how do i adjust the handbrake? It only clicks 3 times and its not enough. Had an unfortunate incident with it popping out of reverse and sliding very nicely into the front bumper grill of the fiance's auty's 2006 Punto. No damage, its just beyond a joke now. Cheers.

My handbrake only clicks three times but works just fine, are your rear brakes functioning properly?

To adjust it get underneath the car and just behind (toward the engine) where the coolant pipes curve away there is a plate with 4 bolts in it. If you undo the bolts and slide the plate away as best you can if you reach up in there just out of sight there is a nut which adjusts the hand brake cable. Unscrew it to loosen the cable, screw to tighten the cable.

cheers mate. it just passed the mot last time so i know it needs looking at. Ill have a look at the calipers while i'm there as well. Yours might work ok in oz, but we have lots of hills in lancashire I think that someone might have just clipped the back corner as well that caused it to jump reverse found some scrape marks on the back corner.

What pops failed to mention is that adjusting and tightening that nut is a right pain in the arse!!!

Yeah I did, but I figured that does without saying. I got bitten by a spider loosening mine so I could get the cable off the rear calipers.

Dare we ask where you got bitten?

Just on my hand, I happened to disturb the spider though how the crafty little bugger got in there is beyond me, it's okay though I got revenge.

So more of a pain in the hand than a pain in the a**e then

A pain the arm to be exact, probably should have seen a doctor but it subsided after an hour or so.

popsprocket said:

A pain the arm to be exact, probably should have seen a doctor but it subsided after an hour or so.

Click to expand...

Must have only been a small 5 or 6 inch spider then...

Hi all, I tried the above yesterday and found what I think might be the factory method for adjusting the handbrake. It's WAY easier than taking off the panel with the four bolts.

Just in front of the panel, in the bottom of the radiator hose cover/box there is a small rubber cover about 2 1/2 inches square. That pops out with very little effort and is directly under the adjustment nut for the handbrake. There is enough space to get your 13mm spanner onto it easily and if you use a ratchet spanner the job takes about 5 minutes including jacking and propping the car on an axle stand.

I found it by accident after I had taken off the bolt on panel, undone the gear linkage, dropped one of the handbrake pulleys on the ground, etc, etc.

Thanks Dhog4n, that works and saves a lot of time.