Parking brake doesn't hold

[TX]

09 m3 E92

Today I parked my car in my garage which is almost perfectly flat and for once I left the car in neutral with the parking brake on. As I opened the door to get out I noticed the ground was creeping by me and the garage door was approaching. I quickly reached for the parking brake to find it fully applied. I guess at this point it's safe to assume the previous owner of this car liked to drift with the parking brake a lot? I picked it up from a fairly classy dealer about 3 weeks ago with 15K miles. I really dont want to have to go back to the dealer and try to explain why the parking brake doesn't hold. They'll accuse me of abusing it I'm sure in a vacant parking lot. Is there anything I can check before hand like cable travel? Drum wear? The parking brake is a drum right? Which rear does it grab? I notice now that the brake doesn't grab until I have the handle fully pulled up. I think It's 5 or 6 clicks up. I'm double checking now to make sure I leave it in gear when parked
Thanks for any replies.

[motosan]

Same thing happens to my car, which is barely over 2000 miles only... It might have something to do with the tightness/firmness of the brake adjustment... I am going back to the dealer and will ask them about it as well.

[ASGM3]

If your car is a manual then i think that the manual also states that when you parj you should leave ut in gear and apply d ebrake. I do that on my 6mt though u tried the e brake on my brothers DCT And it did roll back a bit was surprised how it cud happen on an automatic

[OC3]

Originally Posted by TX

09 m3 E92

Today I parked my car in my garage which is almost perfectly flat and for once I left the car in neutral with the parking brake on. As I opened the door to get out I noticed the ground was creeping by me and the garage door was approaching. I quickly reached for the parking brake to find it fully applied. I guess at this point it's safe to assume the previous owner of this car liked to drift with the parking brake a lot? I picked it up from a fairly classy dealer about 3 weeks ago with 15K miles. I really dont want to have to go back to the dealer and try to explain why the parking brake doesn't hold. They'll accuse me of abusing it I'm sure in a vacant parking lot. Is there anything I can check before hand like cable travel? Drum wear? The parking brake is a drum right? Which rear does it grab? I notice now that the brake doesn't grab until I have the handle fully pulled up. I think It's 5 or 6 clicks up. I'm double checking now to make sure I leave it in gear when parked
Thanks for any replies.

lulz, yeah the previous owner must've pulled the e-brake to initiate drifts a lot. But, with M3 (i.e. cars with lots of horsepower), it's actually better to do a clutch-kick to initiate drift.

Anyhow, just have the dealer re-tension the parking brake cable.

Originally Posted by ASGM3

If your car is a manual then i think that the manual also states that when you parj you should leave ut in gear and apply d ebrake. I do that on my 6mt though u tried the e brake on my brothers DCT And it did roll back a bit was surprised how it cud happen on an automatic

+1 on leaving it in gear (1st).

[TX]

Originally Posted by OC3

lulz, yeah the previous owner must've pulled the e-brake to initiate drifts a lot. But, with M3 (i.e. cars with lots of horsepower), it's actually better to do a clutch-kick to initiate drift.

Anyhow, just have the dealer re-tension the parking brake cable.




+1 on leaving it in gear (1st).

Thats for the replies, I'm working up a list of issues I've found before I go back to the dealer.

[ersin]

The dealer service department should check the parking brake cable tension at every visit and adjust as necessary. But make sure to bring it to their attention anyway.


Cheers.

[TX]

Originally Posted by ersin

The dealer service department should check the parking brake cable tension at every visit and adjust as necessary. But make sure to bring it to their attention anyway.


Cheers.

Agreed, now if I could just get them to do something about this darn manual gearbox. going into 2 from 1 or 3 crunches hard and going to 5 from 4 or 6 there's a notch on the right side I have to jiggle around to get it to go into 5. It's actually kicked it back out of 2nd gear on me twice after selecting it. I'll select 2nd and it will grind and toss it back to N when I take my hand off the shifter. Bent selector or synchro or just a F'd up gearbox?

[Mike Benvo]

My parking brake was replaced under warranty at the dealer. They tried to tell me that it failed because greece from the wheel bearings got on the ebrake shoes.

After considerable arguing, I got them to pay for a new ebrake (shoes, cables, etc..)Then they wanted me to pay for new wheel bearings. Then they changed their story and said that the greece comming out of the wheel bearings was not abnormal.

Anyway, it feels like new after the replacement. But before to get it to hold on a hill wasn't happening without 10+ clicks.

TX: As far as your grinding - I've had the problem when selecting 2nd really fast from first. It will still do it if I jam it in hard. Otherwise the transmission is great. And it's become smoother and less notchy as mileage increases. How many miles are on your car now?

[saeedg48]

I leave mine in gear when parked. The handbrake needs to be locked into the very last click possible to really be effective.

[TX]

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

My parking brake was replaced under warranty at the dealer. They tried to tell me that it failed because greece from the wheel bearings got on the ebrake shoes.

After considerable arguing, I got them to pay for a new ebrake (shoes, cables, etc..)Then they wanted me to pay for new wheel bearings. Then they changed their story and said that the greece comming out of the wheel bearings was not abnormal.

Anyway, it feels like new after the replacement. But before to get it to hold on a hill wasn't happening without 10+ clicks.

TX: As far as your grinding - I've had the problem when selecting 2nd really fast from first. It will still do it if I jam it in hard. Otherwise the transmission is great. And it's become smoother and less notchy as mileage increases. How many miles are on your car now?

