchet and the brake will eventually not hold on.