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      07-25-2011, 09:13 AM   #1
Zeros and ones
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hand brake

So here is the situation,

roll car in-front of garage. Turn off engine and pull the hand brake. Open the door and take foot of brake pedal, car starts to roll backward.

This has happened twice to me already.

The car has a manual transmission and only 9000 miles on it.

Is the hand brake on our cars an actual mechanical hand brake or does the computer control the hand brake?
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      07-25-2011, 09:21 AM   #2
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It is a mechanical brake but I never leave my car out of gear when I park it for this very reason... I would check with the dealer and figure out if the brake needs to be adjusted or something.
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      07-25-2011, 09:21 AM   #3
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Are you leaving your car in gear?
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      07-25-2011, 10:52 AM   #4
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I'm sure he's not leaving it in gear- that would solve the problem.
Regardless, the brake shouldn't be faulty at 9k miles.
Take it in and see what the problem is, until then leave car in either 1st or reverse as the manual says to!
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      07-25-2011, 10:53 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KinoBoom View Post
It is a mechanical brake but I never leave my car out of gear when I park it for this very reason... I would check with the dealer and figure out if the brake needs to be adjusted or something.
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      07-25-2011, 12:28 PM   #6
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thanks for the replies guys.

No I do not leave my car in gear. I haven't left any manual car that I have owned in the passed in gear.

Just find it strange. I thought it was my imagination the first time since it happened like at 3 in the morning and I had a good buzz going.

But the second time, it was in the middle of the day.

I think I will take it in to the dealer if it starts to happen more often. So far it is random and I am pretty sure that if the dealership can not duplicate the problem they will just give me the car back and say that it is fine.
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      07-25-2011, 12:46 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeros and ones View Post
thanks for the replies guys.

No I do not leave my car in gear. I haven't left any manual car that I have owned in the passed in gear.
Not a good idea. Even though yours needs an adjustment, BMW handbrakes are not the strongest; so please leave your car in 1st or reverse when parked for safety reasons. Haven't you ever wondered why many auto trans cars have an interlock forcing you to put it in the Park position before shut down?

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      07-25-2011, 01:18 PM   #8
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Are you pulling up on the brake far enough? It's a mechanical method for the existing rear brakes only. I believe the handbrake has 7 positions.

I wouldn't trust a light application of the handbrake to hold a 3300lbs car on any sort of incline.
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      07-25-2011, 01:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airpledge View Post
Are you pulling up on the brake far enough? It's a mechanical method for the existing rear brakes only. I believe the handbrake has 7 positions.

I wouldn't trust a light application of the handbrake to hold a 3300lbs car on any sort of incline.
I am pretty sure. I did contemplate that the first time it had happen. The second time I am very sure that it was almost all the way to the top because I pulled it some more and I had left 2 clicks before it could not go up any further.
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      07-25-2011, 08:58 PM   #10
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I have a six speed...Never Trust the handbrake..and be careful ..if you pull too hard..

You can lock the brake

..as I did previously...and had to have the car taken to the dealer via TOW TRUCK to have it reset..

As posted earlier. ( after you have shut the engine down) .place it in gear..pull the handbrake to a comfortable level


Also...If you ask the techs to tighten..they may tighten the brake cable..to lessen the slack....and make the problem worse

Last edited by Philisophe; 07-25-2011 at 09:01 PM.. Reason: update
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      07-25-2011, 10:27 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeros and ones View Post
So here is the situation,

roll car in-front of garage. Turn off engine and pull the hand brake. Open the door and take foot of brake pedal, car starts to roll backward.

This has happened twice to me already.

The car has a manual transmission and only 9000 miles on it.

Is the hand brake on our cars an actual mechanical hand brake or does the computer control the hand brake?
After each time I wash the car, I follow the procedure in the manual to keep the parking brake working effectively (p49 in the manual for a 2010 1-series without iDrive): "To prevent corrosion and one-sided braking action, occasionally apply the parking brake lightly while the vehicle is slowly coming to a stop......"
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      07-25-2011, 10:43 PM   #12
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The handbrake should be able to hold the car on a slight incline by itself. Your car is too new for it to be getting weak now, unless you're using it to do some parking lot drifting somewhere.

I only put my car in gear when its not on a level surface. If I can feel the car move at all, without the handbrake engaged, then I'll engage the handbrake then put it into 1st/reverse. But on level ground, then I don't bother. Where is it going to go?
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      07-26-2011, 05:04 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeros and ones View Post
thanks for the replies guys.

I thought it was my imagination the first time since it happened like at 3 in the morning and I had a good buzz going.
Nevermind the fact that it is dangerous, you might want to be more careful about calling attention to the fact that you were having difficulty applying the parking brake in the wee hours while impaired. Not judging you... I'm just sayin'.
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      07-06-2019, 12:40 PM   #14
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WHere is the hand brake switch?

