Problem with Hand Brake?

[WRXnooB]

Do your WRX's hand brakes work on steep surfaces or on a slightly slanted surface?

im asking this question because i have to keep my car in first gear when i park all the time. no matter what. even if it is slight rise. if i don't have it in gear, it starts to roll.

any feedback on my problem is greatly appreciated.

thanks guys/gals

[is2scooby]

Are you setting the hand brake while depressing the service brake pedal?

The hand brake is designed to clamp the brakes and keep them from releasing (i.e. you have to be depressing the brake pedal while "setting" the hand brake) - it's not designed to apply the brakes.

You should always keep your car in gear while parked as well.

HTH!

[WRXnooB]

well let me try your way and see if it works....

i might be doing it wrong. all i do is press on the brake, pull my hand brake, and turn off my engine. if it is in neutral, it slides backwards. if in 1st, it stays.

the reason why i don't try your way is because i park my car on like a 35 degree driveway and i am scared sh*tless when i let go of the brake. the feel of your car sliding when it is parked sucks.

thanks

[Zapix]

Actually, I have somewhat of a similiar problem...

My parking brake needs to be pulled up so tight, it's hard to get it back down. My car is also parked on a bit of slant. If it's even one click down, my car goes rolling backwards or forwards, depending if I back in or just pull in. I'm taking my car in Saturday for a check up, so hopefully they'll check that out as well.
I don't wanna wake up to find the car inside the house.

[WRXnooB]

hey zapix

since you are going to get it checked, tell me how it went. if it is a problem, then i would like to take it in to the dealer for it to get fixed. because mine is worse than yours. even if i pull it all the way up, it still won't stay!

later

[WTypeRogerX]

I always park in 1st or reverse gear opposite to the direction of the hill. Even so, if it's fairly steep, the car will slide a bit unless I pull the parking brake extra high. Very scary - I thought that I wore down my pads from aggressive driving until I read that the hand brake uses some mini drums instead of the discs.

[WRXnooB]

can this problem be fixed? or do i have to live with it?

also, is there a way to make the hand brake better like not having to pull all the way up to make it completely stop?

[GV27]

Check the periodic maintenance sticky at the top of this forum for handbrake adjustment instructions.

[whitefish]

my P break worked fine when I first got it now I have to pull it all the way up to keep it on a steep surface. I think the cable has stretched, there must be an adjustment for it I doubt any of these are broke. The only things that make parking breaks stop working is not using them, and driving with them on.

[PKer]

Usually it just needs to be adjusted.

[GV27]

Originally posted by GV27
Check the periodic maintenance sticky at the top of this forum for handbrake adjustment instructions.

[snowcat]

Hmm... I"ll have to take a read too it appear - my parking brake doesn't work at all unless it's pulled up to the very top notch. (I mean, it rolls on perfectly flat ground w/the brake on if it's not completely to the top of the brake.)

-snowcat

[WRXnooB]

that is exactly my problem snowcat

my car slides when i don't pull it all the way up. I am just worried if one day i don't pull it all the way up and then it starts to slide.

do you guys think that if i bring it to the dealer, they could fix it for me? i also need to bring my car in to straighten the steering wheel. It is a little off since the day i bought it and thought it would go away eventually but it didn't.

later

[03WRXMA]

Originally posted by WRXnooB
that is exactly my problem snowcat

my car slides when i don't pull it all the way up. I am just worried if one day i don't pull it all the way up and then it starts to slide.

do you guys think that if i bring it to the dealer, they could fix it for me? i also need to bring my car in to straighten the steering wheel. It is a little off since the day i bought it and thought it would go away eventually but it didn't.

later

Sounds like you just need an alignment.

[WilliamG]

That definitely needs to be looked at. I warned you all about handbrake turns!

I can park on VERY sleep inclines using just the handbrake but I still leave it in gear out of habit. I'd be very disturbed if the car rolled on ANY incline with the handbrake all the way up. That definitely needs attention.