Parking Brake Adjustment
 

Does anyone know how to adjust the parking brake? The parking brake on our RDX barely does anything. The dealership says nothing is wrong, but we've driven off several times with the parking brake on not realizing it because there is almost no difference. I was going to do the minor adjustment like the last gen RDX has, as well as a few other Acura models that I've seen, but there was no adjustment nut on the cable by the pedal, at least that I could see/feel. Does anyone know how to adjust the parking brake to actually hold the car, or is it even possible to perform a "minor" adjustment? It isn't an issue to adjust them at the wheel, but I'd like to avoid that if there is another way. TIA.

X2 above

May not be what is needed here; but, last trip in I had the dealer adjust the travel of the pedal. Ours bottomed out when my dainty darling put her foot in it and I actually had a little trouble dis-engaging it! Their adjustment seemed to do the trick. Perhaps yours is similar?

By the bye, we can reverse with the brake engaged; but the RDX puts up a mighty battle when we try to drive off with the parking brake set:what: (Nah, we don't do it that often...just a couple of times:rolleyes: )

We already tried to get the dealer to adjust it, twice. They keep telling us that it is within specification. The parking brake does next to nothing, whether it's reverse or drive. I'd like to know how to adjust the parking brake, either a minor or major adjustment, so that it works the way it is supposes to.

Try another stealer....

Well, the dealer we go to is <5 miles away and a 10 min trip at worst. While there are several other dealers around, I'd rather not be driving the 30-45 minutes it's going to take for a one time trip, and for them to tell me the same thing. I'd rather just know how to perform the adjustment myself. I've tried finding a service/repair manual, but I can't even find those for the 2013+ RDX.

I wonder if there is some kind of tie in between the emergency brake and the fact that the engine is running and the car put into gear. Maybe it works fine when the engine is off and it is in park but releases to a large degree when you actually move the car on purpose so it doesn't damage itself. Just a thought as I really don't know if it is that sophisticated or not.

Note that the RDX has a PARKING brake, not an EMERGENCY brake. In an emergency situation, the emergency can be used to stop a car safely. The parking brake is used as a safety measure to prevent the car from rolling.

Here's how you test your parking brake: park on a slope, engage the parking brake, put the car in neutral, and take your foot off the brake. If the vehicle doesn't roll, the parking brake works.

Parking/emergency brakes are strictly mechanical (or electromechanical) and will work the same regardless of whether the engine is running or not. The RDX is a cable driven setup, I just don't know where to adjust the cable tension. I haven't tried to have the car in neutral on an incline with the parking brake engaged yet, but I do plan on trying that. I know in reverse, idling on an incline, the vehicle moves freely, so I can't imagine neutral will change much.

Also, parking/emergency brakes could stop the car if needed, but they will take significantly longer to bring the car to a stop as it is the rear brakes only, which are always much smaller than the front brakes. They're better than nothing, but stick with your primary brakes unless they're completely dead.

When we looked at a Subaru Outback a year ago, the parking/emergency brake was operated with a push button on the dash rather than a pedal on the floor or a hand lever on the console. I had not seen that before and I wasn't sure I liked it, though the salesman pushed it as a feature. It seems like that must have been at least partly electronic and not strictly mechanical.

Gregg

The brake portion is still mechanical, just that it is engaged by a switch rather than a direct cable. It should still function even if the hydraulics fail.

And I'm guessing that no one knows how to adjust the parking brake given that no one had responded with anything about adjusting it.

cable actuated parking brakes should be pushed harder than normal due to the long cable "stretching". It's adjusted at the rear brake caliper I'm guessing since my wifes CR-V is there.

Just looking at the parts diagram it looks straightforward as long as you can get to the adjusting nut. It's #12 in the diagram and list below. Basically a single cable runs from the pedal to a splitter (or "equalizer" in Hondaspeak, part #9), and then cables run from the splitter to each wheel. The parking brakes themselves are just small auxiliary drum brakes on the rear wheels that are actuated by the cables. Tightening/loosening #12 adjusts the tension on both of the rear cables equally so you don't have to adjust each wheel individually. A similar setup is used on tons of other Hondas so it shouldn't be anything your dealer would have issues with. Searching for the equalizer and adjuster nut part numbers shows the same parts in different years of Civics, Accords, Fits, CRVs, even NSXs.

All that being said, I haven't personally done this on my RDX yet so I'm not sure exactly where the equalizer is. On Civics and Accords with handbrakes it was generally just behind the handbrake itself, but going off the diagram it looks like it's somewhere in the middle of the floor on the RDX. My guess is under the carpet around the center console somewhere so it's not getting corroded hanging under the car, but maybe somebody else can chime in on that.

If you do end up adjusting it, I'd recommend chocking the front wheels, putting it in neutral, jacking up the rear end, and checking how freely the rear wheels spin before and after adjustment. This is just to make sure you don't tighten it to the point that the brake is still rubbing even with the pedal fully retracted. If this adjustment still doesn't get you what you need, there's also a way to adjust each wheel individually (a "major" adjustment vs. the "minor" adjustment described above, per Honda lingo). It's a bit more involved though as you need to take the wheels off to get to the actual parking brake drums so you can adjust the brake shoes themselves. Generally a minor adjustment will get you what you need though.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...44c07d8c08.png


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...241ca48d9b.jpg

Is the parking brake one side or both?, Mine only locks the rear left wheel.

Here's a procedure for adjustment on an older Acura.It is the same for newer Acura as I have adjusted My 2013 RDX.

Good video. Nice lighting.

Check out this forum thread.

Cheers!

Brand new, it does nothing. I've never seen such a useless parking brake.

Hey guys.. I know this is an old thread but my parking brake on my 2013 RDX takes 8 clicks to brake completely. I feel it's a bit much cause it's almost to the floor.

I've seen the video posted here but I can't seem to find the internal adjustment bolt near the brake pedal. I've looked under the dash and nothing. Anyone happen to know where it is on the 2013 RDX?

Found the information below in the maintenance manual.

Minor parking brake pedal adjustments (1 to 2 clicks) can be made with the internal (under center console)adjusting nut.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...8927b0c793.jpg


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...1cdcd9b842.jpg
If a larger adjustment is required, follow the major adjustment procedure using the adjuster nut at the parking brake drum.

Hey thanks for that! Makes sense why I couldn't find it. Now I gotta figure out have to remove the rear trim from center console 😂
Hope it's not too hard. Anyone have any tips let me know! Lol.

You are welcome,

Below is the method I'm using to remove the rear console cover.

1. Move front seats forward so that you can have more space to work.

2. I used a metal putty knife to gently pry the rear console cover, working from the bottom up, slowly, one side at a time. (A plastic putty knife may be a better tool, less chance of gouging)
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...3059fca96a.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...8fa7d42b86.jpg

Rear parking brake cables
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ac5de9d86e.jpg

Parking brake adjuster nut (inside spring)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ffa51cc5fd.jpg