Your thoughts on floor handbrake?

[EmilysDad]

Well yes.... but why would anyone do that ?

Obviously not intentionally, but often after an interfering garage bod has applied it when it wasn't originally applied

A few years ago, Emily's then boyfriend decided that the handbrake should be applied to EmilysMum's automatic car when it had been lent to Emily. Emily just copied her Dad and just used Park to stop the car from moving. A few miles with the hand brake applied caused a lot of smoke from the back of the car obviously panicking her. ****** Smart Arse BF

 

[Protocol]

Just don't loan your automatic foot operated parking brake fitted Merc to someone who has little or no experience driving an automatic...

 

[EmilysDad]

Just don't loan your automatic foot operated parking brake fitted Merc to someone who has little or no experience driving an automatic...

Many years ago, in a place far far away, a load of us (from HMS Fearless) went to the local Hertz/Avis/rent-a-car to hire cars. Got the paperwork sorted & then headed out to the 'parking lot' with keys in hand to our cars. I jumped in out Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, started it up, selected Drive, released the Merc style foot operated parking brake & set off. Other mates in another car faffed about trying to move their car ..... it turned out they'd never heard of foot operated parking brake like I had. I learnt of it by my Dad that used to drive an American hearse fitted with one.

When I lent my R Class to my mate while his Merc was waiting for parts, he sat outside my house for several minutes trying to work out how to put it in Drive :lol:

 

[Craiglxviii]

Cor, FEARLESS! Now there's a name that should return to the fleet!

 

[turbopete]

all this talk of useless parking brakes and yet, auto or manual, hand or foot applied, ive never yet been anywhere that either system wouldn't hold the car. as for using them as an 'emergency' brake in the event of hydraulic failures, ive found that the hand operated version, in my own experience, will in most cases lock the rear wheels much easier than the foot operated version. ive never had an issue using the foot operated parking brake in a manual transmission, you simply hold on the foot brake, select neutral then apply the parking brake, rather than apply the parking brake then selecting neutral, and it makes setting off again the easiest thing ever.
if an electric parking brake is fitted however, and the hydraulic system fails, yes you CAN apply the parking brake on most, if not all models by pressing the button, HOWEVER can the pressure its applied with be modulated, either manually or within the electronics, to prevent the wheels locking up and secondly, particularly on Auto cars, will the electronics linked to the gearbox and parking brake even allow its application above certain speeds or in certain gears/selector positions?

personally I think they are pretty much an unnecessary complication adding potential expense for owners (and possibly manufacturers too) with no real benefits. if the space in the centre console area is needed to be cleared, why not use the system of the hand operated parking brake (on non MB models) being between the drivers seat and drivers door, like the old Peugeot 504 pick ups (for example) had, where you pull them up to engage them, then the lever drops back down to the 'off' level (leaving the ratchet holding the brake on) then you lift it up again, press the button in and it releases as per any other hand operated parking brake?

 

[S500 Pete]

Nothing wrong with a foot operated brake but why not make it push down for on and push down again for off as in many American cars

 

[Xtractorfan]

all this talk of useless parking brakes and yet, auto or manual, hand or foot applied, ive never yet been anywhere that either system wouldn't hold the car. as for using them as an 'emergency' brake in the event of hydraulic failures, ive found that the hand operated version, in my own experience, will in most cases lock the rear wheels much easier than the foot operated version. ive never had an issue using the foot operated parking brake in a manual transmission, you simply hold on the foot brake, select neutral then apply the parking brake, rather than apply the parking brake then selecting neutral, and it makes setting off again the easiest thing ever.
if an electric parking brake is fitted however, and the hydraulic system fails, yes you CAN apply the parking brake on most, if not all models by pressing the button, HOWEVER can the pressure its applied with be modulated, either manually or within the electronics, to prevent the wheels locking up and secondly, particularly on Auto cars, will the electronics linked to the gearbox and parking brake even allow its application above certain speeds or in certain gears/selector positions?

personally I think they are pretty much an unnecessary complication adding potential expense for owners (and possibly manufacturers too) with no real benefits. if the space in the centre console area is needed to be cleared, why not use the system of the hand operated parking brake (on non MB models) being between the drivers seat and drivers door, like the old Peugeot 504 pick ups (for example) had, where you pull them up to engage them, then the lever drops back down to the 'off' level (leaving the ratchet holding the brake on) then you lift it up again, press the button in and it releases as per any other hand operated parking brake?

An elctric operated parking brake will not operate over 'around' 10mph. simply because it will lock both rear wheels and can be a danger ,and cannot be released /controlled as well as a hand operated brake....
The foot operated Merc type is much abused, mainly because most people dont have the same feel with their left foot..just try left foot braking, and unless you are used to left foot braking or taught how to use it then you will find that you apply much more pressure with your left foot.

 

[EmilysDad]

I don't think I can apply 'too much pressure' to my parking/foot/emergency brake for it not too hold my car.

And I always left foot brake

 

[Xtractorfan]

Just try braking sometime with your left foot, make sure there is no one behind you on the road.

 

[EmilysDad]

Just try braking sometime with your left foot, make sure there is no one behind you on the road.

Practice makes perfect

 

[television]

I will always use the foot brake and hold where needed, to go into any other mode is a no no for me. Other peoples foot brake lights have never troubled me, you do not have to look at them. I just cannot see any other way when crawling through traffic. To press my parking brake say some 10 times in a very short stretch of road is also a no go.

