Prius (2004-09) :: Rear Wheels Stuck When Released Parking Brake?
Nov 15, 2015
My brother-in-law has an '04 with ~160K miles that we're potentially interested in picking up from him. It's been sitting for awhile with the parking brake on. When going to try it out today I released the parking brake (it seemed to release okay) but both rear wheels were stuck. I drove it a few feet and the left rear freed up but the right rear would not budge (multiple attempts.) It was dragging on their driveway and I could barely get the car back out of the way.
Looking for (videos, manual, etc.) how the parking brake works? Is there an external adjustment I can reach or some place to try to release the cable? We had an '06 that our daughter now drives but I've never had any issues with rear brakes in 200+K miles on that car.
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Had my car parked outside of work for about 12 hours yesterday, and in the NYC cold front, the parking break must have stuck on slightly. When I started to move, despite the fact I'd released the parking break, I received a warning in the MFI that said PARKING BREAK FAILURE TO RELEASE. I pulled the handle again and heard it pop just a little more off. Everything worked great after that. If I hadn't received the alert I probably would have driven off with it on. I'd probably have noticed the hesitation and checked the break again, but the alert was useful. Some of the warnings in the MFI can appear to be a pain at times, but it's amazing how thorough a job VW has done monitoring the cars systems and giving real time information if something doesn't work. You just have to make sure you don't get info overload from it all!!
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I am trying to remove the rear rotor of a 2007 Camry, but it appears to be stuck on the parking brake. The parking brake is not engaged, but the pads are firmly pressed against the rotor (rotor was loosen from hub assembly using bolts through the two threaded holes).
I have removed the rubber plug and attempted to turn the star adjuster, but it doesn't seem to move in either direction. Also, the adjuster should rotate away from you to tighten the brake and toward you to loosen, correct?
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I'm having trouble with the headlights on my 2003 Chevy Tracker. When it's light out, my headlights come on automatically when I release the parking brake, but turn off if I turn the switch that would normally turn them on. When it is dark out, or I drive under a bridge etc, they turn off and I can't manually turn them on. I can "flash" my headlights, but if I turn them on as if to leave them on, they don't turn on. This problem started about the same time that my AC blower stopped working, so I replaced the blower motor resistor and all fuses (I've heard that the blower motor resistor is also involved with the headlights). This fixed the AC, but had no effect on the headlights.
I can trick the lights into turning on at night only by shining a bright light directly on the sensor - they turn back off as soon as I remove the light. I took it to Pep Boys for a basic electrical diagnostic to see if I might be missing something silly, but once I described the problem they wouldn't even bother - told me to take it to the dealer and have the body regulator module reprogrammed.
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I have a 2004 Elantra GLS. My left rear brake was hanging (wheel was very hot to the touch after driving, while other wheels were not), so I had a friend check the brake pads. We decided to replace the pads and rotors. While doing so, the parking brake seemed stuck in the on position, so I opted to have him disconnect it completely until I could afford to replace it. I had used it for the first time about 2 weeks before I noticed the hot brake problem, so we figured that must have been why the brake was hanging.
My friend replaced the rotors and pads, put some penetrant/lubricant on the piston of the caliper and reassembled the brakes. He did use the special tool to spin the caliper in when putting the pads on, however he didn't know that was necessary and tried to force them in with a C-clamp first.
Now, I seem to have two problems:
1. The left rear brake still hangs sometimes. I will drive the car and when I park it I can feel the heat coming off of the left rear wheel. It is extremely hot, so I know the brake is hanging (even with the parking brake disconnected). What is the problem here? Is the caliper bad? Would replacing the caliper solve the problem? Does the parking brake have to be connected to stop the caliper from hanging up?
2. My second problem is the pulsating of the brakes. I am afraid the rotor is warped because of the heat, or maybe he didn't clean everything well enough before he put the new rotor on. How can I figure out what the problem is? Is there a way to check a rotor to see if it is warped? Could there be another reason I feel the pulsating brakes? By the way, the brake fluid is full.
