E-Brake

[Dan Reed]

Anyone ever experienced the emergency brake pedal not locking in the "engaged" position. My pedal just springs back up - it won't lock when I press it. Everything else works, meaning the brakes engage, the pedal just won't stay down.

[Kurt]

Is that the case with the engine off? As you may know, the parking brake has a vacuum release that automatically releases the brake when it is not in Park or Neutral. The vacuum line comes from the Neutral safety switch. That said, the release mechanism could be malfunctioning. There is a manual release lever on the parking brake (push forward). You'll have to lay on the floor of the car to check everything out. It may just need to be lubed.

[Dan Reed]

I pressed the pedal down this morning with the engine off and it stayed engaged. Once I started the car and put it in gear the E-brake popped up as it should. I just can't keep it engaged while thew car is running and parked for some reason.

[Kurt]

A simple neutral safety switch adjustment may correct the issue. The adjustment procedure is in the shop manual (hopefully you have one). Not a terribly difficult job but you will be laying on the floor of the car reaching upward. You may want to remove the switch and clean and lube it. They do get brittle and crack as they age (like all of us do : ) There are a couple of Help topics on the NSS from the drop-down menu in the header of this page:

[Jason Edge]

Tony is correct when he says "You can use the parking brake as an emergency brake—- if the brakes should fail and you push your foot on the parking brakes peddle ——to stop the car in a brake failure emergency." It serves as both a "park" brake and an emergency brake"

In fact it is stated right there in your owners manual:  "Since the parking brake is always released when the transmission selector is in "Drive", "Low" and "Reverse" ranges, it may also be used as a fully controllable brake pedal, providing rear wheel braking only, under emergency or special conditions."

[Dan Reed]

Thanks guys. Yeah, should have referred to it as the parking brake. Yep, when I first got the car the brakes didn't work so driving the car on and off the trailer I used the parking brake to stop the car. Once I rebuilt the brake system and had the car on the road the parking brake worked fine. It was just in the last few months that it failed to engage, and it's just something I figured I would try to fix.

[Jason Edge]

Anders. Lighten up.  Many of us on this side of the pond refer to Park Brake and Emergency Brake meaning the same thing... that "other" brake we need when we get in a tight spot when a good oak tree isn't available .... for sudden stopping or parked stopping. :-)