General OH oh Bambis poorly! :'(

[Kez 1000 fire]

Im hopefully not going to be fixing the damage till after september as im heavily pregnant so doubt ill be able to lift the boot! lol. Unless i got my uncle to do it instead!

Why didi it have to happen now n not 9 months ago! :bang: Or at all in that case! Would it be better if i left handbrAke off and just kept it in gear as my handbrake sometimes sticks on!

 

[Kez 1000 fire]

I sympathise with the OP. My 500 did this a month before my first years no claims bonus was about appear. As this was my first ever car in this country I was quite annoyed. Amazingly, Fiat didn't seem to care that the handbrake was rubbish. Bye bye no claims bonus. Boo. I always leave it in gear now. Expensive lesson.
​

Yeah they didint care about my issue either! They just questioned who last serviced it, which was my partner who works at Peugout, and he said that they should be questioned about not checkin the handbrake!!!! The handbrake only goes up 4 clicks till its fully on so its defo not the cable stretchin!

 

[Ulpian]

This is not a handbrake problem. You should always leave a car in gear, and ideally with the front wheels turned so that if it does move it jams against the curb. In fact, if you are leaving it for a long time the car should be left blocked, on the flat, and with the handbrake off so that it doesn't bind. Technology has moved on, but the laws of physics haven't and metals still expand and contract, cables stretch and brake pads still bind.

I am really surprised that these basics are not taught by driving instructors. But then they don't teach signalling on roundabouts these days either, so...

 

[trphil]

In fact, if you are leaving it for a long time the car should be left blocked, on the flat, and with the handbrake off so that it doesn't bind.

Indeed, my Triumph is not as frequently used as the other cars and lives in the garage, I used to find the handbrake jammed on quite often when I went to use it so I now leave it in gear with the brake off. It's not fun trying to unbind the brakes backwards, with a cold engine through a narrow doorway!

 

[ukmike2010]

This is not a handbrake problem. You should always leave a car in gear, and ideally with the front wheels turned so that if it does move it jams against the curb. In fact, if you are leaving it for a long time the car should be left blocked, on the flat, and with the handbrake off so that it doesn't bind. Technology has moved on, but the laws of physics haven't and metals still expand and contract, cables stretch and brake pads still bind.

I am really surprised that these basics are not taught by driving instructors. But then they don't teach signalling on roundabouts these days either, so...

I agree absolutely with this. It used to be standard training and once you get in the habit of doing it, you do it every time.
An expensive lesson to learn unfortunately - sorry to hear of your incident.

Plenty of cars are known for "slipping away" with the Vauxhall Vectra and Corsa being some of the most-publicised offenders.
I wonder how the electrically-applied handbrakes perform under these circumstances?

 

[Ulpian]

I wouldn't rely on any brake system to hold over a ton of metal stationary just by pulling on a wire held by a ratchet and depressing two small brake shoes onto a few square inches of steel. I know someone with a Renault which slipped. She has automatic handbrake, lights, wipers and ignition; in fact she practically depends on the car to do it all for her. On ice last winter the auto brake was going bonkers because it couldn't hold the car and she nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to override it. Add in the the wipers coming on randomly like something from a bad horror film and suddenly a Model T with a crank handle begins to look like progress

 

[jnoiles]

This is not a handbrake problem. You should always leave a car in gear, and ideally with the front wheels turned so that if it does move it jams against the curb. In fact, if you are leaving it for a long time the car should be left blocked, on the flat, and with the handbrake off so that it doesn't bind. Technology has moved on, but the laws of physics haven't and metals still expand and contract, cables stretch and brake pads still bind.

I am really surprised that these basics are not taught by driving instructors. But then they don't teach signalling on roundabouts these days either, so...

The highway code doesn't mention any of what you say above. Maybe that's why driving instructors don't teach it.

It does mention that you need to apply the handbrake though:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069860

If we were to get all legal about it I'd say that the highway code is telling us to use the handbrake, not leave it in gear. I don't doubt your technical argument re expand/contract metals etc but I'm guessing that because the highway code says to use the handbrake and the MOT tests the handbrake that the official position is that you use that, not leave it in gear.

 

[306maxi]

Im hopefully not going to be fixing the damage till after september as im heavily pregnant so doubt ill be able to lift the boot! lol. Unless i got my uncle to do it instead!

Why didi it have to happen now n not 9 months ago! :bang: Or at all in that case! Would it be better if i left handbrAke off and just kept it in gear as my handbrake sometimes sticks on!

If the handbrake sticks then I think there is a problem with it.

 

[Ulpian]

The highway code doesn't mention any of what you say above. Maybe that's why driving instructors don't teach it.

It does mention that you need to apply the handbrake though:

There's more to managing a car than just the highway code you know, and it seems to be those here who have no broader knowledge of how to safely operate their cars who are getting into trouble. I only learnt what I know from listening to people with experience, and saying thank you. People drove cars before the code was even written after all.

