Hand brake failure.....car head butted a tree

[harryc 0]

Wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what the solution is...

Parked my car outside work in the carpark on a very slight slop (barely noticeable). Handbrake was applied but not overly pulled up as there seems to be a fair amount of resistance through the handbrake after little travel. Annnnnyhow, popped my head outside to see the back sticking out of the hedge it was parked in front of and one of the wheels off the ground :shock: :mad2: It had rolled a few feet then hit a tree which luckily stopped it going into the road!!

Towed it out to reveal a badly battered wing and a scuffed bonnet, luckily there was no damage to anywhere else but im really p$ssed off nevertheless.

Anyone else had this happen and whats likely to have caused it?

[VR6 0]

Do you not leave a car in gear when it is parked up??

 

Sorry I know that doesn't help but one of these things that always baffles me, such as starting a car without having the clutch disengaged.

[dragon green 4]

I always leave mine in gear,hardly use the handbrake !!!

Until one night i pulled up outside the g/f house,must of knocked it out of gear on departing the vehicle.

Went inside,and about twenty minutes later,my car alarms going off :gag:

Ran outside,cars rolled about 30 metres away,and only stopped when it hit the kerb !

Completely blocking off the local Police station :nuts:

managed to move it before i got my collar felt,no damage on mine :D

I use my handbrake an leave it in gear now

[bcstudent 0]

I think the problem is the rear brakes heat up while driving. When you stop and pull on the handbrake you apply pressure but only until the brakes cool and contract slightly. The handbrake then loses pressure and off goes your car.

 

As previously mentioned, the best solution is to leave the car in gear when parked.

[harryc 0]

TBH i've never left the car in gear i've always just relied on the hand brake working, will try to remember from now on.

How many 'clicks' do people usually pull their handbrakes? It seems the force thats required to pull mine doesnt translate to clamping power at the rear wheels....

[V-Dubstar 0]

I never leave it in gear unless im parked on a hill!! :? Will start doing that tho, seeing as I always start a car with the clutch engaged!!

[Jon_vr6 1]

TBH i've never left the car in gear i've always just relied on the hand brake working, will try to remember from now on.

How many 'clicks' do people usually pull their handbrakes? It seems the force thats required to pull mine doesnt translate to clamping power at the rear wheels....

 

2 notches on mine and i pull slightly harder on a hill and get 3 notches holds perfectly well

[20vtvw 0]

as said always leave it in gear,,also mk4 rear callipers have a better handbrake and are an easy fit to ur rado :D

[**Ian** 0]

My friends C2 vts did the same, left on his driveway just on handbrake. He came out to find it had gone through his neighbours garden and attached itself to there house :epicfail: It is french though!

[Big Adam 0]

my hand brake does chuff all, pulls tight after about 3 noches but cant hold the car on the slightest of gradient :scratch:

 

i know this isnt good so anybody got any suggestions :shrug:

[G60_Marc 0]

I ALWAYS put the car in gear when parking up.

 

A few months back i was sat in the car on a steep'ish hill with another car parked a few feet in front of me, i was waiting for my missus to come out of the co-op. The handbrake was on and the car was holding nicely. Without warning the handbrake released itself completely and the car started moving, needless to say it frightened the life out of me because at the time i had no idea what was going on, i was just was franticly stamping my feet around trying to hit the brake pedal :lol: I managed to find the brake pedal just in time. My car had new rear pads, 2 new cables, cables adjusted up, all brakes bled correctly, calipers in good nick etc. As far as i can tell it must have been the handbrake lever itself that caused this to happen, worn ratchet mechanism maybe. Its on my list of things to do. Might install a lever mechanism out of a newish golf or something.

 

Thank goodness i was in the car at the time!

[raddo_tom 0]

New handbrake cables! Make a HUUUUUGE difference!

[KIPVW 0]

Oops! another victim! heres what happened to my Lady's car. :lol:

 

Ps, the manual you get with the car says ALWAYS leave the car in gear. Hope you get it fixed up soon buddy!

 

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=61619&hilit=farewell&start=75

[russed99 0]

After owning an array of 80's and 90's VW's with notoriously suspect handbrakes, i have learnt to always leave my cars in gear. Even the newer non dubs i've owned. It's become a habit really.

[shaung60 0]

Likewise. Handbrake on, in gear and wheels turned into the kerb.

[VWVW 1]

Does putting it in gear places less strain on the handbrake cable???

[KIPVW 0]

Can only help mate :?

[moneypit23 0]

This happened on my 16v and it wrote off a peugeot :D one down..

[harryc 0]

This happened on my 16v and it wrote off a peugeot :D one down..

 

Lol, i've noticed how shite the handbrake is before as the car creaks when you look at it and moves easily with a push (unless handbrake is really tugged) but i didnt think twice as the car park has such a slight slope its barely noticeable! Its a gutting feeling when you poke your head out of the door and see the arse in the air with a wheel off the ground and the nose trying to un-earth a tree...

[Jon_vr6 1]

This happened on my 16v and it wrote off a peugeot :D one down..

 

Haha you didnt say that there was barely a mark on your 16v :D Built to last corrados

[Mr Sands 0]

I sympathise with you hugely. If it's any consolation, mine was parked up safely recently (or so I thought) on my girlfriend's brother's drive.

 

When we came out, the Dub had slipped her bonds of servitude (the handbrake) and was smooching the arse of my girlfriend's brother's girlfriend's car.

 

Which was French. :pukeright:

 

No matter how hard I wash her, the taste just won't come out.

[Wullie 1]

Vicious little buggers therse Corrados, mine bite cyclists and now they've taken to headbutting trees and attacking other cars. I must buy a leash for mine.

[Portent 0]

Vicious little buggers therse Corrados, mine bite cyclists and now they've taken to headbutting trees and attacking other cars. I must buy a leash for mine.

 

 

I bet it was a VR6. My Golf V6 decided to headbutt the garage wall. The fact my wife left it in gear with no handbrake on, then later started the car without dipping the clutch, is merely co-incidence.