Handbrake failure after brake pad changed

biscan25

Doozergirl said:

biscan25 said:

Ah man, unlucky, but as @Car_54 states, the car should've been in gear. Handbrakes fail all the time, so it's prudent to leave the car in gear incline or otherwise.
I realise this is of no help whatsoever now!

When I've changed the brakes on my Clio, I did have to adjust the handbrake. The cable stretches over time, so when new pads are fitted the cable can stay slack when the lever is applied. This won't be an intermittent failure though, it would happen right away and you'd notice the handbrake doesn't engage.

With you, apart from 'handbrakes failing all the time' - how do you notice that a handbrake hasn't engaged if the car stays still and your perception is not that of being on an incline? Can you tell? 

You can feel it in the cable. It travels to the maximum extent without much resistance.
Handbrake cables are a consumable part. They can corrode, stretch and sometimes snap. You have two of them so not usually disastrous.

Doozergirl

biscan25 said:

Doozergirl said:

biscan25 said:

Ah man, unlucky, but as @Car_54 states, the car should've been in gear. Handbrakes fail all the time, so it's prudent to leave the car in gear incline or otherwise.
I realise this is of no help whatsoever now!

When I've changed the brakes on my Clio, I did have to adjust the handbrake. The cable stretches over time, so when new pads are fitted the cable can stay slack when the lever is applied. This won't be an intermittent failure though, it would happen right away and you'd notice the handbrake doesn't engage.

With you, apart from 'handbrakes failing all the time' - how do you notice that a handbrake hasn't engaged if the car stays still and your perception is not that of being on an incline? Can you tell? 

You can feel it in the cable. It travels to the maximum extent without much resistance.
Handbrake cables are a consumable part. They can corrode, stretch and sometimes snap. You have two of them so not usually disastrous.

Thanks, the car is still here, hopefully in gear(!) so I might just get in it and check for myself.  It's either going to replicate by lifting the clutch or it isn't.  

m0bov

Does the handbrake slip? Can you stall the car with the handbrake on? Was it def the rear pads done?

m0bov

Yorkshire_Dangermouse said:

Presumably both front and rear pads changed ?

Why do both?

Ditzy_Mitzy

What sort of car is it?  Some moderns have separate disc and drum arrangements for the rear service and parking brakes.  Whilst most have the parking brake drum built into the disc, it would be theoretically possible to replace the disc itself, calliper and brake pads without disturbing the handbrake shoes.  

And I may be misremembering, but isn't there some sort of adjustment procedure one does when the rear brakes are disturbed?  I seem to recall it being necessary to pull the handbrake right up and let it off again once or twice to ensure the shoes are fully advanced to the drum facing.  

m0bov

Doozergirl said:

Car_54 said:

I'd be inclined to leave it to the insurers to pursue (or not) the garage.

Whether or not the brake failed., your son was at fault: when parking on an incline, he should have left the car in gear. [Highway Code Rule 252]

The highway code says hill.  This isn't a hill.   When I say slight incline, I mean slight incline.   This is my car in the same place right now. 

You can use the roofline of the neighbouring house as a guide for level.  

The job is with the insurers but I know what they can be like on doing the minimum - they pay up and move on because they're not the 21 year old with an excess to find and the difference in premium change between a fault and non-fault accident.  

I'm trying to work out how relevant this is because I'm struggling with this being a coincidence.   At the moment I think that we should be asking the repair shop to at least assess the handbrake.  

Doozergirl said:

Car_54 said:

I'd be inclined to leave it to the insurers to pursue (or not) the garage.

Whether or not the brake failed., your son was at fault: when parking on an incline, he should have left the car in gear. [Highway Code Rule 252]

The highway code says hill.  This isn't a hill.   When I say slight incline, I mean slight incline.   This is my car in the same place right now. 

You can use the roofline of the neighbouring house as a guide for level.  

The job is with the insurers but I know what they can be like on doing the minimum - they pay up and move on because they're not the 21 year old with an excess to find and the difference in premium change between a fault and non-fault accident.  

I'm trying to work out how relevant this is because I'm struggling with this being a coincidence.   At the moment I think that we should be asking the repair shop to at least assess the handbrake.  

Don't let the garage who fitted them get near it! Speak to a proper Foresensic examiner who can provide a binding report on any defects. Lets say they do find it defective, either the insurance sue for the excess, or your son does.

sevenhills

I park my car on my steep drive, handbrake and in gear every time with no problems.
My next door neighbors car has rolled off her drive a few times. I assume that she has now learnt to put it in gear.

Yorkshire_Dangermouse

Doozergirl said:

Yorkshire_Dangermouse said:

Presumably both front and rear pads changed ?

Dug out the invoice, it was rear.  Pads, discs and a calliper.  

Makes it even less likely to be a coincidence then...given that the handbrake usually works on the rear brakes, and with pads discs and a calliper being replaced...

sheramber

Well the handbrake was working when your son parked the car.

It probably was working when the garage parked the car up after working on it.

Do you expect them to park it on a slope for ten minutes to test it?

My husband  parked in gear, even in our garage. 

Yorkshire_Dangermouse

sheramber said:

Well the handbrake was working when your son parked the car.

Surely this is what's to be determined...