 

[jnoiles]

There's more to managing a car than just the highway code you know

Alright, calm down. I was simply pointing out a reason why people might be taught this.

and it seems to be those here who have no broader knowledge of how to safely operate their cars who are getting into trouble.

I'm still not convinced that a handbrake that doesn't actually stop the car moving is entirely fit for purpose.

I only learnt what I know from listening to people with experience, and saying thank you.

I don't think anyone rubbished that as a valid learning method. But other methods include taking driving lessons and doing what the instructor tells you. If he tells you, quite reasonably, to use the handbrake only then you'd have no reason to doubt him.

People drove cars before the code was even written after all.

Indeed they did. In fact I even drove cars in other countries where they didn't have the highway code. Imagine! Amazingly, all of those cars I drove - from a wide variety of manufacturers across 3 continents in all sorts of weather conditions - all had handbrakes that worked. By which I mean they stopped the car from rolling down the hill when parked.

Which leads me back to asking why Fiat seem incapable of such a thing.

 

[StevenRB45]

If the handbrake sticks then I think there is a problem with it.

Possibly but if it sticks it can be over night moisture oxidising inside the drums which then leads to it sticking on a cold start. Happens on any car if left long enough in the right conditions.

Also for the record when I leave my swift handbrake on on a hill and not in gear, when I come back it's where I left it, if it wasn't then i'd think it was faulty, only time i've ever left it in gear was when an adjuster collapsed and i had no proper hand brake (it worked badly on one wheel).

 

[Ulpian]

I repeat: it isn't safe top leave any car parked using solely the handbrake. People can fight this logic all they like, but the truth stands. Any car's handbrake has the capacity to let go, so why risk it.

I don't much care if somebody's car rolls, but I do care if I, or my car, are in the way when it happens.

 

[306maxi]

I repeat: it isn't safe top leave any car parked using solely the handbrake. People can fight this logic all they like, but the truth stands. Any car's handbrake has the capacity to let go, so why risk it.

I don't much care if somebody's car rolls, but I do care if I, or my car, are in the way when it happens.

Of course BUT a car that's only a year old should be able to hold itself on a modest hill.

 

[Ulpian]

Of course BUT a car that's only a year old should be able to hold itself on a modest hill.

Should, but might not. So leave it in gear. Why is this so difficult to understand?

Anyway, you can lead a horse to water, so that'll do for me on this subject.

 

[306maxi]

Should, but might not. So leave it in gear. Why is this so difficult to understand?

Anyway, you can lead a horse to water, so that'll do for me on this subject.

That's not the point. I agree that you should always put a car in gear BUT a new car SHOULD be able to hold itself on its handbrake.

 

[Murano16v]

I'm with Maxi on this. It's a piddly little car and it is 2010 and not 1960.

 

[zanes]

I'm with Maxi on this. It's a piddly little car and it is 2010 and not 1960.

+1. Although I always leave the 500 in gear, this and the report of a sticking handbrake earlier on in this thread would push me (if I was the OP) to have the system checked.

 

[306maxi]

I'm with Maxi on this. It's a piddly little car and it is 2010 and not 1960.

Yup. The thing is it doesn't take much force to hold a car. The wifes Subaru can he held on some inclines just by the drag of the 4wd system, no brakes, not in gear..... just the drag from the differentials..... Now it's never left parked like that even on level ground of course but if almost 1400kg's can be held like that surely less than a tonne should be held by a well designed and fully operational handbrake.

 

[keeforelli]

Of course BUT a car that's only a year old should be able to hold itself on a modest hill.

MAXI- werent you chastising the OP for the damage they COULDVE caused because they didnt leave the car in gear?...now your suggesting the car was potentially at fault and that the handbrake on a modern car should be fine to hold he car?

i, and possibly the OP, am confused by this-

i never leave my car in gear, so should i trust my year old car to work as it should, or leave in gear- in your opinion?

 

[306maxi]

MAXI- werent you chastising the OP for the damage they COULDVE caused because they didnt leave the car in gear?...now your suggesting the car was potentially at fault and that the handbrake on a modern car should be fine to hold he car?

i, and possibly the OP, am confused by this-

i never leave my car in gear, so should i trust my year old car to work as it should, or leave in gear- in your opinion?

Well obviously you shouldn't trust the handbrake..... 2 people on this forum have shown that the handbrake isn't always capable of holding the car.

I said what I said in my first post just to hammer home the fact that this is a serious thing so that people won't make the same post. The OP thankfully didn't do the typical 500 owner thing and start bawling their eyes out because someone pointed out that what they did was serious, they accepted that it was serious so I felt no need to continue with what I was saying

You should ALWAYS leave it in gear, just in case something does happen. But as I said the handbrake on a year old car should be more than capable of holding the car. The fact that the 2 people on here who've complained about it are 1.4 owners could possibly be a pattern too. Anyhoo as I said if a 1400kg car can be held just by the drag of its drivetrain then surely a car which weighs less than that should be able to be held by its handbrake, like Murano16v said, it's a piddly car and this is 2010, not 1960.