So I had a near death experience today. I lent my car to a coworker at work today during lunch and I guess he must have put the hand brakes on. I NEVER do that and so I didn’t even realize when I started the car on my way back from work. I usually crank up the music so if there was any resistance from rear tires, I was deaf to that. So I drove a good 30 KMs with the parking brakes on. The last 10 minutes were the most terrifying because the brakes had stopped working and I was in the midst of heavy Toronto traffic in the left lane…there was a TTC bus in front of me and stepping on the brake actually made the car accelerate (?). So I had to brake all the way 2-3 times before the car actually stopped. And then it wouldn’t accelerate so I really panicked and pulled over to a small street on the right. Checked everything … STILL didn’t realize what was wrong. I *saw *the warning sign flashing in my face but didn’t know it’s for parking brakes Called my brother but he didn’t know either. So anyway, got back on the main road and this time the brakes pedal went in all the way and wouldn’t come out. Sorry if this sounds confusing. I (clearly) don’t know much about cars. But anyway I thought my car’s brakes had failed and I was going to die. Luckily somehow made it home and my legs are still shaking. It must be ammi’s prayers.
So did I damage the brakes? Should I get it checked?
Glad you are OK. Next time if something similar happens, DO NOT GET BACK ON THE HIGHWAY FROM THE SIDE STREET TILL YOU HAVE FIGURED OUT WHAT IS WRONG. Call the towing company and have it taken to mechanic. And take the cab home.
Am sure there are car experts here who will have intelligent stuff to say re your car brakes etc.
Aight here is a thing yo: It is most likely that ya're that brake shoes will have to be replaced, and the brake rotors or discs could also become overheated and warped. Provided, if ya caused real damage to ya're brakes. And it does seem like that yo. Anyway, i am not a car expert..but i do know few stuff. Did ya get any strange noise or pulsating feeling from the rear when lightly applying the brakes?..
i dunno what you are talking about. it doesn't make any sense to me because i don't think it does anything if the hand brakes are still ON...i've driven myself and it doesn't make any difference. once the car is in 'DRIVE' mode, the system automatically deactivates the hand brakes. it's like saying if you drive on "cruise control' you can't brake without disengaging it.
do you think the car design Engineers would have designed a feature that can be so dangerous. there could be something else mechanically wrong with your car...have it checked out by a mechanic.
I don't think that is true. For cruise control system is designed to override it for safety. Hand brakes are different. You are going from stationary to movement. Got to put down the hand brake. I have driven short distance with hand brake on. Does not disengage brake.
You probably wore out the brake shoe on the rear wheels that's all. There is no connection between the footbrake and the handbrake except that they both use the same break shoes. Handbrakes usually have cables going directly to the rear wheels.
So the brake shoes wore of, and the braking system was probably losing all the pressure at the rear end due this, or break fluid was already low and this caused air to enter the system. You'll probably be getting new brake shoes in the rear, a brake calibration and the regular brake line bleed to get any air out. So yeah they can't make a system where the system cuts out the e-brake, while driving. I don't even think a computer has any control over it, they could put sensors on it and warn you, I'm pretty sure a light lit up on her HUD, that's all.
Automatics huh. I'd know immediately if my stick shift was had it's parking brakes engaged, cause it would just stall everytime I'd release the clutch, haha.
And KKF, what do you do when the foot brake doesn't work? You pull over. How do you slow down to do that? The parking brake, cause there's a high probability that it's still working.
Thanks, guys. It's my dad's old Corolla. Nothing fancy.
Southie, thankfully I wasn't driving on the highway. So max I was driving 60KM/H. Still, I could sense that something was wrong but didn't really know what the flashing warning meant, as I've never seen it before.
I think just to be safe I'll have it checked this weekend. Hopefully not too much damage. My dad is in Pakistan these days. He would have known what to do instantly.
But I am not telling him now just to save him the worry. He'll probably give me a shaabash and ask for the key back. lol
It is worthwhile to reiterate, as a matter of safety, it's probably a good idea to have the car towed rather than trying to drive it, in cases when you aren't 100% sure of the mechanical integrity of the car. Doesn't hurt to keep a list with towing company, father's trusty mechanic, etc. handy so that way you don't have to worry.
Maybe I am unseasoned, but I've had the "pleasure" of driving in Toronto traffic (being used to the peaceful driving in Ottawa), and I can safely conclude you definitely want all brakes working there! :D
But this stuff can happen to anyone, glad you're OK. Do get it checked out for peace of mind.
Called my brother but he didn’t know either. So anyway, got back on the main road and this time the brakes pedal went in all the way and wouldn’t come out. Sorry if this sounds confusing. I (clearly) don’t know much about cars. But anyway I thought my car’s brakes had failed and I was going to die. Luckily somehow made it home and my legs are still shaking. It must be ammi’s prayers.