Team-BHP - Accidently drove my car with handbrake on!

This has happened to me three years ago.I was driving with my family on NH47 and I stopped near a small shop to buy something and while I was talking to the shopkeeper, by sitting on the seat itself, my 5 years old son pulled the handbrake. I didn't notice it and even my wife didn't notice it. I engaged the gear and vehicle started to move; I felt some resistance and I was wondering what happened to the car. After a km or so, some burning smell started to come in and I stopped the car for a check. I realized it is from the brake and I told my wife. By the time, my wife noticed the handbrake. As an execuse, my son told me that whenever I stop the car, usually I engage the handbrake, and this time I did not do it, so he did it. Since he was too small, the handbrake was not engaged properly.Moral: Children always observe their parents carefully.CLJ

Like many have mentioned, all of us have at some time or the other done some "handbrake" driving. However, I have now made it a habit to engage the handbrake whenever I stop, even at a redlight. That way it has gone into my system that I have to release the handbrake before I start move next! Now I do not even realise that my hand automatically goes to release the handbrake before I release the clutch. No mistakes made since - touch wood!

On the topic of handbrakes, I have two queries:
a) Many drivers tend to pull up the HB lever rather forcefully (and nearly violently) up to the maximum extent possible. In fact, it does look like they are using their complete body force in bringing up that lever! I usually bring it up gently till I feel the brakes engage sufficiently and pull up a wee bit more (but never forcefully). Now, is that the right thing to do?
b) Some people suggest that one should press the brake pedal before engaging the handbrake. Is that really necessary? Any rules or tips & tricks here?

While talking of habits during driving I have also made it a cardinal rule that the car is never to be put in either first or reverse gear when it is still in motion (however slow that may be). I slot the car into first or reverse gear only when it is at a full stop. Dont know whether this is a smart practice, but feel it to be so. Anyone having a different view on this?

Cheers,
Ssbiitm

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez (Post 1672018)

nitrous, could you elaborate on how the clutch gets affected if the car is driven with the handbrake on?

The clutchplate is like a bridge between the engine and the transmission

Normal Operation

Engine-->Flywheel-->Clutch plate-->gears--> differential--->wheels

There is some loss of power at all points from clutch to wheels

With Handbrake on

Engine-->Flywheel-->:Shockked:Clutch plate-->gears--> differential--->wheels

when the handbrake is engaged,the rear brake is engaged -

power from the engine has to be transmitted to the wheels,but the wheels are offering resistance.So the clutch plate slips, rubs like crazy with the flywheel and begins to wear out may times faster

I purchased a Indica Vista TDI and as I was new to driving cars (I had driven tractors only before that) forgot disengaging the Parking Brake fully.I just pulled it half way and I have driven it for 20+ kms.stupid:

Initially I felt the resistance but I didnt understand why it was so and just gave more throttle and the car seemed to respond better now :deadhorseand i drove with the handbrake on for 20+ kms.I was about to take turn at a crossing and thats when i tried to brake and my god the brake didnt respond at all.(how can it be it was already applied?lol:)Luckily i avoided banging a cycle wallah and still I couldnot understand what had happened and i drove the car to my house(More 5 kms) just before reaching the house I felt burning smell and got down to realise it was from my rear wheels and so I realised that handbrake was on for full 20 kms.The drums were very very hot,they were fuming for more 30 minutes.Next day the car behaved normally.I took the car to service station and removed the wheels and they told me the brake pads had weared out a little and due to the heat the grease from the wheel bearings had come out. As you already know these bearings come grease packed so he just wiped out the bearings and put the wheels back but now I worry the less quantity of grease will spoil the bearing life. I also dont know whether I should make them remove the bearings seal and apply grease.I wonder they will just get the bearing seal again to fit and even if they fit I doubt it would not be leakproof and might attaract dust and grime.

I guess it happens to everyone at some point in their life. I actually drove the car for around 25 km(thats a long drive with the handbrake) and along the ride I was thinking that there is something wrong with the brakes but didn't realize that I was driving with the handbrake. By the time I reached home they were totally gone.

