I've read a few threads on NAM that talk about this. People will set their brake when they get out, but when they return later they find their Mini across the street. Is it true that the rotor can cool off and cause the brake to fail? My roommate in college had a Miata, and his rolled out into the street a few times. He claimed that he had set the brake; I just assumed that he forgot. This scares me, because my driveway is the steepest driveway I've ever seen. I've actually considered moving over it. It's a royal pain in the butt...you really have to step into the pedal to make it up the incline. If my Mini rolled out into the street, it would pick up a lot of speed before hitting a car or the ditch. Either way that would be bad. I always set the brake and put it in gear. Will putting it in gear save it if the brake fails?

 

Hmm. Well, its just a cable on your rear brakes. I guess the cable could break. I have heard of the pads not releasing but that is a different problem. Leaving it in gear is a good idea but depending upon the incline, might no help all that mutch and you might forget your in gear

Steep inclines are a problem. I hate them. It wouldn't hurt to put a block behind your rear wheels if the block wont slide.

I see no easy answer.

 

I don't know how wide your drive way is, but you could park paralell to the street. Sure it would look funny, but if you have a wide drive, it shouldn't be too bad. If its a narrow driveway, I guess you could try to park at an angle. Another idea is that you could cut the wheels to one side or the other so the car would roll into the yeard instead of the street or ditch. You could even put a chock on one of the tires, just like Chowsie said.

 

Park with the car in first, don't put the e-brake on and see if it rolls. If it doesn't then the e-brake is just a back-up.

 

I ALWAYS leave any manual I drive in gear flat, hill or mountain (unless I'm at the dealer but there's a story to that). And I set the parking brake unless I've been doing lots of heavy driving.

Anything can fail; I don't think there is a track record of E-brakes failing, I know there are times when people foreget, or don't pull the handle hard enough.

Remeber the basic Drivers Ed techinique of cutting the wheels, your MINI will likely end up in the grass or a flower bed (unless you've got lots of trees). I have "Remove Before Flight" tag on my key ring, and aircraft labels over the toggle bank so the idea of wheel chocks would fit tight in for me.

 

This happened with my dad's truck once -- e-brake went and the truck rolled down the hill a bit before wrapping itself around a telephone pole. He did cut the wheels; otherwise the truck would have been in the park down the street.

Just make sure the wheels are turned. Beyond that, there isn't much else you can do as no car can guarantee the e-brake won't fail.

 

Yeah I believe everyone is right, keep it in gear, pull the e-brake tight, chock one or two of the wheels and cut the tires. If it fails after all this....honey...it was meant to happen. Oh and keep up the insurance.

 

Hmmm, lately I've been putting the e-brake on and always leaving it in neutral when I park. Is that good? Should I start putting in first from now on?

 

There are many posts on MINI2 regarding e-brake failure. People find that their MINI has rolled away, then discover that the e-brake is still engaged. This post includes a list of clickable threads (post #5): http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...ml#post2111866

 

Perhaps it's just a habit that my father taught me, but I've never left a car in neutral when I'm parked. I'm either in first or reverse when I'm parked, depending on the situation of course. It's even more important when you leave your car on steep hills. Of course, choking your wheels to the far left/right when on steep inclines/declines is always an important thing to do as well. The way I see it is those minor steps can be taken to help minimize any risk of putting your car in danger or perhaps endangering someone else. It's not like doing these things take much time; a few seconds and you can have a little bit of confidence that your vehicle is a much safer position. Just my thoughts and everyone is entitled to do what they want.

GotMINI

 

Thank you for your comments. I have the habit of leaving cars in gear every time I park. That's the way I was taught to park a car. I tested it today, and sure enough, it holds the car in place without the brake. I'm not worried. It is wild that you can set the e-brake and still have your car wonder off. HaHa...I guess some cars/trucks aren't very good at setting still.

 

Reverse is a lower gear ratio (or higher depending upon how you calculate), but reverse is hard to roll off by itself. So reverse should be chosen over first, no matter which way the car is pointing (uphill or downhill). Since this is your drivway and you will be parking on it everyday, consider anchoring a ramped chock for one of your front wheels into the driveway. This chock won't slide because it is anchored. When you come home, just gently drive up the ramp part and let the tire settle on the abrupt side of the chock. This alone will hold your car. Put the xmission in reverse, set your 'parking brake', and sleep well.

The next morning, just drive back up over the chock and be on your way. Getting out and setting a chock and removing a chock will surely get tiresome.

YD

 

I've always left the car in first or reverse in addition to firmly setting the parking brake. If there is a curb, I park close to it and turn the wheels so that they point to that curb in the direction the car is liable to roll. If there is no curb, turn the wheels in a direction that would lead the car in the least possible destructive path should the car roll. Turn the steering wheel against the stop then lock & remove key. If the car somehow manages to 'get loose', the above turned wheel will confine the car to rolling only several feet even on steep incline, and keeping the car in gear will reduce it's ability to gather too much speed.

Turning your steering wheel hard to one direction and locking it also discourages towing, especially when access to towing the car is only from the back end.

 

This Happened to my dads VW Passat, me and my brother took it upstate NY to an airsoft match and parked it on our team captain's driveway and while we were getting ready he went "dude your car" and it was rolling away, it turned into a ditch (facing outwards) and missed a tree by inches but the taillight broke and the skid plate got all messed up, so now the first thing our team captain sais when we get there is "PUT IT IN GEAR"

 

It's not an emergency brake, it's a parking brake, with car left in gear of course.