Hand Brake Help

[White1]

Lately ive been finding that my 1er has a tendency to roll down driveways unless i crank on the lever, or put it in gear. I took it to my dealer and they said that they could find no issue with the adjustment; they of course dont have to live with coming out from home and finding the car at the bottom of the driveway. So basically im asking if anyone on here knows where the adjustment screw is on our cars? So i can adjust it myself.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

[Sylon]

You're supposed to put the car in gear when parked on a hill, regardless if you engage your parking brake (hand brake) or not.


If you are parking on a hill, and dont expect to have to at least pull the hand brake, then you need to be retaught the basics of driving a MT car.

[moveswiftly]

[White1]

Originally Posted by Sylon

You're supposed to put the car in gear when parked on a hill, regardless if you engage your parking brake (hand brake) or not.


If you are parking on a hill, and dont expect to have to at least pull the hand brake, then you need to be retaught the basics of driving a MT car.

You still didnt answer my post
Dude if youre gonna be a douche about it please dont reply. Trust me i know to put the car in gear on hills, but on a slight incline like that of my driveway the handbrake shoudl hold alone. It doesnt change the fact that the handbrake needs adjustment. BTW i can also push the car on flat ground with just the e brake holding...Its not supposed to do that now is it?(sarcasm).

Please post helpful info not a lesson on MT driving.

[Orangerec]

I actually posted the same thing this week. I alway put my car in gear when parked and have always had manual transmissions. I have to yank pretty hard on my hand brake to actually do anything. I called my dealer today and they are going to adjust it next week. In the past, I had a GTI that had to be adjusted a couple times throughout it's life. I'll keep you posted on what happens with mine next week.

-but, to answer your question, I don't know where the adjustment is.

[Sylon]

Originally Posted by White1

You still didnt answer my post
Dude if youre gonna be a douche about it please dont reply. Trust me i know to put the car in gear on hills, but on a slight incline like that of my driveway the handbrake shoudl hold alone. It doesnt change the fact that the handbrake needs adjustment. BTW i can also push the car on flat ground with just the e brake holding...Its not supposed to do that now is it?(sarcasm).

Please post helpful info not a lesson on MT driving.

I read this:

Originally Posted by White1

Lately ive been finding that my 1er has a tendency to roll down driveways unless i crank on the lever, or put it in gear.

And I say "duh". What should have been said was something along the lines of "I find my 1er has the tendency of rolling down hills EVEN THOUGH I have engaged the hand brake." That would tell me that your hand brake is going out. They have a tendency of doing that over time. Its normal. How to fix it, I have no clue. How to get BMW to work on it, engage the hand brake and push your car, right in front of them.


Other than that, I can't help ya. I wasn't trying to be as ass, your post was very misleading towards the side of "Noob MT owner".

[Dackelone]

On past BMW's the adjustment for the e-brake cables are from inside the car. Pull off the leather e-brake boot and use a 11mm socket to adjust them. It could also be that the e-brake shoes are worn out... but that usually only happens after 100K miles or so. Unless you drive around with the hand brake ON!!! But then the car will DONG you(warning chime). lol GL.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by White1

Lately ive been finding that my 1er has a tendency to roll down driveways unless i crank on the lever, or put it in gear. I took it to my dealer and they said that they could find no issue with the adjustment; they of course dont have to live with coming out from home and finding the car at the bottom of the driveway. So basically im asking if anyone on here knows where the adjustment screw is on our cars? So i can adjust it myself.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

It may not be holding due to the fact that the handbrake drum (inside the hat of the brake rotor) tends to corrode and not work well unless the procedure in the manual is followed to clean the braking surface. Can't remember which page, but car needs to be brought to a stop using the handbrake every so often to maintain it's efficiency. I usually follow the procedure after each time I wash the car.

[BavarianMotorWorks]

My 1 series also had a weak handbrake. The first time I mentioned it to my dealer they said they adjusted it but it seemed like there was hardly any difference. It seemed like the first 3-4 clicks did hardly anything and this was on even ground. I brought it back another time and adamantly told them that I think it is way to weak and I want it to hold stronger.

Well after I got back the car the second time around it was MUCH better. Most of the time 3-4 clicks hold the car really tight. Even on a hill 4-5 clicks feels like the car is going nowhere BUT I still put it in gear anyway. I have a garage so in the garage its 3-4 clicks and I leave the gear in neutral.

But I would try to really stress to the dealer that you feel the handbrake is really loose and that you feel it is a safety hazard. At leat that is what I did, I told them that on flat ground I dont feel I have to put the car in gear and that I don't feel safe knowing that my handbrake is loose. I think the way it was adjusted feels perfect to me now.

[tgxmike]

Hand brake on the 1er is very hard, I have a tendency to pull my GF's civic handbrake with the same force as the 1er and then she can not get it to release.