I just rolled past 17K miles. Still notchy and crunchy on every 2nd gear selection. I have to force it in and have just been doing that. I'm not happy about doing it though.

[saeedg48]

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

My parking brake was replaced under warranty at the dealer. They tried to tell me that it failed because greece from the wheel bearings got on the ebrake shoes.

After considerable arguing, I got them to pay for a new ebrake (shoes, cables, etc..)Then they wanted me to pay for new wheel bearings. Then they changed their story and said that the greece comming out of the wheel bearings was not abnormal.

Anyway, it feels like new after the replacement. But before to get it to hold on a hill wasn't happening without 10+ clicks.

TX: As far as your grinding - I've had the problem when selecting 2nd really fast from first. It will still do it if I jam it in hard. Otherwise the transmission is great. And it's become smoother and less notchy as mileage increases. How many miles are on your car now?

Smoother Shifts - Transmission Fluid (6MT) - Royal Purple

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by saeedg48

The handbrake needs to be locked into the very last click possible to really be effective.

I noticed this as well and my car is only a few months old. There's been a few times when I wanted to leave my car running while I stepped out for a second. Pulled the e-brake and noticed the car slip a bit as I stepped out of the car. Now I just turn the car off and put it in gear (and make sure my handbrake is pulled all the way up).

[sameh]

Same here; since first few weeks I noticed sometimes when I park on a slight hill, put it on "N" and pull the brake if I don't turn it off and take my foot off the brake. I'll be taking off my sunglasses or disconnecting my iPhone I was surprised to feel the car moving backward rather freely as if e brake isn't there at all. That happened few times till I got in the habit of turning the ignition off before I take my foot off tge brake. The funny thing is that I know for sure that my e brake works since the 2-3 times I tried to drive the car when the e brake was still engaged, the car wasn't going anywhere.
One thing though, you have to pull the e brake FORCEFULLY to the max.

[TX]

Originally Posted by sameh

Same here; since first few weeks I noticed sometimes when I park on a slight hill, put it on "N" and pull the brake if I don't turn it off and take my foot off the brake. I'll be taking off my sunglasses or disconnecting my iPhone I was surprised to feel the car moving backward rather freely as if e brake isn't there at all. That happened few times till I got in the habit of turning the ignition off before I take my foot off tge brake. The funny thing is that I know for sure that my e brake works since the 2-3 times I tried to drive the car when the e brake was still engaged, the car wasn't going anywhere.
One thing though, you have to pull the e brake FORCEFULLY to the max.

Thanks for all the advice. I agree with you guys, I've tried driving off with the E-brake on and found it clearly is grabbing, so I dont know why it wont hold with the car turned off. I'm in the habit now of leaving the car in 4th when parked which should keep it from rolling anywhere with a large displacement v8. I'm confused why the car rolls with the brake on and engine off, but if you try and drive off with the brake on it clearly grabs and stops the car. Oh well, no worries I guess.

[TX]

Originally Posted by sameh

Same here; since first few weeks I noticed sometimes when I park on a slight hill, put it on "N" and pull the brake if I don't turn it off and take my foot off the brake. I'll be taking off my sunglasses or disconnecting my iPhone I was surprised to feel the car moving backward rather freely as if e brake isn't there at all. That happened few times till I got in the habit of turning the ignition off before I take my foot off tge brake. The funny thing is that I know for sure that my e brake works since the 2-3 times I tried to drive the car when the e brake was still engaged, the car wasn't going anywhere.
One thing though, you have to pull the e brake FORCEFULLY to the max.

Yes, I'm ripping the hand brake with full force now to make it grab. Such a shame it takes that much effort. It's basically the last click, I've pulled with both arms and it wont go another click so I think I'm maxed out.

[elm3]

This is normal, your cable might be getting stretch with use. Next time you take it to the dealership, have them adjust the cable for you. Or you can do it yourself, I did. It is not that hard, you have to have both rear tires off the ground to be able to do this. Mine was doing the same thing.

[Ken37.73]

"The parking brake is a drum right? "

You are joking or Trolling - correct ? Sounds very Troll to me.

[elm3]

The rear rotors have a set of small brake shoes in the hub side of the rotors. If you take your rear rotors off, you'll see them. The emergency brakes are not operated by the rear calipers, but by the brake shoes.

[elp_jc]

Originally Posted by TX

I'm in the habit now of leaving the car in 4th when parked which should keep it from rolling anywhere with a large displacement v8.

That is a BAD habit . Put it in 1st or R man; simple physics. And 'large displacement'? We have the smallest displacement V8 you can find anywhere now. Smaller ones exist on very few cars, like older Ferraris, the old Taurus SHO 3.4L V8, etc. But technically, the S65 is a NORMAL size V8 because of it's supposedly ideal displacement of 0.5L per cylinder, just like a 3L V6 and 2L I4. Have a great day.

[Auto]

Adjust or change pads.

[James T. Kirk]

Dealer problem that you shouldn't have to pay for.

[JIO]

My take on the handbrake is that it doesn't get used enough and so over time it become ineffective from grease and crud. What I would try is out on a lonely road with few cars pull the brake up slowly to add heat to the pads and clean them by the dragging of the brakes. I'll bet they'll hold after that. It's really tough to wear out the emergency brake pads, even with drifting.

The same holds for squeaky disc brakes...could be glazed over from stop and go traffic. Just do some "panic" stops on a deserted road a few times and usually the squeak is gone.