I dont think he said the e-brake was on at the bottom of the hill. I thought he said he doublechecked it before he left.

But I know with my MR2, and the Probe, the e-brake would hold....then after a while of holding, it would let off (loss of brake preassure or something) and start rolling. To get it back, I would just have to leave the car parked in 1st or rev and keep the e-brake up. No rolling and preassurized the e-brake.

I would say check your brake fluids and see if they are low.

 

Just out of curiousity, would this have been prevented if the car was parked in gear?(-obviously not if someone messed with it). I used to never leave my car in gear when I parked(just pulled the ebrake), but now I try to remember to put it in 1st, etc. everytime.

 

Unless someone tampered with it, putting it in gear would prevent it from rolling. It does however make it a PITA if you foorget (or are used to it in neutral when starting) and you release the clutch and lurch.

I hate taking my car to get work done and they always leave it in 1st!!! Grrrr!!

 

If the brakes were hot when you first put the e-brake on, you will lose a certain amount of friction between the pads and rotors as they cool off. If you didn't really yank on it too hard to begin with, the difference may have been enough to let it slide. Once in motion, it'll keep going...

 

I agree with Macgyver about the whole heat thing. I chill at my friends house and I park my car without pulling my e-brake to hard. Later I would see it rolling down. I concluded that the brakes on the rear caliper and the brake fluid cooled down. The brake fluid cool so less pressure and the pad and rotor cooled which cause the metal to shrink. So it probably started the momentum. This also happen to my friend 240sx also. Always leave it in gear no matter what that what I believe.

 

possibly had to do with him washing the car in this case?
hot breaks suddenly cool down after wash...less friction....slowly slides down hill?

 

When I learned how to drive stick (when I learned how to drive) I was taught to ALWAYS park the car in gear, and ALWAYS give a good yank on the e-brake. Personally I was taught to park in 1st gear. However, I my place of work (production facility), site safety policy is that any vehicles brought on site with a manual transmission must be parked in reverse. I've often wondered what the difference is. Maybe a different gear ratio to make the car even harder to start rolling (depends on the car). Maybe because it's just different and therefor gets your attention (One site I worked at had a 19mph parking lot speed limit because it gets more attention than a round number like 20mph.). Maybe because it would be more unlikely for a truck to roll forward away from a loading dock when parked in reverse rather than first (the engine would have to spin backwards). Or maybe the guy or gal that wrote the rule was taught to park in reverse (most likely?).

Either way. It's a good idea to do both. Once you learn, it becomes habit. My driveway is somewhat steep, and my properly designed garage has a floor that is slightly sloped so that any water that gets in, will roll out (works good, no water). The floor is sloped enough that if I'm patient I don't even need to put the car in reverse to get out of the garage and driveway (usually not that patient). I find myself double checking to make sure i parked properly.

A relative of mine has a similar situation (steep driveway/slightly sloped garage floor). One day he forgot something, pulled back in his garage, and completely forgot to pull the brake or put it in gear. When he came out he found his truck up against a tree. Replaced the entire tailgate and bed for that one. Luckily no frame damage.

ALWAYS pull the e-brake firmly. As pads wear and as the cables (most cars use cables) stretch (and they do stretch), the cable assembly needs to be tightened for the brake to engage early enough in the pull. It has been easy to do on my previous cars, though I'm not sure about the S. Just be sure to make sure the e-brake is not too tight. You can check by jacking up the back of the car WITH THE FRONT BLOCKED and releasing the parking brake and spinning the back wheels by hand. You can hear if there is any brake resistance when the e-brake is not supposed to be engaged. Also be careful to check that it's not too tight when you have just replaced the rear pads.

ALWAYS put the car in 1st or reverse. It'll become habit. Every once in a while I find I forgot one or the other. But I don't think I've ever forgetten both, so my car is still where I left it.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Quik S2K
But I know with my MR2, and the Probe, the e-brake would hold....then after a while of holding, it would let off (loss of brake preassure or something) and start rolling.

 

I've been driving manual transmission cars for...let's just say a very long time...I always leave the vehicle in 1st or reverse and have never had one roll away. To me it is like leaving a automatic in park.

 

You've got to be kidding me. That has got to be the weirdest thing I have read in weeks. Do you ever get crazy and throw it in 4th or 6th to see if they'll notice?

Jimbo