[Sonikbaby]

Arrgh...

my friend drove my car with the brake on....

Will this damage my car???

she drove it for like maybe 5 miles that way not over 30 mph

but I did smell some rubber burn.

I am NEVER letting her drive my car again!!!!!!

oh ita 2001 old school prius

 

[ceric]

The parking brake utilizes the rear drum brake. The smell should be coming from the rear brake drums. It should be OK, but the extra wear has been done. Luckily it was not a long drive.

 

[KTPhil]

You may have a damaged brake system. The heat buildup might have warped your drums. Try using the emergency brake lightly (partially engaged) with the car in N at a speed of about 25mph, and see if you feel any pulsation. If you do, take the car to the shop and have them turn the drums true on a lathe. You might also have them check the linings for delamination.

 

[Tideland Prius]

<sigh> another brake related scenario. I've had technicians at service FORGET to disengage the parking brake. They always forget, I don't know why.

 

[RSnyder]

You may have a damaged brake system. The heat buildup might have warped your drums. Try using the emergency brake lightly (partially engaged) with the car in N at a speed of about 25mph, and see if you feel any pulsation. If you do, take the car to the shop and have them turn the drums true on a lathe. You might also have them check the linings for delamination.

I recommend against performing this test. The emergency brake pedal ratchets. So once you start depressing it, you can't release it without first fully applying it. Unless you've planned for every possible contingency, "something bad" (TM) could happen.

 

[Seaside Harry]

This scenario confirms one of my minor disappointments with our '05 Prius. The emergency brake seems to grip so loosely that I occasionally back out of my driveway without even realizing I've forgotten to release it. When I shift into D and move forward, the resistance is noticeable and I immediately release the brake, but I can see how an unfamiliar driver might go some distance with the brake on (although 5 miles seems a bit much).

I'm accustomed to my older cars where the car might as well be in park when the emergency brake is set--the normal amount of pedal needed to back up or move forward from a stop doesn't even budge it. Is this typical for the Prius and has anyone tightened up their emergency brake to make it stick better?

I'll be doing my own first oil change & wheel rotation in another few hundred miles and I plan to pop the drums off and examine the emergency brake linkage while I'm at it. The benefit of anyone else's experience will certainly be welcomed!

 

[MikeFromEastCoast]

It should have a more noticable warning if you try to drive with the emergency brake on.

 

[DanMan32]

Doesn't anyone notice the 'BRAKE' symbol when the emergency brake is engaged?

 

[Tideland Prius]

I don't know but even my brother has forgotten to release the brake sometimes even with the brake light on.

Harry, you can get your dealer to tighten the cable so that you don't have to depress the brake pedal too much to get reasonable grip.

 

[mdacmeis]

You may have a damaged brake system. The heat buildup might have warped your drums. Try using the emergency brake lightly (partially engaged) with the car in N at a speed of about 25mph, and see if you feel any pulsation. If you do, take the car to the shop and have them turn the drums true on a lathe. You might also have them check the linings for delamination.

No offense, but rotors and drums rarely "warp" from heat. Rather the term "warped rotors" comes from the lay persons that do not understand that pulsation is the result of rotor or drum wear caused by lateral runout, caliper deflection, and/or drag. The rotors or drums are worn into the out of flat condition. They do not warp from normal, or even highly abnormal use. The linings also will not delaminate under that condition. However, the drums should be pulled and the amount of lining material remaining verified. The parking brake could not have been too far engaged if someone drove a substantial distance. The drag would have been too noticeable and severe to make much progress.

I will also strongly support the other comment made - notification is a nice red icon that says BRAKE. If someone does not pay attention to the notification icons on the dash, I'm not sure what else someone can do for them.

 

[KTPhil]

I have seen drums warp from heat when a master cylinder failed and the brakes dragged for many miles on a downhill slope. The thin, unfinned drums of the old VWs were notorious for this. The gas tank fitting leaked and dripped on the master cylinder, causing the seals to swell and partially lock the brakes. A bad gas line results in the need for new brake drums! For this and other safety reasons I got in the habit of replacing all fuel lines every two years on those cars.