 

[Alex240]

I will always use the foot brake and hold where needed, to go into any other mode is a no no for me. Other peoples foot brake lights have never troubled me, you do not have to look at them. I just cannot see any other way when crawling through traffic. To press my parking brake say some 10 times in a very short stretch of road is also a no go.

When I first came to Japan & noticed everyone was holding the brake pedal down in traffic or at the lights, I was a bit like a moth, It was hard to resist staring at the lights even though it was irritating. As I said, now I tend to sit on the brake pedal too. People are surprisingly impatient here. If I put the handbrake on in traffic & didn't keep shuffling forward with the traffic, people would start beeping or squeezing in front of me.

It's weird, Most Japanese people are so calm and polite in everyday life, but behind the wheel they become impatient and thoughtless, they're actually terribly dangerous & careless drivers. But unlike in England, there's almost zero chance that anyone will actually get out of the car and argue about the dangerous manoeuvres etc. If I got out to shout at anyone for doing something dangerous (someone does something dangerous everyday) they'd think I was insane.

 

[silestanix]

Not a fan of Electronic Parking Brakes tbh, have had to help friends with problems relating to them, first in a (Surprise surprise) Vauxhall Insignia in which the EPB wouldn't disengage (Hahaha), and secondly in an Audi, same thing. At least with a conventional hand brake or MB type foot brake you have mechanical linkages.

The MB style one I think is genius in an automatic, different story in a manual such as a Vito though when it's a nightmare on hill starts. It's really bad lol.

 

[turbopete]

Not a fan of Electronic Parking Brakes tbh, have had to help friends with problems relating to them, first in a (Surprise surprise) Vauxhall Insignia in which the EPB wouldn't disengage (Hahaha), and secondly in an Audi, same thing. At least with a conventional hand brake or MB type foot brake you have mechanical linkages.

The MB style one I think is genius in an automatic, different story in a manual such as a Vito though when it's a nightmare on hill starts. It's really bad lol.

why isd it a nightmare on hill starts in a manual? select a gear, find the biting point of the clutch (as you would any other manual vehicle, pull the release lever for the parking brake, job done. simple. in fact its simpler than a regular hand operated parking brake, in my personal experience

 

[turbopete]

An elctric operated parking brake will not operate over 'around' 10mph. simply because it will lock both rear wheels and can be a danger ,and cannot be released /controlled as well as a hand operated brake....
QUOTE]

and there, for me, is the issue. the parking brake is SUPPOSED to be an emergency back up system (hence why hydraulic handbrakes were banned) in the event of brake failure (master cylinder, burst pipes etc) and the reason I believe many Americans call it the E BRAKE (shortened from emergency brake) so therefore where is the 'emergency' system on a car with an electric parking brake?

I have to be honest, I'm surprised theyre legal if they don't work if the need arises in an emergency

 

[Yugguy]

I'm quite light sensitive and I find the modern overly bright brake lights hard work in traffic. So much so that I will often leave a large gap between me and the car in front, and use my sun visor.

 

[Alex240]

I'm quite light sensitive and I find the modern overly bright brake lights hard work in traffic. So much so that I will often leave a large gap between me and the car in front, and use my sun visor.

I stare at the Mercedes symbol on my steering wheel. That way I get a nice warm glow in my heart rather than a retina scorching glare in my eye.

 

[Peter G]

Just try braking sometime with your left foot, make sure there is no one behind you on the road.

I always use left foot braking in an automatic. It just seems the natural thing to do; 2 pedals, one for each foot.

As for applying the electronic parking brake when moving, that may do something on a manual, but on an automatic they are so ineffective I doubt you would be aware it was on.

 

[davemercedes]

Interesting thread and it looks like we're about 50/50 in favour or anti foot operated parking brake (< you're right SL55 Mark!).

Personally, I hate it. Not only is it a bit painful to use due to arthritis and the length and angle of the pedal but also, despite having a go at it myself and getting my garage to check and lube it etc I still have an intermittent problem of it staying on sometimes - even when I've made particularly sure I released it before reversing at home... then "PEEEEP" and a big red warning screen. (Television has told me what to do and I will have another go when the weather's a bit better - thanks, Malcolm). Having seen the ease with which the car moves even when the brake is on, I don't think it would really help very much as an emergency aid. But there's no way would I trust the auto Park alone to hold it instead.

SWMBOs car is an 05 Renault Grand Scenic Auto and it has an electronic brake with an on/off operating lever that's a "twin" of the MB release lever. It's also ridiculously easy to use because a tiny blip on throttle when in Drive or Reverse, releases it. They do go wrong - our daughter has the same car and hers died. She was taken to the cleaners by a Renault dealer who pursed his lips into a whistle as he told her "hmmm electronic card about £2-300..." But the annoying thing is that recently I found a used car trader nearby who specializes in small to large Renault people carriers and he told me he can fix any electronic failure of the Scenic brake for £40!

 

[star]

why isd it a nightmare on hill starts in a manual? select a gear, find the biting point of the clutch (as you would any other manual vehicle, pull the release lever for the parking brake, job done. simple. in fact its simpler than a regular hand operated parking brake, in my personal experience

It's not the starting off on a hill that's a problem, it's the stopping on a hill that's more troublesome. Pull up on a hill, one foot on clutch and the other on the brake, take car out of gear, release clutch and then apply foot/handbrake. Then shift both feet across to get ready for hill start. Just more foot shuffling needed.