If the caliper needs to be replaced and I can leave the parking brake disconnected, are there any special instructions my friend should know about before working on this? He does work on a lot of cars and rebuilds cars to sell, so he is pretty knowledgeable. I think the only thing he didn't know about was rotating the piston. I would like to provide him with detailed instructions if necessary.
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The left driver's side wheel is "stuck." The car is up on the jack, the lug nuts are all off, but the wheel will not come off.
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I noticed an increasingly loud noise when my GX 470 is in motion. It isn't tied to engine speed, so I figure it probably has something to do with the wheels.
I jacked up the vehicle and spun each wheel independently in neutral. Front wheels were fine. Rear driver's wheel was fine. Rear passenger's wheel - fine with parking brake disengaged. But with brake engaged, you can spin the wheel backward but not forward.
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Just got my hair cut and go to start my car and the damn thing is stuck!! The check engine light is on and there is a P with a circle and a line through is like a no smoking sign. IT says parking brake fault see owners manual. Well I can't find anything in the manual as to how to get this thing to release. The car is on a slight hill, nothing steep. I know for a fact I did not put it on. Manul says it will test itself if not used for a long time. How to get this car moving? Its sitting there about 2 miles down the road.
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About two weeks ago I noticed that my parking brake light was not illuminating when I enagaged the brake. Since then it sometimes comes on when I engage the brake but not always (most of the time it doesn't). I can't replicate the conditions and there doesn't appear to be a pattern of temp or time of day.It is an '04 with 146,000 miles.
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I replaced brake pads on my 05 Prius Monday. The instructions I have say to pull 2 relays and pump and hold the brake pedal until I hear a buzz. This has worked fine the last time I did the brakes. This time I got the Brake, Parking brake,VSC and ABS lights when I powered up.
I did not open the hydraulic system, just push in the pistons. I test drove it then touched the brakes. The left front and right rear rotor/drums were hot but the others were not. Long story short, I want to reset the ABS system.
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I replaced my rear brake shoes this past weekend. Immediately after I replaced them, the ABS, VSC, ((!)), and Parking Brake lights came on. I had not read that I should've disconnected the 12V battery before changing the shoes, so I wonder if that's related to the issue. I've read through as many threads here that I could dig up, but I still have questions. Here is what I know so far:
Car Info: 2004, 210k miles, Original 12V battery
Relevant Info: While replacing the shoes, one of the seals(?) (rubber part that slid over the piston(?)) slid off. I put it back on, and have checked for any fluids leaking, and have found none. I may pull the rotors off and check this again, though. There were no DTCs logged prior to the shoe replacement. Battery has shown no signs of dying, although I am going to check the voltage on it after I post this.
I tried jumping the pins, and I get the following flash codes (I tried resetting, but they came back immediately):
ABS: 4-2
VSC: 4-5
((!)): 6-5
I tried finding information on these flash codes, but have found nothing...
My CHS Tank was damaged in an accident a few years ago. I just replaced the CHS tank and the Inverter Coolant Pump within the last 12 months. It is still running when I power the car on and off as it should. I also jumped the fuse with a paperclip to double check that it runs.
My brake fluid levels are fine right now.
Possibly unrelated to the lights, but applying the parking brake is very easy. I don't think I adjusted the star adjuster enough. This is my first time messing with drum brakes, so it's possible I didn't adjust that correctly. Are these self-adjusting, or do I need to go back and adjust them by hand?
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Doing a rear brake job on my 2008 elantra. Left went fine. However, the right rotor is stuck on the parking brake. It is loose, but held on to the springs of the parking brake.
How do you back off the parking brake? Also, how do you remove the parking brake cable?
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ok, just started to use my vag and now im stuck on trying to change my blinkers from 3 to 4 clicks and releasing to parking brake
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This morning I drove my car to see my dentist. When I parked I engaged the parking brake as I always do out of habit. However this time when I was done at the dentist and got in my car I tried to disengage the parking brake pedal and it wouldn't release. It kept going lower. Now I think its pretty much floored. I had to leave the car in the parking lot as it started to rain heavily. How to release the brake pedal. ? I think it must just be a stuck lever or gear thats preventing the release mechanism from working. Any pics or have dis-assembled a parking brake pedal on the phaeton before.
