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

[OBLAMA2009]

i parked my passat outside someones house which was on a hill and so i used my emergency brake to park, which i normally never do and when i left i drove my car for 20 miles without releasing the emergency brake and it sort of feels like the brake pedal pushes much farther down than normal now. did driving with the brake on cause that? or is the emergency brake mechanically separate from the regular brakes?

 

[pcgeek11]

i parked my passat outside someones house which was on a hill and so i used my emergency brake to park, which i normally never do and when i left i drove my car for 20 miles without releasing the emergency brake and it sort of feels like the brake pedal pushes much farther down than normal now. did driving with the brake on cause that? or is the emergency brake mechanically separate from the regular brakes?

It depends on what type of rear brakes you have. If disc brakes the parking/emergency brake is separate from the regular brakes. If you have drum rear brakes the parking/emergency brakes is mechanical but actuates the same brake shoes as the regular brakes.

Considering it is an VW Passat that probably has rear disc brakes. I would say yes it is a separate brake system.

 

[_Rick_]

Well, the parking brake is probably ruined now, so just take it into a shop, and have them have a look at the rear brakes as well.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

argh, thx u guys

 

[pcgeek11]

Well, the parking brake is probably ruined now, so just take it into a shop, and have them have a look at the rear brakes as well.

I wouldn't say that they are ruined. Probably shortened the life quite a bit, but not ruined.

You are probably just fine and it will not have any impact on the normal brakes ( if you have rear disc, which you probably do ).

 

[michal1980]

I wouldn't say that they are ruined. Probably shortened the life quite a bit, but not ruined.

You are probably just fine and it will not have any impact on the normal brakes ( if you have rear disc, which you probably do ).

even with drums, you'd just lose some shoe material. You might have glazed them I suppose.

 

[_Rick_]

I wouldn't say that they are ruined. Probably shortened the life quite a bit, but not ruined.

You are probably just fine and it will not have any impact on the normal brakes ( if you have rear disc, which you probably do ).

20 miles at highway speeds will probably do bad things to a brake that is primarily designed as a static brake. But I suppose OP can always give parking on a hill a try, and see if the thing still holds.

 

[Meghan54]

Depends on the year of your Passat. I do know some years used an electric motor driven parking brake system that utilized the rear disc brake pads for parking function. EPB (Electric Park Brake)[FONT=arial,sans-serif] [/FONT] it was called, activated by a push button on the dash. Completely different than a pedal/handle operated system with a cable and separate pads/shoes inside the rotor.

 

[basslover1]

What year is it?

I know on the B5 Passats (98-2005) they were rear brake biased under light braking, as to reduce nose dive, so the rear brakes would wear out more quickly if most of the time was spent city driving.

Regardless, if you have rear disc brakes (you should, depending on MY), you probably just took a few years of life off them. More than likely you'll just need to replace the pads, but I'd still have the rotors checked to make sure they aren't warped. If they are warped, you'll probably have to replace them; they're probably too thin to turn to begin with.

 

[cbrsurfr]

If it's anything like my GTI then it uses the regular rear calipers as the parking brake. The first pad job I did, I forgot to release the parking brake and wondered why I couldn't get the calipers off.

 

[Squeetard]

Take it in. 20 miles on the hwy with the E-Brake on and your rotors would have been glowing white hot. Probably melted the axle seals.

 

[MixMasterTang]

It depends on what type of rear brakes you have. If disc brakes the parking/emergency brake is separate from the regular brakes. If you have drum rear brakes the parking/emergency brakes is mechanical but actuates the same brake shoes as the regular brakes.

Considering it is an VW Passat that probably has rear disc brakes. I would say yes it is a separate brake system.

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.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

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.

 

[LTC8K6]

My Jeep has a separate brake drum built into the rear disc rotor. It's a separate park brake system. IIRC, there are many vehicles like that. The "hat" part of the rear rotor is used as a small drum park brake.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41lECqeQLIL.jpg

There's the whole setup for my WK rear axle. Pads bite on the rotors as normal. Shoes push on the inside of the rotor for the park brake.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

My Jeep has a separate brake drum built into the rear disc rotor. It's a separate park brake system. IIRC, there are many vehicles like that. The "hat" part of the rear rotor is used as a small drum park brake.

and now that i check, so does my car

 

[phucheneh]

The drum style is by far the most common. Systems that use a mechanical device built into the brake caliper actually seem to be becoming increasingly scare; probably because manufacturers realized they sucked ass. They don't hold the car as well, and rather than providing a failsafe, they can actually sabotage the normal hydraulic service brakes.

If you drove with the brake on without noticing it (and it is indeed a drum inside the rotor hat), it either wasn't working worth a damn to begin with, or it was not fully engaged. Worst case scenario, you got the shoes super hot and the next time the rotor is pulled, the friction material will fall right off the shoes. They are always bonded shoes, and the impression that I get is that extreme heat basically makes the adhesive fail. The friction material usually just falls right off the shoe in one piece and then shatters on the floor.

 

[sontakke]

Does the parking brake still work? If so, forget about it and go on your life.

How in the world did you drive the vehicle with the red light on the dash for 20 miles?
Didn't somebody tell you that any time you see red light on the dash, you pull over as soon as safely possible?

 

[tortillasoup]

Well at least it was only the emergency brake... Now if it was the parking brake on the other hand, then yes that would be bad. What kind of car has an emergency brake? Seems kinda nifty feature. Oh and no a Parking Brake is NOT an emergency brake.

 

[railer]

Does the parking brake still work? If so, forget about it and go on your life.

^ Here is your answer.

Well at least it was only the emergency brake... Now if it was the parking brake on the other hand, then yes that would be bad. What kind of car has an emergency brake? Seems kinda nifty feature. Oh and no a Parking Brake is NOT an emergency brake.

^ Useless.

 

[phucheneh]

^ Useless.

He specializes in that. Those who nitpick terminology (other than times when terminology is actually relevant to clarifying what someone is talking about) do it because they have nothing else to contribute.

 

[tortillasoup]

He specializes in that. Those who nitpick terminology (other than times when terminology is actually relevant to clarifying what someone is talking about) do it because they have nothing else to contribute.

It's not useless because it's an incorrect description and people seemingly forget its intended purpose, that you're suppose to use it when you park! I've seen too many people who just use the parking pawl but do not use the parking brake! Maybe if people referred to its correct term, more people would use it... Obviously in OP's case he did use it but wasn't paying attention and left it on. The "BRAKE" light on the dashboard should have clued him in.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Does the parking brake still work? If so, forget about it and go on your life.

How in the world did you drive the vehicle with the red light on the dash for 20 miles?
Didn't somebody tell you that any time you see red light on the dash, you pull over as soon as safely possible?

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

 

[LTC8K6]

My Jeep beeps at me if I leave the park brake on. It's pretty much impossible to forget.

 

[Zenmervolt]

It depends on what type of rear brakes you have. If disc brakes the parking/emergency brake is separate from the regular brakes.

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