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Hawkeye_a · 08:38 PM

Alright so i got up kinda early to drive to the local store, and drove for about 1 mile with the hand brake on. ( i was wondering why the car wasnt going as fast as usual) but it didnt occur to me that i might have left the hand brake on. Anyway, i got out and i could obviously smell a little burnt rubber. ive never done this before, so was wondering how bad is it ? do i need a new car ? what do i do next ?

Cheers

euchomai · Sep 23, 2006, 08:37 PM

You are fine, just hot brakes. No biggie at all.

KeriVit · Sep 23, 2006, 08:45 PM

I've wondered the harm as well.

imitchellg5 · Sep 23, 2006, 08:55 PM

I've done it before a few times in the Xterra, it's fine.

hookem2oo7 · Sep 23, 2006, 09:04 PM

if the rear brakes are disc brakes, that amount of heat could lead to warped rotors, but it depends...

Hawkeye_a · 09:26 PM

Thats totally above my head. I got a 1987 (elcheapo) Nissan Pintara, if that means anything.

brassplayersrock² · Sep 23, 2006, 09:12 PM

™£ i've done this as well, no biggie, but i was heavily worried about my car for a bit

turtle777 · Sep 23, 2006, 11:44 PM

You should be ok.

If you are worried, I guess you gotta go to some auto garage and get it checked.

-t

Agasthya · Sep 24, 2006, 01:00 AM

I might be cheaper to buy another 1987 Nissan Pintara than take it to a shop to get it checked.

SpaceMonkey · Sep 24, 2006, 01:08 AM

"When I get a rental car, I usually don't know a lot about it, so I do things like driving for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the 'emergency' brake. It's not really an emergency brake, it's an emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever."

-Mitch Hedberg

Chuckit · Sep 24, 2006, 01:22 AM

That happened to me once. I took my car in for an oil change, and the guy turned on the parking brake — but he didn't pull it all the way, so I didn't notice and just drove on to work. I remember thinking, "Boy, this car responds strangely to an oil change." Then I actually tried to turn the parking brake on and realized what had happened. Really embarrassing.

mitchell_pgh · Sep 24, 2006, 01:23 AM

It will only wear your breaks down a little... very little...

Nothing to worry about.

torsoboy · Sep 24, 2006, 01:26 AM

agreed... nothing at all to worry about.

Andy8 · Sep 24, 2006, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Alright so i got up kinda early to drive to the local store, and drove for about 1 mile with the hand brake on. ( i was wondering why the car wasnt going as fast as usual) but it didnt occur to me that i might have left the hand brake on. Anyway, i got out and i could obviously smell a little burnt rubber. ive never done this before, so was wondering how bad is it ? do i need a new car ? what do i do next ?

Cheers

You will need a new car

Hawkeye_a · Sep 24, 2006, 05:02 AM

trust me, i know i need a new car either way

... this was my college car, but now since ive graduated, i need something better. but as u might have guessed, i know f-all about "automobiles".

Cheers for your help guys.

ghporter · Sep 24, 2006, 07:06 AM

That Nissan sounds like it has drum rear brakes. You smelled hot brake pad material, nothing more. And you may have stretched the handbrake's cable a bit too, but they're designed to be adjusted so that's no biggie either. Didn't the red light on the console give you a hint though? Anyway, one mile or so won't hurt you that much, and brake pads are inexpensive.

chabig · Sep 24, 2006, 08:48 AM

Drum brakes don't have pads, they have shoes.

ghporter · Sep 24, 2006, 10:57 AM

Ok, I meant "brake shoe material" and "brake shoes." It's hard to remember drum brakes anymore...I haven't had to mess with them for a long time.

Dale Sorel · Sep 24, 2006, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by Agasthya

I might be cheaper to buy another 1987 Nissan Pintara than take it to a shop to get it checked.

Jawbone54 · Sep 24, 2006, 11:09 AM

Mitch Hedberg...

When I get a rental car, I usually don't know a lot about it, so I do things like driving for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the "emergency" brake. It's not really an emergency brake, it's an emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever.

seanc · Sep 25, 2006, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

"When I get a rental car, I usually don't know a lot about it, so I do things like driving for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the 'emergency' brake. It's not really an emergency brake, it's an emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever."

-Mitch Hedberg

Originally Posted by Jawbone54

Mitch Hedberg...

Quote:
When I get a rental car, I usually don't know a lot about it, so I do things like driving for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the "emergency" brake. It's not really an emergency brake, it's an emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever.

