The Importance of E-Brake

mydamnvolvo · Post by **mydamnvolvo** » 03 Apr 2016, 08:10

I truly witnessed the importance, (or convenience) of having a pedal park brake. I was leaving BJ's with my 2000 Grand Caravan full of stuff that I spent way too much money on. I was making a right onto the main road from the parking lot exit, when, this lady in a grey, brand new elantra came rushing past me. I had my youngest (14) in the car and I was with my husband. I immediately pushed as hard as I could on the brake and heard the crushing sound of the park brake. The car stopped instantly, smelling like burning rubber. I released the brake and stomped on my horn. She had the gall to honk at me, and stop short in front of me. I stayed on her bumper the whole way, my road rage taking over. I used the 'sport' feature on my van and sped away. Good thing in my volvo, I always keep my hand on the brake.

Thanks for listening!!
-Cynthia

lummert · Post by **lummert** » 03 Apr 2016, 10:52

My brother drives a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan. He drives with his left foot on the brake and doesn't pay very good attention. He has slammed on the brake hard enough to ruin a front brake hose, caliper, and rotor. Another time he wasn't paying attention and slammed on the brake bursting both rear brake lines. He's not a good driver at all. Hope you have better luck with that Dodge Grand Caravan than he has had. I've had to work on it many times because my other brother has the bad habit of talking about garage mechanics to other local garage mechanics. The result is that none of the local mechanics like dealing with either of them.

Post by **oragex** » 03 Apr 2016, 12:48

He he, that road rage.. I think we all get to this at one point or another.. I ended up remaining cool for most situations

Indeed, the E-brake will stop the car rather quickly if deployed while the car is moving

As for the parking brake, a few years earlier I was driving a Passat on the highway and needed to slam the brakes to slow down, heard a bang! and.. no more brakes! Luckily the hand brake was working fine on that car (as opposed to the one on a Volvo) and managed to slow down and stop on the side. The front flexible brake pipe had broken on the left side and was heavily cracked on the right side as well. Interestingly, on my actual Volvo these two hoses were also heavily cracked when I bought the car. Keep it safe:)

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:07

mydamnvolvo wrote:...pedal park brake...

Emergency brake assist - is a generic term for an automobile braking technology that increases braking pressure in an emergency. The first application was developed jointly by Daimler-Benz and TRW/LucasVarity. Research conducted in 1992 at the Mercedes-Benz driving simulator in Berlin revealed that more than 90% of drivers fail to brake with enough force when faced with an emergency.

By interpreting the speed and force with which the brake pedal is pushed, the system detects if the driver is trying to execute an emergency stop, and if the brake pedal is not fully applied, the system overrides and fully applies the brakes until the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) takes over to stop the wheels locking up. [1]
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Volvo V60 car launch - safety film "Take off"

mydamnvolvo · Post by **mydamnvolvo** » 03 Apr 2016, 18:46

I was talking about the third pedal, (not the clutch, obviously) which served as the park brake. I slammed on both of them and the car stopped immediately. I probably would've rolled right into her if I hadn't. That damn van won't die. AND on the way home the serpentine belt fell off again, so I was punished in the end, as if the car was telling me that it saved me, so now I have to do something for it. The van has been through two families, of 3 and 5 kids, and jeez, I have a lot of respect. Sure, only the drivers window works, the check engine light is on all the time, and THE SERPENTINE BELT FALLS OFF EVERY 9 AND A HALF DAYS, but I love it. I miss my van (that one is my husband's), but I'm excited for my next (and last) few months of my 960.

You all have been a pleasure,
Cynthia

mydamnvolvo · Post by **mydamnvolvo** » 03 Apr 2016, 18:48

oragex wrote:He he, that road rage.. I think we all get to this at one point or another.. I ended up remaining cool for most situations

Indeed, the E-brake will stop the car rather quickly if deployed while the car is moving

As for the parking brake, a few years earlier I was driving a Passat on the highway and needed to slam the brakes to slow down, heard a bang! and.. no more brakes! Luckily the hand brake was working fine on that car (as opposed to the one on a Volvo) and managed to slow down and stop on the side. The front flexible brake pipe had broken on the left side and was heavily cracked on the right side as well. Interestingly, on my actual Volvo these two hoses were also heavily cracked when I bought the car. Keep it safe:)

Jeez, I would've started screaming. My volvo e-brake sticks a little bc it was on for a year straight, some times the light comes on, but I think that car would stop if I needed it to.