Securing the car using Hand Brake

[ajayboy]

Hi

Car now just about 2 weeks old, when ever I stop the car and park , sequence I follow is to put car in parking gear , press on the hand brake ( which has to be operated by foot ) turn ignition off . I notice sometimes that when switching off the car the car will some times move a bit like a slight jerk, not much but noticeable to driver

Its certainly not due to any slope as there is none in my drive way , happens any where. Car is Automatic , driven around 100 miles in 2 weeks I when I bought it 2 weeks ago it had 7350 miles on it 65 reg so it not an old car.

I make sure I press the foot brake all the way so not sure what I am not doing right . My Zafira with its hand break is always secured when selected.

Just wanted to know if this is normal of this car and the type of the hand breaks it uses or is there something I need to get checked

 

[Yugguy]

BRAKE

 

[ajayboy]

BRAKE

Opps thanks for correcting ! Have corrected the post

 

[Yugguy]

It might be that the parking brake is not actually operating and the settling you feel is the autobox in park mode.

if I stick mine in P, without the foot brake, I will sometimes feel it roll slightly into the gear and then stop. Freaks the missus out.

 

[Craiglxviii]

The transmission has only one pawl on the parking brake so the car will move until that pawl is engaged, it can be several inches or more of forward/ back movement.

When parking on anything above a slope of a few degrees, you "should" (to save overstressing the parking pawl):

Come to a stop with your right foot on the footbrake.
Fully depress the parking brake pedal with your left foot.
Select Park on the gear selector.
Turn ignition off.

 

[SL63 Mark]

BRAKE

Also it's not a hand brake, as it is foot operated. it's a parking brake.

 

[LostKiwi]

Hi

Car now just about 2 weeks old, when ever I stop the car and park , sequence I follow is to put car in parking gear , press on the hand brake ( which has to be operated by foot ) turn ignition off . I notice sometimes that when switching off the car the car will some times move a bit like a slight jerk, not much but noticeable to driver

Its certainly not due to any slope as there is none in my drive way , happens any where. Car is Automatic , driven around 100 miles in 2 weeks I when I bought it 2 weeks ago it had 7350 miles on it 65 reg so it not an old car.

I make sure I press the foot brake all the way so not sure what I am not doing right . My Zafira with its hand break is always secured when selected.

Just wanted to know if this is normal of this car and the type of the hand breaks it uses or is there something I need to get checked

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Both my r129 and S210 do exactly the same thing as did the W203 previously.
Its just a function of how the parking brake operates.

If you want to verify the parking brake works put it in N instead of P and see if it moves on the parking rake once the initial movement has been taken up.

 

[ajayboy]

Thanks Guys , car did a round by the service guys at the Merc dealership who have confirmed that the brakes are fine , they did notice a roll on the car when they tested it around the area and said they see this in most of the cars

I think its another thing to get used to , as long as they are safe. I was just used to my 02 Zafira being solid stoped with hand brake on so to experience a roll with car secure does not feel right but I hope I get used to it.

Thanks for all your inputs

 

[AMck]

Do it the other way i.e. Parking brake then into park - I find you get less movement then.

 

[Craiglxviii]

You'll always get a roll if you put the car into Park first and then put the parking brake on. Stands to reason.

 

[Botus]

When parking, you "should" (to save overstressing the parking pawl):

Come to a stop with your right foot on the footbrake.
Fully depress the parking brake pedal with your left foot.
Remove pressure on foot brake and allow the vehicle to settle.
Select Park on the gear selector.
Turn ignition off.

I say this is the right sequence when ever you stop a car.... with the little extra I added in bold

 

[Ken_R]

I say this is the right sequence when ever you stop a car.... with the little extra I added in bold

True. But I use my left foot for the brake pedal.

 

[EmilysDad]

True. But I use my left foot for the brake pedal.

I am not alone then .....

every now & then I try right foot braking, but subconsciously revert to using my left :mrgreen:

 

[flowrider]

Left foot braking in a auto is just wrong, but if it works for you then so be it.