Handbrake activation when moving

M

mattstav

Member
 Essex/London
So last night my girlfriend asked what the button between the arm rest and gear stick was and before I could answer she had pulled it up and it was of course the handbrake so the car came to a halt very suddenly.

I was only going between 5 and 10 mph crawling in traffic but just wondered if I had have been hurtling down the motorway or similar, would the handbrake activate at speed? I'm guessing it would need to activate in case your regular brakes failed but that doesn't legislate for silly people in the passenger seat who want to find out what all the buttons do with out looking at the picture on them.
 
I asked the same question and found the answer in a manual.
The electric handbrake is supposed to act as a back-up system even for the passenger in case the driver passes out.

The brake applies gradually and uses systems lika ABS to brake as fast as possible.
 
An old school friend of mine was taught to drive by his dad. One day he was approaching a bend on a country lane rather too quickly, so his dad pulled on the handbrake.....
......the car came to rest on its roof in a field :o
 
Thanks SweNilsson, seems to make sense.

@ BMWZ4MC ouch!! I hope they were both ok... needless to say she won't be doing it again any time soon! I'll put on my anorak and give a full H&S briefing any time I have someone new in the car lol
 
It's an emergency system when moving and applies all four brakes not just the rears. There is nothing in the manual about use if the driver passes out but clearly that's one of many scenarios where it could be used when moving. It's explained briefly in your owners manual. It brakes only for as long as you hold the button unless near standstill when it will instead put on the rear parking brake.
 
Hopefully she realises that she's not a toddler and shouldn't really be touching things in the car if she doesn't know what they do and the consequences of her actions. I would assume she has the savvy not to have done that whilst you were at speed but I would say tie her hands down. There is nothing worse than passenger touching stuff because they want to know what it does.

The parking brake is brutal in the car and I'm still trying to get my head round it after years of using the conventional one. Interesting to know that you can still engage it whilst in motion. Do you still need to have your foot on the brake or for emergencies will it work independently? Think I need to read another chapter of the manual tonight.
 
I have also read somewhere (I thought it was in the manual) that the system is designed to be able to be operated by the passenger in case the driver is incapacitated. But in general it is an emergency braking option in all scenarios, though I'm not sure it would have any additional effect to heavy breaking on the pedal if you rounded a corner and saw a stationary car in the road.
 
@Maniac
I didnt say in which manual. In this case it was some kind of BMW mechanics technical updates manual.
 
Does this electronic device mean that it's impossible to do a handbrake turn in an E89, or is there a "real" handbrake as well?
 
Omg! I hope you gave her a telling off. Fancy doing that while the car is moving. :o
Is she a driver? She should know better whether a driver or not.
 
At first it didn't register what she had said so I thought something serious was wrong with the car. Quite a relief when it turned out just to be the parking brake but she did get told off. She does drive, just got her a new Fiat 500 which has the traditional lever. Glad I didn't put her on the insurance for mine now though!
 
Maniac said:
It's an emergency system when moving and applies all four brakes not just the rears. There is nothing in the manual about use if the driver passes out but clearly that's one of many scenarios where it could be used when moving.
Click to expand...


The instructors on the Landrover off road course demonstrate the electronic handbrake system in action. It's also a brake on four wheels but also numbs the throttle and steering. He specifically referred to the driver in distress scenario - I hope the Zed has the same system.
 
Just about! Was on my laptop last night and she asked what I was hiding from her and then read the thread... She saw the funny side thankfully
 
Oh No! Not more nannying. :thumbsdown: When I pull the hand brake I want to feel the tension on the cable, so I know when the rears are about to lock up. I may have to keep the MR forever. :D
 
SweNilsson said:
@Maniac
I didnt say in which manual. In this case it was some kind of BMW mechanics technical updates manual.
Click to expand...

I second this I saw this somewhere too.

My girlfriend once pulled it up when we were pulling into a petrol station thinking it was the window up button!! (To be fair on her car I think the windows are controlled in the centre console somewhere). The wheels actually locked!
 
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