Electronic handbrake issue on Citroen C4 Grand Picasso

My Citroen C4 Grand Picasso failed its MOT on "handbrake hold". Investigation by the dealer showed a complete failure of cables and motor costing £1000 to replace and repair. I noted two recalls in the...

Passat electric handbrake motor housing

I took my 2007 Passat to the Volkswagen garage as I needed to get one of the keys re-coded. They linked the car to the computer and after an hour, told me that the electric handbrake motor housing has...

Will hill parking damage my car's handbrake?

The short front drive to our house is on a 10-15 degree downhill slope. I am interested to know what the best way to park there is. Is there a risk to hand-brake/gears if I park facing downhill in first...

Handbrake stopped working on Renault Scenic

The handbrake on my Renault Scenic has stopped working after my wife pulled it in whilst driving along. Now the brake symbol flashes and it doesn't work. Can you help?

Broken handbrake after recent repairs - should the garage pay?

My Mazda MX-5 apparently requires a complete handbrake lever assembly after being delivered to my local main dealer on a tow truck due to an oil leak. There was nothing wrong with the handbrake when it...

Why don't drivers of vehicles with stop-start use their handbrakes to save fuel?

My Fiesta with EcoBoost 100 averaged 48.5mpg on one long journey, while the on-board computer shows 37.4mpg overall, mostly on short local trips along fairly congested roads in suburban London. May I suggest...

Why do drivers pull their handbrakes on so hard?

During over 50 years of driving experience, it has always been a puzzle to me as to why it is that, when parking on a level road, so many drivers attempt to pull the parking brake lever from its mountings....

Unreliable handbrake on Vauxhall Corsa

My daughter in law has a 2012 Vauxhall Corsa, which has been suffering with a dodgy handbrake for a few weeks. Yesterday, the car rolled into the vehicle in front and caused damage. The main dealer claims...

Buying a new £20,000 car – what would you recommend?

My wife has a shoulder problem, she is finding gear change and handbrake operation a problem. It looks like we need a car with automatic transmission and electronic handbrake. We will be looking for something...

Insurance claim due to faulty handbrake

I bought a new Kia Picanto in January. Today I parked it outside my daughter's house on an incline at the bottom of a hill and the car rolled backwards and crashed into a pillar, completely smashing in...