Do You Use The Emergency Brake?

[micl9]

Just thought about my old CJ-5. Had a terrible pkg brake. Drum brakes by design do not stop well in reverse. Well I used to tow my jet skis with this Jeep. On most ramps the "parking" brake would not hold. I would set the brake, put the Jeep in 1st gear (manual of course!) and shut the jeep off. As an added precaution I would jump out and put a block under a wheel!
There was one river ramp that was short and the current had scrubbed out everything below the ramp. Resulitng in like a 10 ft deep pit under the ramp. I always moved REALLY fast at this one! And super high pucker factor when alone!

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[cclayton]

I have a sloped driveway so I use it everyday. And when launching/loading the boat.

 

[pbethel]

Coming from S.E. Alaska where we measure rainfall in feet (12' to 18' annually) and having brakes freeze on when it went below freezing at night, I only set brakes on steep hills.
When I was driving dump truck we often had to use space heater to thaw brakes in the morning. You could drive through parking brakes but not frozen brakes.

 

[mtbikernate]

I've often lived in places where I had to park on a hill. so anytime it seems like the transmission would get loaded, I set the parking brake first. I've also owned manual transmission vehicles for longer than I've owned auto transmission vehicles. It's definitely more habit at this point. I generally don't if I'm in a flat parking lot. But I do have a steep driveway, so I use that parking brake probably better than 3/4 of the time. I also park at trailheads in the woods where there is no guardrail separating the parking spots from a steep drop down the mtn. Even if the spots are flat, I set the parking brake so that I have the brake and the transmission to help prevent a potential roll down the mtn.

I had a 98 Ranger and the thing that convinced me to get rid of that truck was the fact that the parking brake would freeze shut every. single. winter. I had repair shops tell me not to use it. WTF, dude? It's a manual transmission vehicle and I'm parking on hills. What else am I going to do? Over the few years I owned that truck, I spent more money having the rear drums rebuilt/replaced than I did on the whole truck. Because of the times I'd set that brake on a snowy/icy parking lot and drive away. It'd be partially closed but not fully and I wouldn't notice it on the slippery surfaces. But it'd heat up fast once I hit dry pavement and torch the rear brakes.

As far as I'm concerned, that's a failure if I can't actually use the parking brake and it sticks or freezes.

 

[2020FRL]

Only when I want to drift ... LOL.

Seriously, I don't use mine. I have a bad habit of forgetting it's on (probably because I don't normally use it). I do use it on the trike ... One more piece of insurance if a kid is "playing with. the hand controls".

 

[Texasota]

Only speculation on my part, but for us in northern climates with salt on winter roads I think regular usage of the parking break will help deter the cable and mechanisms from seizing up due to corrosion.

 

[BlackRanger01]

Only if the brake pedal doesn't work anymore or if I am parked on an incline driveway/road/etc. If I do park on incline, I will pull it up to near top and put the transmission in P after that. It scares the hell out of me if I let go the brake not using the e-brake after put in park and it move to parking pin.

On another note, I am so glad we're not using pedal style that you'd push in with your left foot near the door. I can't stand that kind of e-brake. Handle on middle console (where transmission shifter is) is perfect.

 

[Dollar]

i always wondered why people call a parking brake an emergency brake. Kind of the same reason people say "whats the VIN Number"



just my little rant

Because if you loose hydraulic pressure on your brakes, you still have an emergency brake that uses a cable attached to your brakes.

 

[Floyd]

I used to use it as a parking brake when I had a stick , but only to idle, or to park on a steep slope.

At least it is a real E-Brake with the control in the right place, so it is still a good tool for control on ice and snow.
Thanks for the reminder though, I like to exercise it at every oil change and check the cables.

 

[Delirious]

Things are flat where I'm at in Florida so the only time I use it is on a sloped driveway or hill or if I have a boat again I will use it at the boat ramp and so forth. I never leave tension on the transmission and like others have said, I engage it before I put the vehicle in park. I also use it when I don't want my wife driving my truck because she does not know how to disengage it. In times past when I tried to teach her how to use it, its when is pulled up tight, she doesn't have the strength to release it. It might be the second best thing to theft deterrent after a manual transmission.

 

[KNI]

Early on in my driving days, I got stuck in Park while parked on a hill and had to get help to rock the car while attempting to get it out of Park, with a loud bang! And after seeing the fragile-looking Park pawl and detent in most automatic transmissions, I got in the habit of applying the emergency brake every time I parked, even in the garage; old semi truck habit.

My every stop procedure:
- Break to stop
- Engage parking brake
- Switch to neutral
- Release foot from the foot brake
- Adjust parking brake if necessary
- Switch to Park
- Power off

 

[BlackRanger01]

O

Things are flat where I'm at in Florida so the only time I use it is on a sloped driveway or hill or if I have a boat again I will use it at the boat ramp and so forth. I never leave tension on the transmission and like others have said, I engage it before I put the vehicle in park. I also use it when I don't want my wife driving my truck because she does not know how to disengage it. In times past when I tried to teach her how to use it, its when is pulled up tight, she doesn't have the strength to release it. It might be the second best thing to theft deterrent after a manual transmission.

Reminds me of a friend with F-150, he had e-brakes on and let his wife take it for the day and... she left and came back with it still engaged :/ Had brake issues since then. Think he said it costed almost $1k to get all corrected.

 

[RoadtripsOfUnusualSize]

I started driving with a manual (about a thousand years ago). I developed the habit of using the e-brake back then and still use it today with automatics. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Floyd]

I started driving with a manual (about a thousand years ago). I developed the habit of using the e-brake back then and still use it today with automatics. Better safe than sorry.

Yeah, I get it! Belt AND suspenders..... But on COVERALLS??

Just kiddin'

 

[Desert_5G]

We have a emergency brake? I know we have a parking brake; but not a emergency brake.

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