I need some feedback from fellow 6MT owners out there: how far do you typically pull up your parking brake, and are you confident that it will immobilize the car?

I ask this because last Thursday I stopped my car, set the brake in my normal fashion (around 3-5 clicks past the point of firm resistance) and got out to retrieve my new phone book. The car rolled away, off the side of my driveway, down an embankment and into a tree. My dealership's response was that I didn't have the brake pulled ALL THE WAY up and there's nothing wrong with it.

Now maybe I'm off base here, but I've either owned or driven quite a few handbrake-equipped cars, and I've never had to pull as hard as I watched the service tech pull to get the brake to hold. If that's the way it's supposed to work, then it's poorly designed and poorly documented, as the owner's manual says to simply "pull the handle up" to set the brake.

The car was only a month old when this happened, and I'd used the parking brake on a daily basis without incident up until Thursday, although I can't be certain if I'd stopped in that particular spot before. If other drivers operate the brake the way I (and every other driver I've talked to around here) do, I'd appreciate it if you could try a little experiment for me. Stop your car on a slight grade, put it in neutral, set the brake as you normally would, and let your foot off the brake pedal. Does the car move?

Any help I can get on this from fellow owners would be greatly appreciated.

If Grubbs reads this, I would appreciate some input as well. Is the parking brake really designed to be pulled all the way to a mechanical stop under normal operation?

Thanks,

-- Matt

 

I can't comment on what's supposed to happen, but I have the same issue (no trees, though). I just yank harder and make sure it's not rolling before getting out.

I would love to fix this issue, because, frankly, it's a pain in the ***. Also, if I'm truly in an emergency, I want to be able to apply the ebrake without full crank.

 

I've noticed the same thing as well. The parking brake seems to require a lot more pull / force in order to hold the car than what I'm used to. When I first got the car, I had several instances where I would pull up the parking brake as usual, then let go of the brake pedal. Next thing I know the car is slipping backwards! Luckily though, I've been in the car everytime, so I just pulled up harder. Now days, I just make sure to pull up hard, and check that the car is not moving before I get out - I also put it into 1st gear. But now doubt, it would be easier / better if the parking brake did not require such force.

 

Sorry about your mishap.
It does seem that on this car it takes more force than usually to proper set parking brake. I compare it to Toyota Celica I used to own. When I park on a grade I set parking brake so that the car does not roll and then couple more clicks. Then I put it in 1st gear.

2004 6MT Sedan / Desert Platinum / Willow / Sunroof

 

Yup, the hand brake for this car definite requires higher than average force to hold. I park with first gear engaged for the added margin of safety. Don't be afraid to give the lever a good pull as they are fairly robust by design.


Clint (THX723)

 

I also use caution when setting the parking brake. Between my wife and I, we have had eight other cars with hand-actuated parking brakes and none of them has required the mental attention (to make sure it grabs with enough force) that the G does.

I’ll be taking the car in soon to address some TSBs. I am not expecting that the dealer will be able to do anything about the whimpy parking brake action but at least it will be noted for the record.


*'03.5 MT6 Sedan, Premium, CB*

*'00 Saleen S281-SC* http://members.cardomain.com/headpaneer

 

Good point that we should bring it up to the dealer. Who knows, if they get enough comments, maybe Nissan will do something.

 

Ya, thats weird. I do own a 5AT, but you shouldnt be having to hard a time to keep the car from rolling.

<font color=blue>2004 TB 5AT Sedan</font color=blue>

 

I have noticed that if I am on a steep driveway, I have to pull the brake handle to the point that the cable feels like it is elongating quite alot before the brake holds.

 

I just had the rear brakes (pads and rotors) replaced under warrenty - and when I picked the car up had the same problem with the parking brake - I pulled up as hard as possible - car still rolled back (it worked great prior to getting the breaks done). I called the dealership on this - seems that checking the parking break isn't part of the warrenty replacement checklist - funny how if you were to take the car in to be safety'd it wouldn't pass if the parking break didn't work - but when they change brakes they don't check it??? The dealership told me that the parking break is a different system then the normal breaks...I find that hard to understand...

Anyways - the car is going back tomorrow to get checked out...I'll let you'all know what I'm told.

 

I always put it on 1st gear along with the parking brake to avoid any mishap. As far as i remember i just pull the parking break to normal position and not very high and never had problems so far

 

I noted this on my '04 sedan as well. Since the parking brake system has it's own set of brake shoes in the rear brake rotor hubs, they never get broken-in because they are only used when the car is sitting still. I went to an empty parking lot and let the car roll at about 5-10 miles per hour while GENTLY applying and releasing the parking brake (hold the button down so it doesn't latch). I did this in 4 sessions for about 5 min each to prevent the system from overheating. Now the car sits still with 7-10 clicks of the emergency brake. Just my $.02.

 

I know this is a little off topic, first I'll answer the question. My brake is the same, I have to yank it all the way up to be stable. I started to roll back once and the realised I need to yank it a little more. However in my 02 maxima, I had a similar incident with the car off on a slight incline in a parking lot, I actually left it in gear instead of the parking brake and my car started to rool back while in first gear. The frightening part is the normal brake (pedal) didn't work while the car was turned off, talk about scrambling for keys to turn on the ignition whilst rolling back. Needless to say I took it to the dealer the very next day and the said everything is fine, and that's how the gears work and some BS about not being able to use a low range gear to stop it from rolling.

 

Don't have a G35 yet, but it seems like it could be corrected with a simple adjustment of the cable, though I think the console might need to be removed for that.

 

I have not had this problem since it's pretty flat where I live but it's good to know. Sorry about your G35, Matt.