The parking brake nobody uses until they need it
On most vehicles with an automatic transmission, the parking brake gets used rarely or never. The transmission's park position holds the vehicle on a level driveway, and the lever or pedal sits untouched for years.
That is exactly what lets it fail. A parking brake works through cables and small moving parts that need to move now and then to stay free. Left alone, the cables corrode and the mechanism seizes. Two things can then happen, and neither is welcome.
It will not hold. The day it is actually needed, parked on a slope at a field gate, on a ramp, or with a trailer hitched, the lever comes up and the vehicle still creeps. A pickup with a loaded trailer behind it is the worst place to find that out.
It will not release. A seized cable can leave the rear brakes partly applied after the lever is down. The vehicle drags, the rear wheels run hot, and the brakes wear out far faster than they should. There may be a smell after a drive, or one rear wheel noticeably hotter than the other.
Using it keeps it working
Set the parking brake when you park, especially on any slope, and before shifting into park rather than after. That way the brake holds the weight instead of a small pin inside the transmission, and the mechanism moves regularly enough to stay free.
If it has not been used in years, have it checked before you start relying on it, because the first firm pull may be the one that finds the seized cable.
When to book
A parking brake that will not hold, a lever that travels much further than it used to, a dragging feeling or a hot rear wheel. The national brake repair page covers the other warning signs. A pull to one side after brake work can be car and light truck alignment, and worn front-end parts are suspension repair, both here.
About this store
The Henderson store runs sixteen services and is managed by Derrick Madewell.
See the national brake repair page for all 33 locations.