i drove my car on the highway with the emergency brake on--did i screw up my car?

[Zenmervolt]

i drove it again yesterday and it seemed ok so im just going to forget about it for now unless something happens

This is a great idea. Having your rear brake pads glazed and near useless is nothing at all to be concerned about.

ZV

 

[cabri]

yes it still works but you have to pull up on it more. i probably drove with it on before. i didnt see the dash cuz i use that space to hold a cup, flashlight, bridge fare etc... it was sort of blocked

i drove it again yesterday and it seemed ok so im just going to forget about it for now unless something happens

Smart move. :thumbsdown:

When something happens, it will be the bad type and then too late.

 

[LTC8K6]

Possibly boiled the fluid, creating a soft pedal?

Fluid cooled down, pedal feels normal?

But I'd hate to see the pads...

 

[KentState]

Did it not smell horrible when you got out of the car. Even bedding brakes, they leave a noticeable smell.

 

[pcgeek11]

I've never seen a car with rear disc brakes have a completely different brake for the e-brake. The ones I've seen just have a mechanical linkage to the e-break, so it's the same brake but activated/powered differently.

that's what i was going to say.

Wow really? You guys must not get out much.

 

[sontakke]

yes it still works but you have to pull up on it more. i probably drove with it on before. i didnt see the dash cuz i use that space to hold a cup, flashlight, bridge fare etc... it was sort of blocked

i drove it again yesterday and it seemed ok so im just going to forget about it for now unless something happens

I hope you were joking about the bolded portion :-( Do you know if your car has drum parking brakes? If you post exact model and trim, somebody would be able to tell you.

 

[Sheep221]

yes it still works but you have to pull up on it more. i probably drove with it on before. i didnt see the dash cuz i use that space to hold a cup, flashlight, bridge fare etc... it was sort of blocked

i drove it again yesterday and it seemed ok so im just going to forget about it for now unless something happens

Tell-tales are installed right under speedmeter/tachometer/odograph just in front of you, so I try to believe you don't put anything there...

But even if you didn't see the dash light on, the driving with parking brake engaged still feels quite sturdy. Technically it has more levels so if you were able to move you didn't damage it yet.

 

[olds]

I rented a John Deere 310 and trailer one time. When it was time to return it I parked in a steep part of my yard to hose down the hoe and the trailer so I set my e-brake. It was a fairly steep climb out of the property and I got about 3 miles down the road when I noticed my e-brake was still on. The 7.5 PSD hadn't missed a beat. I only noticed when I came to a stop sign and the truck coasted to a stop rather quickly.
No damage done.

 

[LTC8K6]

I rented a John Deere 310 and trailer one time. When it was time to return it I parked in a steep part of my yard to hose down the hoe and the trailer so I set my e-brake. It was a fairly steep climb out of the property and I got about 3 miles down the road when I noticed my e-brake was still on. The 7.5 PSD hadn't missed a beat. I only noticed when I came to a stop sign and the truck coasted to a stop rather quickly.
No damage done.

The park brake is pretty weak even when it's in good working order. Once the pads or shoes are hotter than hell, after about 200 yards, I suspect they offer very little friction.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

yes it still works but you have to pull up on it more. i probably drove with it on before. i didnt see the dash cuz i use that space to hold a cup, flashlight, bridge fare etc... it was sort of blocked

i drove it again yesterday and it seemed ok so im just going to forget about it for now unless something happens

They're called idiot lights for a reason.

 

[kitatech]

I had done this myself (and I suspect we're not alone) and they continued to work fine....but in the end I had to replace the pads, @ 110k miles, and the drums @ 170k miles on my 99 Altima.

 

[Raduque]

This is wrong as a blanket statement.

Many companies use mechanisms for the parking brake that cause it to actuate the caliper for the rear disc brakes. Ford and GM both prefer such systems on cars with rear disc brakes. These cars have no separate parking brake.

While some cars with rear discs do have a small drum brake for the parking brake, this is typically only when the vehicle uses fixed calipers instead of the more common single-piston floating caliper designs.

In the case of the OP's Passat, the parking brake uses the normal service brake. If he drove for 20 miles with the parking brake on, his rear brake pads are likely quite nicely toasted.

