I own an Automatic TL.

My question is this:

When you park your car, your foot is obviously pressing on the brake pedal to put it in "P" right?

so at that moment, do you then pull up your hand brake or do you let your foot off the regular brake, let the car roll slightly back or slightly forward and then put the hand brake up?


Also, my hand brake feels kind of weak. Even on a slight hill or anything like that, pulling up teh hand brake doesn't completely lock the car in. It kinda rolls forward or back slightly and then stops.


But on cars like Nissan Sentra's or Civic's (2004+), the hand brake feels very strong when you pull it up to the same level (when ur pulling up teh hand brake and it makes click sounds).

what's up with that?

Is something wrong with my hand brakes?

ALso, i don't pull up the hand brake till i absolutely cannot pull it up no more. I would say i pull it up like 70 or 80% of maximum...

 

I started putting on my hand break about 15 yrs ago. I used to live where the driveway I parked on was on an incline. A mechanic friend of mine told me to also use the parking brake to help take the stress off the trans ( my cars are autos). I always keep my foot on the break, shift to P, then pull the break all the way back. When I park on an incline, the car does still roll slightly, but I don't think there is anything you can do about that. It's a habit I've got into and do it now without even thinking about it.

 

You are correct in preserving auto trans (MT too) by the simple act of setting the brake first, then into park. The little movement beats the huge strain on the parking gear from using it as a brake. Its a tranmission- dont use it in S S just to slow down either.
unless revving for the apex.
Brakes are cheap and designed to stop the car

For the parking brake there is a VERY small set of drum brakes located inside the center hub of each rear wheel. Take a look thru the wheel and that big rusty thing in the middle you see is it!

It could be out of adjustment (not sure if Gen3 got self adjusters) but there is a star wheel you access via a rubber plug (think- any drum brake system)

Dont quote me here- may be adjustment at handbrake lever on MT cars

If the Park Brake wont hold properly- you have to pull the caliper, bracket , rotor to inspect the pads

Check owner manual- may require up to 8 clicks to secure p brake

 

TML yesterday I went for an oil change and tire rotation. My mechanic asked me if I wanted my hand brake adjusted? I said yes and now it holds at 3 clicks instead of 8 or ten. You adjust the E-brake through the inside of the center hub. My TL is a 2006 5At. Hope this helps.

 

My hand brakes have the symptom that you describe. I knew something was up when I changed to my summer tires. With the wheel off the ground and the hand brake fully engaged, I grabbed the tire and found I could rotate it a few degrees in either direction before it locks. But it does lock up after the free play is taken up. The other side is normal and is locked tight with no free play.

This translates to a feeling of insecure engagement when on a hill you can feel a bit of a click if the car rolls back when the free play is taken up.

I'm thinking one of the shoes may be off its mount or a broken mounting stud, but I am having it checked and will try to get back with the results. Nix that, I'll go out and check it myself right now.

 

From the fabalous 3G Garage.

Parking brake question (click here).

 

this is how i do it:
Put foot on brake
shift to netural
put up parking brake
shift to park
let go of brake pedal

This way the car does not roll back even a cm. The handbrake can be adjested by the dealer for free, just ask them to.

 

With a Civic or Sentra, the hand brake is a little easier to hold because they weigh nothing compared to a 4600-lb-TL.

I drive an automatic also, and I always pull my handbrake whether it is on a hill or not; I use it so all this weight isn't stressed on the transmission. So if your question is when to pull it, the answer is to pull it before you depress the footbrake, because otherwise you are just supporting what the parking gear is already doing.

My advice, just pull the parking brake everytime you park your car, that way, you are used to it, and it won't have to be a problem in the future.

Hope this helps, keep your fine piece of machinery at it's best

 

that sounds a bit dangerouts, without even depressing the brake. i do it while it is netural so the transmission isn't engaged and the parking brake loks in, then shift into park.

 

I'm not sure there is an Acura dealer on earth that would do anything for free!!

 

LOL..I was thinking the same damn thing! I once heard years ago that if you put the car in R while the parking brake is on and give the car a little gas, it resets the hand brake..mind you...I've never done this!! Sounds like a wives tale.

 

That is how I do it as well. My driveway is steep and this puts absolutely no strain on the tranny.

 

Here is the proper way to set a parking brake in ANY AT vehicle.

- Hold car with foot brake
- Shift to neutral
- Pull up parking brake handle
- Let off foot brake pedal (so car rests onto parking brake)
- Shift into Park
- Turn off car

If you don't let the car roll onto the parking brake, the transmissions parking gear and drive-shafts are what your car is resting on. That is a lot of stress on those components if your on a steep hill. It doesn't matter if the car rolls back slightly, as long as the parking brake catches.

My 6MT rolls back when the parking brake is applied, but it always catches. It's probably because of loose tolerances in the drum parking brake mechanism. According to the thread linked above, it's normal for the TL. It could probably be reduced by adjusting the parking brake handle (in the center console) and each parking brake mechanism (in the drums). The problem is that you really have to attempt this yourself because a mechanic won't share your standards and you won't feel that your getting what you paid for...

And for those that don't know, yes there is a drum parking-brake INSIDE each of your rear brake rotors...

 

I don't think it is normal at all. When I lift my wheels off the ground with the brake pulled, the right has a few degrees of rotation but the left is rock solid as it should be. The mechanisms are mirror images for right and left sides so they should both behave similarly.

It would be helpful if someone could verify this by checking this free play next time you have the wheel(s) off the ground.

 

To fix that, you have to adjust #10 in the picture above on the loose/slipping wheel. Otherwise your only relying on the equalizer inside the center console to distribute parking brake leverage which can only do so much...

 

The 05 TL weighs in at 3623 pounds, where'd you get that number?

 

sorry - 07 TL

no self-editing on this forum? oy

 

The brake has been adjusted according to the manual. Loosen off the cable adjuster in the console, then take up all the slack on the star wheels until wheel can't turn, back off starwheel 8 clicks, adjust the cable as per spec.

So still a few degrees of free play after this adjustment. I think I'm going to have to check out bolts #20 and #6 since they seem to be responsible for anchoring the shoes. Any thoughts appreciated

 

RE: The correct way to park..

I have my foot on the brakes, pull the ebrake, and put it into park - but i pull the ebrake up enough that I know it's holding the car, then let off the brakes.. Car never moves. The putting into neutral thing seems like an extra step; if I pull the ebrake hard enough, shifting into neutral is pointless right? I've already taken the load off the drivetrain and placed it on the rear brakes..

 

Just throwing this out there cause I saw it in the other thread; why the hell is Acura using this ebrake setup? My 01 acord has two springs attached to the parking cable on the rear brakes; when I pull the ebrake the cable puts the calipers under load and clamps them to the discs. This seems like a way better setup than drums in the middle.. The TL parking brake setup seems to be over complicated. There's already two perfectly good calipers; why add drums?

 

If you go straight from Drive to Park, the transmission NEVER has a chance to let go of the wheels. While your holding the foot brake in drive, the torque converter is still trying to push the car forward. Then you slam it into park and the transmission locks in place like this. If you don't unload the transmission by putting it into neutral and resting the car on the parking brake, your not doing anything to save the transmission no matter how hard you pull the e-brake.

I'm sure in the end it doesn't matter though. I mean how many times have you heard of the "parking gear" breaking in an automatic transmission...