My recommendation to use the parking brake to check is due to the car using the rear brakes so lightly in normal braking.

If you want to bother jacking it up, you can spin each rear wheel as the brakes are applied by an assistant. On-off-on dragging will be evident both by feel and by sound.

If you're made of money, take them off and have them checked on the lathe. But then you may as well just have them trued.

 

[Seaside Harry]

Doesn't anyone notice the 'BRAKE' symbol when the emergency brake is engaged?

I have no excuse or defense except that, like many of us, I sometimes jump in the car and start to take off without thinking. After all, fastening my seatbelt is pure reflex--it works exactly the same in all three of our cars--while the emergency brake is different in each. The Probe has a center console-mounted brake lever with release button, while the Voyager engages with a foot pedal but releases with a hand lever under the dash.

Also like many of us, I used to have this annoying beeper to alert (only the car's occupants) when reverse gear was engaged. I believe there is also an audible nag tone if you start the car without buckling up. Seems to me that it would be quite useful if someone developed a software hack that triggers off the dash "BRAKE" light to sound a beeper whenever you attempt to shift into a drive gear while the parking brake is engaged. I suppose some of us just need more nagging than others. :wink:

 

[Fire Elemental]

I've almost driven away with the brake on, but as soon as a shift into reverse or drive and let go of the brake a notice that the car isn't moving anywhere, so the next thing I do is check the brake. It's not often that you need to use the gas pedal when you first start moving from park.

 

[hyperion]

The emergency (parking) brake on my Cadillac automatically releases when cars gearshift is moved to "R" or "D"

 

[KTPhil]

A perhaps trouble-prone but certainly damage-saving solution.

A beep like the backup beep would be good enough-- cheaper, and more reliable.

 

[hyperion]

My Cad is an 87 and the parking brake has never had to be serviced. Let's see? That's 18 yr's!, 123,000 miles.
I did have to replace a cable on my emergency brakes on my 82 Chevy pick-up last year at 155,000 miles.
By the way, treat your hood release cable "pull" in the Prius very gently. Mine snapped at the soldered end fitting. I was completely surprised at the very small guage wire used here.

 

[niomeka]

Doesn't anyone notice the 'BRAKE' symbol when the emergency brake is engaged?

No kidding... I've left the Emergeny brake in various cars, but always noticed the brake light before going 10 feet. But then, maybe I'm attuned to blinky lights and such being a computer user.

 

[SgtKarl]

My son did this exact same thing. Rear brakes were smoking (no, it was not the rubber you smelled, it was the heated shoes). It seemed fine when they cooled but I had the tech look at them at the next scheduled oil change...he said they looked fine.

This car isn't as fragile as you think!

 

[newpriuslover]

Emergency Brake

I wonder why can't Toyota puts an interlock that you can't move to the drive mode while (hand brake or side brake as it is called here in Japan) emergency brake is on!

Will the Techies answer this question? After all, Toyota has positioned the whole old automatic transmission floor gear lever into a sleek? knob near the steering. Why didn't they think of moving the emergency brake in a remotely seen place. BRAKE icon is OK but how many of us look at those icons all the time.

I am sure many did the mistake of driving with BRAKE on mode. This must have been a common practice for new drivers at least. I saw Cadillac releases the emergency brake when the lever is moved to Drive mode. That is a good design.

Cheers

jeeeeeee

 

[Sanny]

My very first ride in my Prius was in reverse, off of the flatbed that delivered the car to my door. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get it moving! Ok, I was being gentle with gas pedal, since I didn't know how sensitive it was, but hardly moving! And the car was at a 45 degree angle (ok, not quite, but steep to drive off flatbed). Yup, brake was on. :::blush::: Not done that again!! I only went a foot or two before I figured it out. Gripped pretty well, to keep the car at that angle!