ZV

Both my previous (2001) and current (2004) F150s have separate cable-actuated systems for the parking brake. Of course, these are both older vehicles, and trucks, and so are not representative of modern ones.

 

[skyking]

our Mk IV VW's have the integral caliper brake. I have never been a fan of that system, but there is no way you can drive off with that brake on. it grabs really well.

 

[_Rick_]

Fun fact: If you can feel the brake pedal go soft, when you pull the lever, that means you only have one brake system
First time I felt it, it weirded me a bit out. Not even sure which car that was.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Both my previous (2001) and current (2004) F150s have separate cable-actuated systems for the parking brake. Of course, these are both older vehicles, and trucks, and so are not representative of modern ones.

In most Ford cars (and some trucks), Ford uses a cable system that turns what is essentially a screw in the rear caliper, which presses on the piston and applies the service brake.

GM uses a similar system in many vehicles.

This training manual shows a similar system used by Lexus (as well as the type of system used on your F-150 that has a separate drum brake cast into the rear rotor hat).

ZV

 

[Raduque]

In most Ford cars (and some trucks), Ford uses a cable system that turns what is essentially a screw in the rear caliper, which presses on the piston and applies the service brake.

That system seems... overly complex and prone to failure.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

That system seems... overly complex and prone to failure.

Pretty simple, actually. The screw provides extra force as worm mechanism does a good job of transferring large motion-little force into small motion-lot of force.

 

[Kenmitch]

OP....Don't drink/toke and drive!

 

[Zenmervolt]

Pretty simple, actually. The screw provides extra force as worm mechanism does a good job of transferring large motion-little force into small motion-lot of force.

This. It's quite elegant as it saves the need for a separate brake system as well. Also, it self-adjusts, unlike a separate parking brake mechanism which needs to be manually adjusted every few years.

The caveat is that it can only really be used on single-piston floating caliper disc brakes since multi-piston calipers would need each piston's mechanism to be carefully synchronized with each other piston's mechanism to avoid issues with the pads getting misaligned.

ZV

 

[Bubbleawsome]

We've driven our honda minivan at ~40mph for 5-6 miles at a time a couple times. It doesn't beep at you. Still works. :/

 

[skyking]

Fun fact: If you can feel the brake pedal go soft, when you pull the lever, that means you only have one brake system
First time I felt it, it weirded me a bit out. Not even sure which car that was.

I remember that first time too. Pretty neat demonstration of the facts.
Our honda pilot has the little drum system, and it had serious drawbacks as well. I took it on the beach and later rinsed the car, but the drum does not rinse out at all and gets really ugly in there due to lack of friction use to scrub off the rust and film.

 

[vshah]

as mitch hedberg said, "emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever"

 

[DougoMan]

I bet there is a lot of slack in your emergency brake and that it was not engaged completely. Next time you have the car looked it have them check that and then maybe it will be harder to engage the brake half way and drive the car without knowing it's on.

It obviously wasn't on all the way, or else you would not have been able to drive that easily. So maybe it didn't wear much.

 

[BUTCH1]

This is wrong as a blanket statement.

Many companies use mechanisms for the parking brake that cause it to actuate the caliper for the rear disc brakes. Ford and GM both prefer such systems on cars with rear disc brakes. These cars have no separate parking brake.

While some cars with rear discs do have a small drum brake for the parking brake, this is typically only when the vehicle uses fixed calipers instead of the more common single-piston floating caliper designs.

In the case of the OP's Passat, the parking brake uses the normal service brake. If he drove for 20 miles with the parking brake on, his rear brake pads are likely quite nicely toasted.

ZV

Yea, my GM just uses the existing calipers as the parking brake, it also chimes violently if you go more than about 1/8 mile with it still engaged, kind of a good feature IMO, now if they would get off their ass's and start working on these recalls, I've got 3 now that need to be done, haven't received anything in the mail and I'm still at the address I was when I bought the car.

 

[BUTCH1]

They're called idiot lights for a reason.

Really the only light that would come on if his master cylinder ran low or the ABS didn't pass the test the BCM puts it through upon startup.