Problems With Handbrake ?

[tinxi]

Is it just a fault with mine or are other people having problems with there C3 and its handbrake? My partner parked it on a hill last year and came in to his brothers next minute there was a very loud noise so went went out to be nosey and see what was going on! To my total shock it was wrapped up into a car down the road :blink: I was gutted luckily it wasn't a right off i asked my other half if he had applied the handbrake and he swears he had well to be honest he must have as if he hadn't as soon as he stuck his foot out it would have rolled. But being a woman i had to double check the car was fixed and a check on the handbrake came back fine no problems.

From this happening we always leave the car in gear ( which we all know he should have that day but men eh lol ). But on the occasion we go to pick up our daughter from school we will park on the car park which happens to be a slope and one of us will stay in the car with it running other will go and pick her up and on a few occasion there is a loud crunch the handbrake drops and the car rolls but luckily one of us has been there to apply brakes and handbrake again.

After contacting Citroen yet again they still deny this is a fault and there advice is to apply the handbrake without pressing the button in to hear it click into place which is very hard to get used to after years of driving pressing it in but we have done this and it still drops!

 

Anyone else having this problem? I know vauxhall are definitly having a mega problem with this and have eventually recalled there cars to add a spring any help would be appreciated ;)

[raveydavey]

A few things spring to mind.

 

It does state in my manual that when engaging the handbrake you should also push the brake pedal fully down to ensure the maximum effort is put onto the handbrake.

 

As you say the car should always be parked in gear in case of handbrake "failure" - I have dealt with no end of cars with damage attributed to handbrake failure where the handbrake is fine, just it hasn't been applied (either at all, or properly). This is especially prevelant on cars with rear disks, as these cool quite quickly once parked up and if the handbrake is only partially applied the cooling can result in the pads no longer making sufficient contact with the disks to hold the car and gravity takes over.

 

Also make sure that the handbrake is properly adjusted - it should be "on" within 2-4 clicks. I've seen cars where the handbrake lever is nearly vertical before it takes effect!

 

Personally I always park my car in gear and with a quarter turn of lock applied towards the kerb, just in case. But then again I once had to rescue one poor chaps Audi from a tree...(his garden was on a slope which then dropped down quite sharply into a wood - the car went down the drive, across the garden and ended up in the branches of a tree!)

[paul.h]

Have just read that Honda Civics are being recalled for a similar handbrake problem.

You do not say how old your car is but if you look in the service schedule, there is nothing that covers inspecting the rear brakes with the drums off. Last year I cleaned the rear drums/shoes on our 2003 1.4sx, it had done 25k miles. Both drums were very badly glazed and took a lot of effort to clean. The car had a new MOT but the glazing would reduce the efficiency of the brakes. With the drums off a check also needs to be made that the cylinders are not leaking brake fluid which would soak into the shoes so again they would not work fully. When removing the rear drums, the drum bearing dust cover has to be prised off and replaced with a new one and also the retaining nut has to be replaced.

[tinxi]

Have just read that Honda Civics are being recalled for a similar handbrake problem.

You do not say how old your car is but if you look in the service schedule, there is nothing that covers inspecting the rear brakes with the drums off. Last year I cleaned the rear drums/shoes on our 2003 1.4sx, it had done 25k miles. Both drums were very badly glazed and took a lot of effort to clean. The car had a new MOT but the glazing would reduce the efficiency of the brakes. With the drums off a check also needs to be made that the cylinders are not leaking brake fluid which would soak into the shoes so again they would not work fully. When removing the rear drums, the drum bearing dust cover has to be prised off and replaced with a new one and also the retaining nut has to be replaced.

 

It is a 2003 citroen c3 lx. I love this car to drive but as a fairly newish driver this handbrake prob scares me to death :s I just constantly park it in gear now still wish i hadn't let other half drive it and id have never known it did it :( saying that no doubt it would have reared its ugly head :blink: cheers for that ill get my other half on it as hes far more handy than me with cars. thanks both of you once again as im new to this xxxx

[paul.h]

With the rear brake drums off, it is worth the effort of filing off the wear ridges around the inside of the drum so the shoes can seat flat against the braking surface. This will also help future drum removal. We had a Vauxhall Viva which had an almost useless handbrake until this was sorted - the shoes were mainly contacting the ridge.

[Guest Hawki]

I had this problem with my 05 C4. Two months after I had it it rolled down the hill on its handbrake. Luckily it didnt hit anyone elses car only mangled the back end on the drivers side. It cost me over £300 and it was a real blow as it was a second hand car but an ex showroom so only had a few 1000 miles on it. Plus I didnt hear the alarm and my neighbour called the police out. It was a real fiasco.

 

When the car was tested (i had it tested by citroen and an independent) there was nothing wrong. Citroen implied because i was 'a girl' I obviously hadnt put the handbrake on enough. I had driven for about 2 hours before I stopped so the brakes would have been hot. The annoying thing was the handbrake was on hard (but not clicking it) and it was turned into the kerd. This was 2 years ago now but ever since I always leave it in gear and click the handbrake as fully on as I can without depressing the button.

 

It is really annoying that citroen didnt have any sympathy and it didnt make for a very good atmosphere each time I had my citroen serviced thereafter.

 

Just thought I post to say its not just C3s that have the problem.

[beachlife]

My wife has a C3 and does not have a problem with the handbrake. I have a Vauxhall Vectra and over the years a number of people have reported cars rolling backwards with the handbrake engaged. This was actually an issue raised on BBC`s Watchdog. Vauxhall have claimed there is no problem with the Vectra handbrake but Vecyta owners were sent a sticker (very high tec) to put on their visor advising them that when they engage handbrake not to press the button as it is applied. It seems that the teeth of the handbrake can slip out of their setting when the button is pressed. Why the teeth were not made bigger or the seating for the teeth designed for the teeth better only Vauxhall knows. However if you are having problems with the handbrake and worried this might be another solution.