Man you must be psychic! My X goes in for its first service tomorrow and I was going to have them adjust the E-brake. If its that easy I'll do it myself. Thanks!
How-to: Adjust E-Brake
Sorry no pictures.
Tools:
10mm box wrench or deep socket
Steps:
1 - Remove the cup holder by pulling is straight up.
2 - Towards the passenger side you will see the cable attached to the e-brake assembly with a nut on a long threaded bolt.
3 - With the E-brake down give a few turns on the nut with the 10mm wrench.
4 - Pull back the E-brake to make sure it is tight.
5 - Re-install the cup holder.
Good to go.
Just be careful not to over tighten the E-brake. Mine was extremely loose. One a slight hill with X in neutral it would roll.
Enjoy!
Tools:
10mm box wrench or deep socket
Steps:
1 - Remove the cup holder by pulling is straight up.
2 - Towards the passenger side you will see the cable attached to the e-brake assembly with a nut on a long threaded bolt.
3 - With the E-brake down give a few turns on the nut with the 10mm wrench.
4 - Pull back the E-brake to make sure it is tight.
5 - Re-install the cup holder.
Good to go.
Just be careful not to over tighten the E-brake. Mine was extremely loose. One a slight hill with X in neutral it would roll.
Enjoy!
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Good write up.
And once you run out of adjustment because your GF keeps driving with the ebrake on...buy new e-brake pads (this is my next thing to do).
And once you run out of adjustment because your GF keeps driving with the ebrake on...buy new e-brake pads (this is my next thing to do).
Doh! Just curious how much adjustment is there. I probably have 2.5 inches of thread showing.muzikman said:Good write up.
And once you run out of adjustment because your GF keeps driving with the ebrake on...buy new e-brake pads (this is my next thing to do).
I don't know for sure, but it's not much. I adjusted it once and bottomed it out. The brake still does not hold. So I'll be changing the rear brakes here soon.
3
Re: E-Brake Adjustment
I did mine after work today and I took some pics. to add to Kokopop's writeup
![]()
This bolt
![]()
Only a few turns tighten it up
![]()
Thanks Kokopop hope this helps everyone else.
I did mine after work today and I took some pics. to add to Kokopop's writeup
Cup holder removalkokopop said:Sorry no pictures.
Tools:
10mm box wrench or deep socket
Steps:
1 - Remove the cup holder by pulling is straight up.
2 - Towards the passenger side you will see the cable attached to the e-brake assembly with a nut on a long threaded bolt.
3 - With the E-brake down give a few turns on the nut with the 10mm wrench.
4 - Pull back the E-brake to make sure it is tight.
5 - Re-install the cup holder.
Good to go.
Just be careful not to over tighten the E-brake. Mine was extremely loose. One a slight hill with X in neutral it would roll.
Enjoy!
This bolt
Only a few turns tighten it up
Thanks Kokopop hope this helps everyone else.
awesome.
Thanks.
After I posted I read the service manual. Apparently you should take the rear wheels off. Pull he E-brake handle with 110 lbs of force 10 x, then adjust. Then push the level down and make sure the shoe is not catching on when the rear wheels are turned.
Thanks.
After I posted I read the service manual. Apparently you should take the rear wheels off. Pull he E-brake handle with 110 lbs of force 10 x, then adjust. Then push the level down and make sure the shoe is not catching on when the rear wheels are turned.
wow! its that easy huh? i was getting tired of looking at my BRAKE dash light.
Whats the black box?muzikman said:This is as far as the nut adjusts.
![]()
Also, good info above.
That's the power adapter for my tablet PC'ed car computer.
Sometimes I think they write that in the SM to keep people going to the dealer for small things. I'd just about bet the dealer don't follow that procedure. Ask to see the force meter. They might show you a large fish scale?kokopop said:awesome.
Thanks.
After I posted I read the service manual. Apparently you should take the rear wheels off. Pull he E-brake handle with 110 lbs of force 10 x, then adjust. Then push the level down and make sure the shoe is not catching on when the rear wheels are turned.
I'd just follow your directions and if it still rolls freely on a slight incline with no scrapping noise I am good to go. If you get it too tight, it kinda won't have any free play on the uplift. It should pull up about 2 inches before it comes to a grab. MC
how about if the adjustment from inside the console area doesn't do the trick? how difficult is it to adjust the rears via tightening the cable back there once you pull the rotors off? same as the old school e-brakes???
I recently started having to crank the handle all the way and it still wouldn't hold. The brake pads were in good shape, so I had my dealer check the adjustment last time I was in for service, and they found that my right rear axle seal was leaking onto the brakes, causing the parking break to not hold. And I had already had both axle seals replaced under warranty before.
So if you find your parking brake won't hold be sure to check if your axle seals are leaking.
So if you find your parking brake won't hold be sure to check if your axle seals are leaking.
Any how-to's for actually changing the parking brake shoes? I tried adjusting mine and it's a lost cause.
No how-to's that I've seen but it is rather easy, especially if you have worked on drum brakes before. There is a wheel style self-adjuster on the e-brake that is intended to keep the pads in close proximity of the inner rotor (drum). I bought new e-brake shoes when I replaced my brakes but did not need them.
The adjusters were sticking so after I removed them, cleaned them and lubed them, they work fine. It is rare for e-brake pads to wear out over the life of a vehicle unless the e-brake is left on when driving.
I did not take pics but I can probably give a detailed account of what you'll need to do, if you want it. Just make sure that before you start adjusting the e-brake adjuster, loosen the nut at the handle to the end of the rod to give you more adjustment in the cabin later down the road. Keep testing the rotor over the e-brake pads to ensure that you have not opened them too much. A light rub is prefect when you spin the rotor, but it should not be difficult to move by hand (as long as you are not in park!!)
The adjusters were sticking so after I removed them, cleaned them and lubed them, they work fine. It is rare for e-brake pads to wear out over the life of a vehicle unless the e-brake is left on when driving.
I did not take pics but I can probably give a detailed account of what you'll need to do, if you want it. Just make sure that before you start adjusting the e-brake adjuster, loosen the nut at the handle to the end of the rod to give you more adjustment in the cabin later down the road. Keep testing the rotor over the e-brake pads to ensure that you have not opened them too much. A light rub is prefect when you spin the rotor, but it should not be difficult to move by hand (as long as you are not in park!!)
Also, if you use the e-brake a lot, you might have stretched the cable. That is the problem with mine right now. It's adjusted, but the shoes do not grab as well as they should because I ran out of adjustment on the cable.
Thanks kokopop, I did the mod this evening, works great !
Next time I swap my tire, I will have a look at the rear brake shoe.
Next time I swap my tire, I will have a look at the rear brake shoe.
Well I tackled this today. Pretty straight forward, first side took me some time but once I knew what I was doing the second side went by in like 20 mins. I have a working e-brake after almost a year, woot woot!
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
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