2010 Parking/Hand Brake slips

[dadkind]

Hello All,

I've had this problem since I got my car and I'm trying to see if anyone else has this problem.

On my car, I have to pull the hand brake all the way up as hard as I can in order to get it to "stay."

If I only pull it up partially, any bumping of the brake lever (like when I try to get my fat butt in the car) will cause the brake lever to slip all the way down. I usually leave the car in gear so it doesn't go far. But if I were to leave the car in neutral, it would roll.

That's my concern, that the car could roll into something valuable like a kid in the driveway.

I showed this to my dealer when I first got the car and they blew me off because it was working "in spec." I also tried reporting this on the website, but they deferred to the dealer.

So I'm trying to see if this is a problem with Mustangs in general, or my specific car.

So far, my experience with this Mustang has been less than satisfying, I'm sorry to say.

Thanks,
-tomas

 

[AvalancheSVT]

so what kind of acreage are we talkin here buddy?

 

[Az Pete]

No problem here. What does it take to make it release? I have not sat on it so I don't know if that is the problem.....6'3" and 280 is not small getting into these so I can say I do not sit that close to the lever. On mine, the button must be pushed to release.

 

[dadkind]

So, I took the car into a different dealer and they said that No, my behavior is not normal. The lever does indeed release too easily.

In fact, when the brake is on, you can also cause it to release simply by pushing the button without first lifting lightly on the lever. So there is definitely something not right with this car.

(And I may have overstated my butt size a bit; not small by any means, but bigger butts have owned these cars for sure! haha)

I do have a video of the problem. Here's a link:
YouTube - VIDEO00171

-tomas

 

[Az Pete]

Looks like you have the one off "Dukes of Hazzard" brake release. I tried every way possible on mine and no release at all. A problem for you for sure. Glad another dealer is working with you.

 

[AngelaS]

In fact, when the brake is on, you can also cause it to release simply by pushing the button without first lifting lightly on the lever. So there is definitely something not right with this car.

Hey dadkind, having a lever release by itself or even with just a push of the button is not normal behavior in any car I've ever driven, regardless of what the dealer tells you. You should get this taken care of before you or your car get hurt.

 

[Spdfreak]

Just saw the video. DON'T DO THAT!

Just kidding, just have them replace the whole thing. Not that hard to change out.

 

[dadkind]

OK. So the second dealer replaced the parking brake lever under warranty.

The difference is night-and-day!! It feels like I thought it should have felt in the first place.

But now I'm really ticked at the first dealer since they basically blew me off (twice!) when I asked them about it. Time to contact Ford customer service again The first time I contact Ford, they called the dealer and just echoed their "findings". However, this time I have a completed repair ticket showing that the first dealer was wrong!

(I'm a great believer that Customer Service/Support is important)