Brakes Handbrake failure!!!

[aleem]

this is a post for everyone please beware for safet'ys sake as this has happened to me and now i;s seriously contemplating returning the car altogether as the safety feel i have with honda has totaly been ripped to shreds.

i want to say thanks to posty for help and advice ...(even though we were both on the forum at 7 am ) but i think it should be brought to peoples attention that there is a fault and its dangerous to say the least

oh and before i forget ive filled in the survey and the car has also sustained a scratch on the headlight washer jet and for a new car i do think im justifiably p****d off just want to know how to go about doing anything if anything can be done at all

and thanks in advance to all that reply to this post


here is the original message
hey pottsy

hows things

ma civic ex came last month and the handbrake failed while on a slope and went staright into the garage we were having a kiddies party and kids everywhere would have been diesastrous if my nephew was in front of the car

im thinking now ive done 2000 miles im gonna ask honda to take the car back and have the matter resolved i dont feel safe

wondering wat kinda warranty would work here and am i in my right to say to them take the car away

aleem

[Pottsy]

Hi aleem,

Do you know what position the handbrake lever was in when you found the car? How much did the repair cost you? And what has the dealer said to you about the handbrake?

[Brodick]

I take it you have read the other threads aleem this fault has only affected a small number of civics so far

Don't know where you are ( are you in the UK ?) A cars handbrake should not fail and Honda is not this first car manufacturer to have this problem ( far from it) To be Really safe a car should be left in gear whilst parked on a slope or hill then if something does go wrong with the parking brake
the gears should still hold the car in place

Read the other threads then make your decision

This issue has also affected Ford Focus ( in fact affected a few ford models) Vauxhall, VW, to name but a few in the past,

[aleem]

Hi pottsy ...sorry ive been calling you posty lol my bad...oh and thanks broderick for replying well what actually happened was that my drive is on a slope i normally leave my car in park or in gear as a manual and normally in the opposing gear for the incline ..meaining if the car is likely to roll forwards then i leave it in reverse and vice versa in this particular case i had the car for 2 days and was still reading through the manual ...what had happened was that the car was facing my garage door and likely to rol forwards i had left the handbrake on and extra pulled it as i do with all the other cars i park that way near the garage ...however when i came to pull off i noticed the car was touching the garage door ....i looked and remebered id never park it in that way the handbrake was still up but obviously not up enough to allow for the incline or decline as in this case now i keep the car in gear and wait for the gear to engage then apply the handbrake then switch off oh sorry i mean switch on swear and fold the mirrors ....im working on using an electric window closure relay for 2 windows to wire up to open the mirrors on unlocking and close upon locking will keep the forum posted on how that goes ...yes i am from the uk north west london to be precise ...and glad that such a forum exists

i have yet to contact honda as the damage was very slight if anything true the bumper had opened up and all i did was open the bumpers and refix and then apply a coat of wax and polish the area of contact i have the nighthawk black so it doesent really show...

thats all really dont get me wrong im not slating hondas at all been driving them for years and plan to int he future in fact saving up to arrange for a crv 2004 for the misses

thanks to all but i think i was just a lil scared off more than anything and i doubt ill be doing anything about it now just hope it doesnt happen again


aleem

[Topcat]

Sorry to hear your problems Aleem I always find it strange that people never believe that there is a problem until it happens to them, enough people have reported their cars rolling away yet so many take the attitude it wont ever happen to them.

Of course I am sure in Brodick's case it will never happen to him

[Pottsy]

Originally Posted by aleem

...the handbrake was still up but obviously not up enough to allow for the incline...

Aleem,

It's really annoying when something like this happens - but it sounds like you got away with it very lightly.

Your car hasn't suffered from the handbrake fault, since it was still up. I suspect that (as you mention) you just hadn't pulled it hard enough. It really does need a good pull, but does hold well once done.

Hope it doesn't happen again!

[cb550]

Not in any way demeaning other folks' experiences and issues with their handbrakes ( mine could 'play up' tomorrow for all I know),but a few weeks ago I had a knock on the front door,and someone who lives close by asked me if I could spare a few minutes.

He explained he'd taken his civic back twice to the dealer due to the handbrake (brakes) making noises when he and his wife got in the car.When I told him no,I had'nt had any problems,he was in no doubt he was taking his back again.

I told him it was quite likely,because disc brakes are known to be inefficient as parking brakes and for example some Mercs have seperate drums for that purpose,it would be a case of applying the lever a little harder and leaving the car in gear as 'good housekeeping'

Although I could'nt say to them,when I went to his car what struck me was that there was probably a good 180-200 kgs between them when getting on board,probably at pretty much the same time.My feelings were that Honda were pretty much on a hiding to nothing with this one.

[Pottsy]

Some posts moved.