Everyone, I tried to find a post on this, but couldn't. Point me to a thread/post that exists or merge this thread there.

I was driving back from Mysore to Hyderabad last night and on arriving home, I noticed that the handbrakes were quite lose.

I parked and later checked the rear tyres, they were quite warm (almost hot), the wheelcaps were warmer. Front tyres were not.

Now I think I didn't do anything stupid till the last toll gate on the highway, but I'm not sure the handbrakes were taken off there when I started.

Either way, I don't know how much damage is done already - what it the advice?

I can't leave the car in the garage more than a day - I'm traveling out of town on Friday.

I have a Figo.

Also for several days I have been noticing some sound coming when I reverse the car into my parking spot and turn the steering. The sound was there last week, but became noticeably worse after I came back from HYD-Mysore-HYD drive. What could this be.

Happened with me when I had just learnt driving (early 2012) and then bought a new Santro. I forgot to disengage the hand brake and started driving. I could feel the resistance and no matter how much I accelerated, speed didn't improve. I shifted from LPG to Petrol, still no effect. Now this is when I panicked. Having no clue of what would have happened to a brand new car. Only after a few kms did I realize it and laughed at my stupidity.

Did I learn it from this first mistake? No.

Next time, I picked up my sister from her friend's place and I was taking a U-turn and holding traffic on both the ends. Everybody blowing is horns shouting at me and I am again switching from LPG to petrol but it doesn't help. My sister is looking at me and I am so full of sweat and embarassed and then realized, disengaged handbrake and drove off. I blamed poor LPG performance to save my face in front of my sister.:D

Now the situation is, I keep checking now and then and fear that I might actually engage a handbrake while driving! Paranoia! Just like it was in some movie that people actually lift a handset of a landline when they are eagerly waiting for a call.lol:

^^ Happened a couple of times with my Alto as well,though for a very short distance. The hand brake goes up by six or seven notches to fully engage. Then it will not be possible to move the car and we will immediately notice it or it will stall. If it is engaged by just two or three notches, it is possible to move without noticing anything amiss.

@Vina
Don't worry. Happens with everyone one time or the other. If you did not notice it, it was not properly engaged. Try to move the car now with the hand brake fully on. If you can't, then everything is OK. If you can, take it to the workshop for a check.

I drove with my handbrakes on for about 25 mins one day after a 10 day gap. My heart jumped in my mouth when I almost banged my car into the rear of an ST bus because the brakes were extremely weak when I stepped on them. Thats when I suddenly noticed the burning smell in my nostrils.

I carefully drove to the corner of the road (even those 50mtrs were looking dicey!) and let it cool down for 20 mins while I stepped out for a cuppa tea. I guess the brake fluid would also have overheated ?

--R

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard (Post 2914749)

How do you guys manage to drive with the handbrake pulled up?

I tried driving my Spark with the handbrake on, just to see whether it would move or not, but my car didn't even move half an inch.

You must be putting the handbrakes on with as much force as your triceps can muster - I usually put them lightly, so the car can move if I release the clutch slowly, but stalls if I release it suddenly.

At two or three clicks only, handbrakes will not prevent the engine from moving the car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragul (Post 2914950)

....
I carefully drove to the corner of the road (even those 50mtrs were looking dicey!) and let it cool down for 20 mins while I stepped out for a cuppa tea. I guess the brake fluid would also have overheated ?

--R

Your car has disk brakes or drums? From what I read on the internet (and experienced unfortunately on Monday) - drum brakes get really hot and then expand. Once they expand, more travel is needed by the brakes in the first place to get the same braking pressure. Also hot brake linings have less friction.

Still, it is strange, because handbrakes would affect only rear tyres.

If this continues for a long time, then the entire subsystems connected to wheels get hot, including the bearing and brake assemblies - in the worst case brake fluid can boil off leading to complete failure.

Once my tyres cooled down, the brakes were back to 4-5 notches (though I think it is one notch higher than what it used to be - but I can live with that). I haven't noticed much of a difference in

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2915955)

Rear are drum, front disc. Its a RWD Gypsy.

--R