Why doesn't the emergency brake hold the car?

[Shift]

Originally Posted by v6sonoma

Not that I'm trying to attack you, but how exactly does not having the e-brake give you anymore grip?? Once your foot comes of the brake the car settles either on the gear you're in or on the e-brake. Once it's settled unless something fails it's not going to move. The only thing that's going to affect your grip is the condition of your tires.

The e brake will lock your tires into place, having it only in gear will not. There is a little play in tire rotation when only in gear and the car off. If your on a mild slope and the car doesn't want to sit still (strong wind or something) the wheels will slightly rotate before it breaks traction.

once you start sliding the softer snow behind the tire just gets pushed away, if it rolls slightly it compresses the snow and causes a more chocking type of effect keeping it from breaking loose and sliding.

Of coarse it can still slide away but its just an extra precaution.

If your on a smooth shear sheet of ice there is no hope, but if there is at least something that can act as a chock as tiny as it may be can hold a car from breaking traction.

[TAG UR IT]

This E-brake is VERY tough.

Correct, I've pulled mine all the way up before and the car began to move while on a slope. Yes, you DO have to be STRONG to use the ebrake and in my honest opinion, think this is not very smart.

You should not have to be the worlds strongest man/woman just to pull your ebrake all the way up to prevent your car from rolling away.

Putting the car in gear alone (for a standard) is NOT going to help and is NOT safe. The car CAN still roll if on a hill. ....hasn't anyone here ever tried starting a car by popping the clutch before??? Roll the car down a hill with it in gear and clutch in, release the clutch, and the car will start. It's what you do when your battery dies.

Do not just leave it in gear.

To be 100% sure your car stays put, tug on that ebrake as hard as you can and put it in gear. You will be okay.

[jeepguy_1980]

Mine doesn't hold my car either. I know what people say about leaving the car in gear, but a couple of times I just wanted to step out for a minute and let the car idle. If there is any incline, the car will roll. No matter how many clicks I go up on the ebrake.

[jtzako]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

This E-brake is VERY tough.

Correct, I've pulled mine all the way up before and the car began to move while on a slope. Yes, you DO have to be STRONG to use the ebrake and in my honest opinion, think this is not very smart.

You should not have to be the worlds strongest man/woman just to pull your ebrake all the way up to prevent your car from rolling away.

Putting the car in gear alone (for a standard) is NOT going to help and is NOT safe. The car CAN still roll if on a hill. ....hasn't anyone here ever tried starting a car by popping the clutch before??? Roll the car down a hill with it in gear and clutch in, release the clutch, and the car will start. It's what you do when your battery dies.

Do not just leave it in gear.

To be 100% sure your car stays put, tug on that ebrake as hard as you can and put it in gear. You will be okay.

Thats the point, you should NOT have to pull that hard. Mine is properly adjusted and will hold the car without pulling up that much. (maybe 1 or 2 clicks tops)
Also, these things get pulled out of proper limits by the users pulling up too hard from day one. Get it adjusted so it works right, then dont pull up so hard you stretch the cable.

[turboguy327]

Same here. I gotta give my ebrake handle a hardcore pull to make it hold. I wish these cars had rear disk and drum. That setup works so much better. This is my first american performance car. I come from Toyota supra and mitusbishi 3KGT. I miss the turbo rush but after a year or 2 latin on this car hopefully ill be on E85 and a couple snails.

[2001ragtop]

On my old 1969 Firebird, factory 4-speed, you COULD NOT get the key out of the keyhole on the steering column until you put the car in reverse.

After you put it in reverse, this would also lock the steering wheel. I think I never used the parking brake.

[rawj7]

Has Anyone taken theres in? What did the Dealer Service center did if so? I dont have time at the moment but in about two weeks I can take mine in and I'll post what they do to fix this.

[Matster]

Strange, mine works well enough to stall the car in first gear if I forget to release it.

[Pumpkin1LT]

count me in the category of "THIS E-BRAKE SUCKS"...mine is also very "loose"...even when I yank it ALL THE WAY up.

[Scrapppy666]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

Operator error! You have to engage the foot brake while lifting up on the e-brake handle. Every car I've ever owned is like that.

This is incorrect, only applies to vehicles with rear drums which also act as the parking brake. The Camaro has internal parking brake shoes which are not affected when you apply the brake and pull the brake lever.

[ZED SLED]

Originally Posted by Shift

Seems she exaggerated the damage.

I have the same problem with my wife. Anyway, no issues from any of us here. And the hill was much steeper than it looks. I'd check it out myself though.

[usmc8411]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

Operator error! You have to engage the foot brake while lifting up on the e-brake handle. Every car I've ever owned is like that.

That may help with rear drum brakes...because the hydraulic line pushes out the same shoes that the parking brake uses. But, with disc brakes...holding the foot brake does nothing for the parking brake. The parking brake on disc brake cars is actually a small drum brake that is completely seperate from the disc system.

Id bet 100% of the cars that you owned that were not drum brakes were not like that.

[SSN8R]

I love how people from NM and TX are lecturing people from up north on when to use a p-brake. IF a car starts to move in the snow/ice it will not stop until it gets to level ground if the p-brake is locked. If it is not set the differential will allow one tire to move independently of the other and possibly regrab traction (as others have said). Similar to the way ABS works locked up brakes do not work well.

The car may not stop either way, but when parking on slight inclines in snow/ice (a practice preferably avoided), the odds are WAY higher it will stop without the p-brake set.

Also, you can double check with FBodFather but, I believe our cars have a P-Brake not an E-Brake (I know this for a fact on my 4th gen).

That is - it is only designed for parking. It is not designed for emergency stopping (IE donuts or 180s). If you try to use if from a roll it jumps like a automatic tranny jammed in park.

FWIW
SSN8R

[scythezo6]

Ive never had a problem. Ive been working out my right hand/forearm out since I was about 13 so its pretty strong now... Just tug it all the way up and you're good.