I have a 2011 E88 (convertible). My parking/hand brake works but the light that should be coming on when it is applied isn't activating. The light comes on briefly (as it should) during startup but not when I pull up on the handle.
I can't seem to find any answers to where the parking brake light activation switch is located so I can test it/change it out.
Anybody know?

Thanks!
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      07-08-2019, 03:14 PM   #15
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I think the parking brake switch is with the handle in the console. I know the backup light switch is in there because I had to tap it for the backup camera I installed.

When we got rear disc brakes on our cars we also got really tiny drum brakes for the parking brake. You cannot engage a disc brake with a simple lever, it takes too much pressure. Fiat tried on the 124 spyder but it didn't work (I had one). The tiny parking brake drum brake should hold the car but we need to remember it is tiny. There is a cable that activates it that can be adjusted so it engages lower in the handles travel. It may not have ever been adjusted properly in the OP's car. Just because a car is new doesn't mean everything is operating exactly correctly.

I trust being in gear more than the parking brake. But I've driven cars old enough to be a little low on compression where that didn't hold the best either. It isn't a bad idea to use both. I've had to quickly pull the lever as I got out and the car started to roll a little. I also forget to disengage the hand brake in the rare even I use it sometimes, however.

I never thought rear drum brakes were a bad thing but all the magazine writers did. They do fade more easily but how many times do we stop hard rapidly enough to cause that? In those situations we are using the fronts a lot more anyway. When we had rear drum brakes to stop the car, we also had plenty strong parking brakes - since they just engaged the rear drum brakes.

It is also possible to have a problem with the cable or the brake and that impede the parking brake application. I've been told I need to use mine more so it doesn't freeze or corode up and not work. But that is not typically the issue when a car is new and the brake is typically used.
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      07-22-2019, 05:51 PM   #16
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I always leave my car in first or reverse gear, with the handbrake applied when parking. Just a habit, I guess. There are law firms who specialize in lawsuits for injuries sustained by cars running loose with the handbrakes applied, and causing injuries or death.

FWIW
5 Tips for Parking a Manual Transmission Car
Below are the top 5 tips for parking a manual transmission car. The two gears you’ll need to concern yourself with the most are the first gear and reverse gear.

Emergency Brake – A manual transmission car does not have a parking gear like an automatic transmission car does. This means when you go to park your vehicle, you need to use the emergency parking brake. If you don’t, then your car is simply going to roll away and that will cause all kinds of accidents and damages. So, always lift the emergency brake lever whenever you want to park.
Hill Parking – If you are parked on a hill with the emergency brake set, there is still a chance that your car could roll if you don’t have the right gear set too. Choosing the right gear depends on which direction the car is facing on the hill. If the car is pointed toward the incline of the hill, then you set the first gear. If the car is pointed toward the decline of the hill, then you set the reverse gear. Of course, make sure you always have the emergency brake lever lifted no matter which gear you choose.
Neutral Parking – If you are on flat land and parked between two vehicles, it is better to set the neutral gear. This would be a rare situation, but it helps protect your transmission in case someone accidentally bumps into you. As always, use your emergency brake in conjunction with the neutral gear.
Forward Parking – If your pulling into a parking space at a business or driveway to park your vehicle, then you would normally shift to first gear and then use the emergency brake. However, you can also use reverse gear as well and it should still be okay. The only exception to either of these is if the parking space happens to be on a steep hill. But most parking spaces are on flat land anyway. You shouldn’t use neutral because you’re not parked in between two cars.
Reverse Parking – If you’re backing into a parking space at a business or driveway to park your vehicle, then you will want to keep it in reverse gear after you’ve backed in all the way. You could get away with first gear but leaving it in reverse gear is better if you’ve backed into the parking space instead of going forward into it.
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      07-22-2019, 07:00 PM   #17
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The parking brake is easy to adjust. The first diy I did on my car.

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=655621
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      07-24-2019, 02:33 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeros and ones View Post
thanks for the replies guys.

No I do not leave my car in gear. I haven't left any manual car that I have owned in the passed in gear.

Just find it strange. I thought it was my imagination the first time since it happened like at 3 in the morning and I had a good buzz going.

But the second time, it was in the middle of the day.

I think I will take it in to the dealer if it starts to happen more often. So far it is random and I am pretty sure that if the dealership can not duplicate the problem they will just give me the car back and say that it is fine.
Even my daughter, a girl with a manual BMW at age 15 knows to always leave the car in gear when parked. In order for the car to move when it is in gear the motor has to turn. With just the parking brake you are relying on a cable attached to a shoe in one wheel. Not the best move.
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