Handbrake problem on a Vauxhall Meriva - Is this normal?

I have 2010 Vauxhall Meriva 1.7-litre diesel, and when parked on a gradient (and starting) the handbrake has released by itself, causing the car to roll downhill. Unless you are looking outside you are...

Hand brake problems on a 306

I Have an R reg Peugeot 306 GLX Auto and it seems when I pull the hand brake on one of the sides on the rear of the car lifts up. Also, just to get the hand brake to respond, I have to pull it up to the...

Why is the Land Rover Discovery 3's parking brake so complex?

The parking brake on my 2005 Land Rover Discovery 3 has just failed at 70,000 miles, and the local Land Rover dealer is charging me £1100 to repair it. This seems to me to be an unutterable waste of money...

Why have electric parking brakes replaced handbrakes when they are useless for slowing down in an emergency?

IB of New Milton referred to electric handbrakes. They may be more efficient as a ‘parking brake’ but, at a stroke, car manufacturers are disposing of a vital handbrake function: its use as an ‘emergency...

Electric Handbrakes - are they legal?

Last Saturday's Telegraph column discussed problems with the operation of electric handbrakes. The 1978 Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (regulation 13, para. 2 (b) (i)) say that the parking...

Electric parking brakes make me uneasy - are they as effective as a handbrake?

I have been looking at the latest Vauxhall cars and to my astonishment they have no handbrake, only a button. To me this is extremely dangerous as I rely on having a handbrake in case of an emergency....

Passat parking brake problem

I have a Volswagen Passat 2007 with an electric parking brake, but it doesn't work properly. In the last few days, sometimes it hasn't loosened and I have to wait for few minutes in order to move off....

Should I buy a Meriva B or Mercedes-Benz B-Class with a push-button handbrake?

I have driven a Vauxhall Meriva since 2005 and have been contemplating a change, perhaps to a Meriva B or possibly a Mercedes B-Class. These both have push button parking brakes. Am I being foolishly old...

Does anyone else have problems with the handbrake operation on the Volkswagen Touran DSG?

May I check, through your columns, with other Volkswagen Touran DSG owners about what I believe spoils an otherwise very nice car? My aggravation derives from the design of the handbrake mechanism. Firstly,...

How can we prevent the handbrake failing on my daughter's Suzuki Swift?

My daughter’s Suzuki Swift was recalled for a handbrake problem but was deemed OK. Recently, when parked at work, the car rolled back into a wall scuffing the bumper. The handbrake was completely inoperative...