You should ALWAYS put the car in 1st gear (yes... alway 1st regardless of hill/direction) and pull the hand brake hard. The hand brake handle is short on the 1er so you don't get much leverage.

^ back to my always 1st gear comment, because I know a response is coming. 1st gear has a much larger gear ratio that REV, so it will hold better on hills that REVERSE.

[KingOfJericho]

Mine is very loose as well and I would be interested in tightening mine but you should always always always leave a manual car in gear, regardless of incline. It's free insurance.

[GaryS]

The hand brake is supposed to be self-adjusting. Try pulling it while coasting to a stop a few times.

If that doesn't work, go here: http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/...ost383569.html

[pinmagic]

Hmmm...my dad was an engineer, and he told me it's better to put the car in 2nd than in 1st. It still holds, but it's not as prone to damage to the transmission, if someone bumps you while you're parked. Discuss.

[LofgrenCL]

Gents,

On my older (mind you American) cars.. the rear brakes are often "auto-adjusted." You may want to try backing up and applying the E-Brake lever.. Stop, let vehicle roll forward then repeat the reverse procedure. It works on my Chevy.. But then again it is old...

If a BMW service manager did not do what I asked.. I would have the Ass..

[Smithy120d]

To answer the original post. The park brake adjustment is inside the brake disc.
Access is gained by removing one of the wheel bolts, jacking the wheel off the ground and rotating the wheel so that the teeth of the adjuster are visible in the hole ( a flashlight is required )
The adjustment is done using a flat blade screwdriver to turn the adjuster.
On the RH wheel the adjuster is located at the 10 o'clock position and is tightened by rotating the adjuster downward.
On the LH wheel the adjuster is located at the 2 o'clock position and is tightened by rotating the adjuster upward.

[crew_chief152]

You can adjust it by turning the adjuster wheel on the rear brakes. However, if you are not careful and adjust it too much you will burn up your e-brake pads. This is done by adjusting it too far out and they constantly rub the inside of the rear rotors as you drive. You will also smell the paint burning off. Another way to adjust your e-brake is to back up the car and as it is moving backwards slowly apply handbrake. Keep repeating this step untill it tightens up.

[aerobod]

Standard adjustment for the 1-series parking brake is to turn the adjuster pawl until the parking brake is fully tightened and the wheel can't be turned, then back off 8 notches. The wheel should rotate without dragging after the adjustment.

[Ash83]

101 MT driving rules:

When you park facing up hill put it in 1st.
When you park facing down hill put it in reverse.

[dorkdog]

Originally Posted by Ash83

101 MT driving rules:

When you park facing up hill put it in 1st.
When you park facing down hill put it in reverse.

Although practically I agree and use this advice, I don't like the fact that we have to have redundancy for our handbrake. Really, it is not good on the transmission and powertrain to have the weight of the car (vectored) to load the drivetrain all the way up to the pistons. I'm sure it causes wear somewhere, even if it is just a redundancy.

If given the choice, I get the wheel of the car turned and against the curb, and forget putting it in gear. In the plane we use wheel chocks; this seems to be the best crossover approach. If there's no curb, TIM YOYO. Have to use the trans to hold it in place as a redundancy to the handbrake.

I do this 'wheel against the curb' partly because I always drive MT and with no 'hillholder' (new to me) it's been far preferable to start from the curb rather than develop a rash while the clutch catches and you're drifting backwards into the curb. I had that happen in my Z3 once and scraped the livin bejesus out of the undercarriage.

Just my experience.

I've also noticed, on a side note, that in my car when I pull forward to a curb, as soon as the curb gets past the mirror attachment out the driver side and becomes visible, I'm 3' away from the curb. Perfect!

[Ash83]

Originally Posted by dorkdog

Although practically I agree and use this advice, I don't like the fact that we have to have redundancy for our handbrake. Really, it is not good on the transmission and powertrain to have the weight of the car (vectored) to load the drivetrain all the way up to the pistons. I'm sure it causes wear somewhere, even if it is just a redundancy.

If given the choice, I get the wheel of the car turned and against the curb, and forget putting it in gear. In the plane we use wheel chocks; this seems to be the best crossover approach. If there's no curb, TIM YOYO. Have to use the trans to hold it in place as a redundancy to the handbrake.

I do this 'wheel against the curb' partly because I always drive MT and with no 'hillholder' (new to me) it's been far preferable to start from the curb rather than develop a rash while the clutch catches and you're drifting backwards into the curb. I had that happen in my Z3 once and scraped the livin bejesus out of the undercarriage.

Just my experience.

I've also noticed, on a side note, that in my car when I pull forward to a curb, as soon as the curb gets past the mirror attachment out the driver side and becomes visible, I'm 3' away from the curb. Perfect!

And I use the wheel against the curve. but still will never leave the car in neutral on a hill.