Hmm deja vu

sek929 · Sep 25, 2006, 11:45 AM

Usually the e-brake on an older vehicle is slightly worn out anyways (if it even still works), I wouldn't worry about it....everyone that has owned a manual transmission car has done it at least once.

Gossamer · Sep 25, 2006, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by sek929

Usually the e-brake on an older vehicle is slightly worn out anyways (if it even still works), I wouldn't worry about it....everyone that has owned a manual transmission car has done it at least once.

I never did that when my daily driver was a manual

I did do it in a borrowed '78 F150 one time, but it took me about half a block to realize something was wrong and fix it.

But it helps that in any of the cars I've owned, if the handbrake is pulled even one click, a light should come on. And if it's fully engaged, then that means to go I have to literally drag the rear tires.

sek929 · Sep 25, 2006, 11:50 AM

I did a few times, but my e-brake would barely keep me from rolling anyways, so it wasn't a big deal.

Plus this was on an old 92 Jetta, before the buzzing idiot sound was invented.

drmbb2 · Sep 25, 2006, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by sek929

Usually the e-brake on an older vehicle is slightly worn out anyways (if it even still works), I wouldn't worry about it....everyone that has owned a manual transmission car has done it at least once.

Never done it on my manual tranny vehicles, ever. That's because with a standard, I always engage the parking/emergency brake when parking (I always put the brake on, and the gear shift in reverse when I park my 5-speed).

In automatic tranny cars, yeah, I've done it a few times, usually when some shop flunky has parked it with it on. Since you only need it on inclines with an automatic, I usually don't expect it to be on.

Speaking of which, why don't they just make a lockout switch, so you can't shift an auto out of park if the emergency brake is on? I mean, most cars require the brake pedal to be depressed to shift out of park, so why not add the emergency brake to that interlock?

Gossamer · Sep 25, 2006, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by drmbb2

Speaking of which, why don't they just make a lockout switch, so you can't shift an auto out of park if the emergency brake is on? I mean, most cars require the brake pedal to be depressed to shift out of park, so why not add the emergency brake to that interlock?

I don't know how good of an answer this is, but sometimes when I'm parked on a steep incline, I like to put it in drive before taking the handbrake off, otherwise it feels like there's a lot of stress on the transmission when shifting out of park.

RAILhead · Sep 25, 2006, 01:09 PM

You head's gonna asplode.

ChesterCopperpotReturns · Sep 25, 2006, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Alright so i got up kinda early to drive to the local store, and drove for about 1 mile with the hand brake on. ( i was wondering why the car wasnt going as fast as usual) but it didnt occur to me that i might have left the hand brake on. Anyway, i got out and i could obviously smell a little burnt rubber. ive never done this before, so was wondering how bad is it ? do i need a new car ? what do i do next ?

Cheers

You smelt overheated brake pad material. Most likely, brake shoes inside your drum. It's fine. Brakes are made to get hot, but don't do that in the future.

ChesterCopperpotReturns · Sep 25, 2006, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by hookem2oo7

if the rear brakes are disc brakes, that amount of heat could lead to warped rotors, but it depends...

That's totally wrong. Rotors do not warp. Before you argue with me, read this article:

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...rakedisk.shtml

ChesterCopperpotReturns · Sep 25, 2006, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by chabig

Drum brakes don't have pads, they have shoes.

Brakes shoes have the same **** as brake pads on them. It's the same stuff, on different pieces of metal.

ChesterCopperpotReturns · Sep 25, 2006, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

I don't know how good of an answer this is, but sometimes when I'm parked on a steep incline, I like to put it in drive before taking the handbrake off, otherwise it feels like there's a lot of stress on the transmission when shifting out of park.

That's a good idea.

I do that also, when driving an auto. Ugh. I hate autos.

tooki · Sep 25, 2006, 11:12 PM

FYI: the fact that the hand brake is in no way suitable for emergencies is the reason that they haven't called it the "emergency brake" for years. It's now officially the "parking brake", which is really all it's good for.

tooki

Gossamer · Sep 26, 2006, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

FYI: the fact that the hand brake is in no way suitable for emergencies is the reason that they haven't called it the "emergency brake" for years. It's now officially the "parking brake", which is really all it's good for.

tooki

Yeah...locking up two of your wheels is probably not the best thing to do when in danger, especially with all of the traction control and ABS we have nowadays.