Handbrake On Steep Hills Is Crap....?

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

As above, when I go to park on a steep hill at work, the handbrake won't hold, car creeps.

 

At the moment handbrake is fully engaged at 7 notches on the lever - it will not go up any more.

 

Has had new rear brake pads, and handbrake cables were new about 12 months or so ago.

 

Any tips for trying to get the handbrake to work a bit better or are they just inherently crap on steep hills?!

 

Cheers

[dcc 855]

Likely to be the handbrake cable sheathing has collapsed where the cables go from underside or car through to cabin. Used to get this a lot but with limited supply of quality cables its hard to fix. I went for drums in the end and have only had problems since with being supplied wrong hand brake cable.

[Anthony 1,002]

205/309 (and 306 which uses the same setup) rear disk handbrakes are pretty poor in truth, but it really shouldn't be failing to hold the car on a hill unless it's very bad!

 

How do the disks look front and back in terms of pitting and any rusty/discoloured areas where the pads aren't cleaning up properly, and have you checked that the sliders on the calipers are moving freely?

 

7 clicks on the lever is properly a little over-tight if anything and probably keeping a little tension on the cables and not allowing the handbrake levers on the calipers to fully release. Somewhere around 10 clicks is about right.

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

I have Peugeot cables and have no problems for a few years

[welshpug 1,646]

often slated as being poor, but should still meet requirements, mine are excellent really! but I have stripped and greased the calipers, run o.e pads and dura cables with recent pressure limiter and flexi hoses.

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Discs are all ok, as are the sliders.

 

If 7 clicks is a little overtight, is it adjusted by the nut under the handbrake trim cover?

 

Suppose then the only thing to try now is some new handbrake cables to see if that sorts it?

[Anthony 1,002]

Might be worth asking your local MOT place to put it on the brake rollers and see what's what and whether it's purely a handbrake issue or whether the rear brakes in general aren't working properly.

 

Handbrake adjustment is indeed the 13mm nut underneath the handbrake lever cover/trim.

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Hi Anthony

 

Had MOT week before last and no issues were raised with the brakes at all?

 

So to adjust the handbrake to 10 clicks just turn the nut a little - is that all is needed?

Edited August 4, 2014 by ATK

[Anthony 1,002]

Surprised if the handbrake is that bad that it won't hold the car on a hill that it didn't fail the MOT or at least get an advisory for only having just scrapped through.

 

From memory, the minimum requirement for the handbrake is equivalent of holding the car on something like a 1:6 hill

 

I don't suppose that you got given the figures at all from the brake rollers?

 

I don't think that adjusting the cable a little is going to fix your problem btw, merely pointing out that it's a little tight and probably won't be allowing the levers on the calipers to return fully (check - there should be a smidgen of free play on the cable at the caliper end and shouldn't be holding the lever under tension)

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Yeah figured the cable adjustment wouldn't fix the problem but wanted to adjust to make it right.

 

Don't have the brake roller figures sorry. If it helps this is the hill - I park where the red Type R (my old car!) is parked on the left hand side of the photo (good old Google streetview!)

 

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

That's too steep to be relying on handbrake only, especially after a spirited drive.

 

You do also leave it in (reverse) gear, don't you?

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Yeah I leave it in reverse. It tries to hold but creeps down.

 

So you think a 205 handbrake wouldn't hold on a hill like that even if in tip top condition?

[dcc 855]

Yep mine held fine on my red k plate. had new cables like yours.

 

It is part of the reason however I prefer my 1.6 rear hubs

[GLPoomobile 958]

Yeah figured the cable adjustment wouldn't fix the problem but wanted to adjust to make it right.

 

Don't have the brake roller figures sorry. If it helps this is the hill - I park where the red Type R (my old car!) is parked on the left hand side of the photo (good old Google streetview!)

 

 

 

Bit off topic, but in that photo not one car has their wheels turned in towards the kerb. I was just saying to my dad the other day that nobody these days seems to have the common sense to put their car in gear and turn their wheels to the kerb on really steep hills, there's just so much assumption by modern motorists that their car won't fail. My 205 was nearly wiped out the day after I bought it when a parked Audi rolled down from the top of the street my parents live on and ended up hitting the lampost outside our garden, halting it 2 metres from the 205, which it was on a collision course for. That hill is about as steep as the one in the photo above.

 

Anyway, back on topic, you could always ask the garage that did the MOT if they have the record of the brake roller test, though if if it wan't a fail/advisory then I guess it's not going to reveal much anyway.

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

Is that photo of the hill in Treforest?

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

I had problems with poor handbrake on my 407 because of touching the handbrake mechanism before I had fully pressurized the calipers and taken up the slack between the disk and pad using the pedal.

 

I believe most calipers will perform poor if this is the case.

 

To "reset" the caliper the piston should be turned fully in. After this it must be turned at least 1/2 turn outwards again, maybe preferably 1 full turn if still possible to get over the disc.

 

Then operate pedal until the pads are touching the disc properly.

 

Now handbrake can be operated again.

 

I believe the 205 rear calipers is of the same type and this is valid also for them. Worth a try at least.

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Is that photo of the hill in Treforest?

 

No, it's in a place called Tylorstown in the Rhondda, South Wales.

 

I bet I know which hill you mean in Treforest though - Stow Hill - now that's a steep one indeed!

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

Yes it was Stow Hill I was thinking of. A mate of mine used to live on there for a time. Bloody hard work walking back from a lock in at The Forest at 4am after a gallon o beer.

[ATK 138 1 Cars]

Yes it was Stow Hill I was thinking of. A mate of mine used to live on there for a time. Bloody hard work walking back from a lock in at The Forest at 4am after a gallon o beer.

Forest is closed now - ended up being pretty rough! Always remember playing a gig there circa 2006 when a fight broke out mid way and those who were fighting went out of the window.....

Will try new handbrake cables again and go from there, I think. Brakes overall feel very good, pads are new, discs are good, all checks out ok, it's just parking on this f*cking hill that's a problem.

[Anthony 1,002]

I was just saying to my dad the other day that nobody these days seems to have the common sense to put their car in gear and turn their wheels to the kerb on really steep hills, there's just so much assumption by modern motorists that their car won't fail.

Over a decade of owning various antiquated French tin cans means that it's second nature to leave a car in gear when parked on a hill and I tend to end up doing it without thinking about it.

 

The only problem is that I tend to do that with any car that I drive, which has shown how few people actually check whether a car is in gear and/or put their foot on the clutch before trying to start the engine...