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I traded my 2007 Prius for the 2010 III Prius on 5/30. I had 5 wonderful days with it and on the 6th day, it started.
There is a loud creaking noise when the brake pedal is pushed and released.
The dealership contacted Toyota and did everything that was suggested to correct the problem and no luck.
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I have a 2006 Prius that I've had since 2012. The parking brake light was intermittently having a hard time turning off every time I disengaged the brake and became more inconsistent until finally, now, for about 6 months the light has just remained on the entire time, regardless of whether or not the brake was engaged.
Just to clarify the brake is still fully functional and will prevent the car from rolling when engaged.
I recently failed my inspection because of the light. The mechanics of the brake are fine, but the light wont turn off. They quoted me around $1,000 to fix due to them having to rip out the whole dash to get to the parking brake assembly (8 hours of labor).
However, is there any way to access the pedal to do the repairs without having to take the interior of the car apart? I've also heard that it could mean my brake fluid is low? But they didn't mention that during the inspection.
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Today I took my 2006 Toyota Prius with 167,000 miles out to drive my dog to the vet. I turned the car on and deactivated the parking break and noticed the light stayed on, then I noticed the VSC and ABS lights stayed on as well.
My car was parked backwards on a driveway incline for about 14 hours. My 12v battery is old, not sure what shape it is in. The hybrid battery was replaced 2 years ago. I have been reading up and i guess it could be a sensor, skid sensor, 12v battery, or some sort of pump. Also, my parking break has felt a little weak as of late.
The car still drives, not sure if it drives funny or psychologically I think it does.
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My buddy has 2005 Ford Ranger, 4.0L V6, manual with 4WD. It cranks fine, shifts through gears, but it will not move. We're thinking something to do with the parking brake, but I don't have much knowledge about brake systems. A cursory inspection showed a cable without much rust, some rust on the rear drum brakes, and around the mounting where the brake cable runs into the brake drum. I can pull downward on the cable about three inches, so it doesn't seem like the cable is pulled too taut. The pressure on the brake pedal feels about normal.
(edit: something sort of important I forgot to mention, which is why I don't think it's the transmission. In neutral, we cannot push the truck. When pushing from the rear, it will rock back and forth a few inches. When pushing from the front, the truck will not budge at all with two guys pushing on it.)
What sorts of tests can we do to pin down where the problem lies? If it is the parking brake, how can we loosen it up enough to get the truck moving to a shop (or at least to the garage where we can get to the brake shoes)?
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Ok so this is the problem now, i went to check my fuses and pulled a #20 out to see if the cigarette lighter fuse was blown. Guess what? i start the car and all of a sudden the Electronic Parking brake failure kicked on. I tried to get the car out and now it won't get out of park! FML i heard that you can just unplug the battery for 15 min and that should reset the car but who knows... I got vw roadside coming to see what they can do it might need to get towed though
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The switch for the parking brake pedal light self loosened (a known issue with this switch) over the past six months and today it finally fell off the pedal assembly. The only way I can see to do the repair is to remove the three fasteners that attach the parking brake pedal assembly to the dash and drop the pedal to the floor to refasten the switch. It appears to be possible; however, there are lots of stuff around the assembly that might get in the way of dropping the assembly so I raised the white flag and called it a day.
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The closest car wash is less than two miles from our home and we often bring the GX home directly from the car wash and park it in the garage. We've noticed that the parking brake remains applied when we start the GX the next morning, even though the foot pedal releases. Presumably, the parking brake components were wet from the car wash and enough rust/corrosion forms overnight so that the springs to release the brake can't overcome the 'stiction'.
The GX "squats and grunts" when we put it in gear, but doesn't move. Shifting into reverse solves the problem ... there's a loud 'pop' from the rear of the vehicle as the brake releases, the GX starts to move, but in reverse, which we quickly stop with the service brake, then we shift into forward and drive off ... did I mention that we back into our garage?
I may already have confessed that we are heavy parking brake users ... every time we park the vehicle, even if just temporarily while we step out of the vehicle to get the mail, etc. We use the parking brake so much that the cable stretches and every year our dealership has to re-tension.
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