VW Electronic Parking Brake

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Why does VW or any other OE for that matter, feel the need to over engineer the parking brake? This is ridiculous.
Were parking brakes of the old variety such a problem?
 
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Is it the same as on other car manufactures with electric parking brakes? I replaced the rears on my 2012 Jetta last month, no 1K tool required!
 
Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
Is it the same as on other car manufactures with electric parking brakes? I replaced the rears on my 2012 Jetta last month, no 1K tool required!


I know we services a Lexus Hybrid and we needed to get the upgrade for our Scan Tool to do the brakes on it. I would think a parking brake should be a manual device in the event you loose all power and need to stop in an emergency.

Or what happens if the battery dies with the brake engaged?

This is just stupidity.
 
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Pfffft, dude, my BMW had a clutch adjuster on the throwout bearing (think ratchet mechanism) so that the clutch pedal would always be in the same spot over the life of the clutch. Predictably, that engineering circle-jerk resulted in the very mechanism employed to mitigate this perceived "problem" failing resulting in the clutch requiring replacement, at significant cost, and with significant life still left on the clutch.
 
Originally Posted by StevieC


This is just stupidity.

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Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Pfffft, dude, my BMW had a clutch adjuster on the throwout bearing (think ratchet mechanism) so that the clutch pedal would always be in the same spot over the life of the clutch. Predictably, that engineering circle-jerk resulted in the very mechanism employed to mitigate this perceived "problem" failing resulting in the clutch requiring replacement, at significant cost, and with significant life still left on the clutch.



Thanks for adding to the German over engineering discussion. I just don't get it. They can be really brilliant and then there are things like these 2 examples of "Why?"
 
Engineering is, in many ways, an art form. I find German engineering to be quite elegant, but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily the most logical, and certainly not the most simplistic method to get the job done. So in many cases, what works out swimmingly in the lab as a "brilliant idea" will not pan out as intended in the real world under a usage profile where contamination is guaranteed and thus, operation of the mechanism eventually is compromised, as was the case with this clutch adjuster. The design was novel enough, however, nobody will notice the 1/4" of pedal travel distance changing over >200,000Km. That you only get 150,000Km out of the clutch because the mechanism seized, resulting in craptacular clutch engagement (slipping) because it's jammed sideways isn't factored into that development process.

I relate heavily, as my grandfather (German) was an Engineer for GE, as was his father, who was, obviously, also German.
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I think they need to keep it simple like back in the days well before electronics. That simple but effective, efficient and durable stuff they used to produce. Now it just seems to be getting over complicated for no reason, difficult to service, and a lot of problems end up resulting because there is too much to manage.

They do have some pretty great technology and I get the thought process but I would suggest they ask themselves if it's needed, is it the simplest way to do this efficiently, what happens if it breaks and what is the likelihood this could cause customer dissatisfaction and expensive repair bills.

I really enjoyed the older BMW's and the older Volkswagens with their brilliant simple technology that was durable and performed well for many years with minimal service unlike the really complicated stuff today that always seems to be in need of something. (Not all models and certainly not as bad as Mercedes tends to be) but definitely not that same experience as before sort of thing.
 
Eh, it goes back. Lots of WWII stuff as a prime example. Brilliant, but due to being so complicated, could not be field repaired unlike the simpler, less capable products from their adversaries which could be tape and bubblegum'd back into action.

And then there's the stubbornness....
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Eh, it goes back. Lots of WWII stuff as a prime example. Brilliant, but due to being so complicated, could not be field repaired unlike the simpler, less capable products from their adversaries which could be tape and bubblegum'd back into action.

And then there's the stubbornness....


I'm Italian, I know stubbornness, we are taught at a young age. It's part of the reason Italy is such a mess and always has been.
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Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Eh, it goes back. Lots of WWII stuff as a prime example. Brilliant, but due to being so complicated, could not be field repaired unlike the simpler, less capable products from their adversaries which could be tape and bubblegum'd back into action.

And then there's the stubbornness....


I'm Italian, I know stubbornness, we are taught at a young age. It's part of the reason Italy is such a mess and always has been.
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And then there's THE FRENCH
 
If you're doing any repair work on any modern car, I recommend having the appropriate scan tool. VCDS, at it's most expensive, is $300.

It's not just for changing the brakes. It's one of the most detailed and easy to use diagnostic systems from any manufacturer and it allows you to change long and short coding as well as actual trouble codes, both hidden and MIL-triggering.

An electronic parking brake isn't an overly complicated system - in fact it has fewer components than a mechanical system. As to your "what happens if the battery dies" question - are you planning on driving the car with the dead battery? Awfully simple to jump the car and release the brake. That's something I'd think you'd try before towing anyway, right?

I will add some actual engineering stupidity (or short-sightedness) to the conversation though:

The frunk release on my 911 is electronic. The engine compartment release is electronic. The frunk has no mechanical release.

The engine compartment has a mechanical release that you can reach from the rear wheel well, however most cars still have the cable in a coil taped behind the LH tail light - apparently it was supposed to be re-routed before sale. Oops.

This means that to jump the car you need to remove the tail light... Which you need to open the engine compartment to do.

So you have to jump the fuse block to get power to the release switches. Fun to figure out when stranded.
 
They say the cable routing through the floor is an engineering challenge they'd prefer to avoid with electronics. Think of the gentle loops of a traditional e-brake cable and how they have to be tucked up, not hit by exhaust, etc.

I saved my camry on black ice with the hand-brake. The regular juice brake proportioning of 80/20 locked my front wheels when the rears had nothing going on. I don't think an electronic brake would have responded as quickly or been able to modulate as nicely.
 
StevieC, it doesn't surprise me you started this thread off by stating VW as the key offender and following up by "or any other OE for that matter". You'd make a good reporter for NBC.

Like it or not, vehicles are going this way. Many new 2018+ Camrys have such a parking brake as an example.

That being said, I much prefer a regular hand parking brake. My VW GTI has one, but my wifes Audi uses an electronic parking brake. Both cars are sticks and we use the parking brake.

There are cheaper ways to wind in the caliper piston(s) on VW and Audi vehicles as pointed out and even cheaper and free if you dig deeper.
 
I like the electric parking brake on my new F-150. I use it all the time. I will like it as long as it is not a PITA.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
StevieC, it doesn't surprise me you started this thread off by stating VW as the key offender and following up by "or any other OE for that matter". You'd make a good reporter for NBC


The reason I said that was because of an experience we had of servicing a Lexus Hybrid which needed something similar to service the brakes on that model.

For the reason Eljefino said i makes more sense to have a manual cable system which seems to work just fine.
 
I think I remember reading that some sort of electronic parking brake is necessary for cars that have automatic braking because they stop using the abs system components, but if they remain stopped the parking brake takes over.

I could be wrong about this, maybe it was a nightmare.
 
everybody likes their unneeded JUNK until it malfunctions + costs $$$$ to fix. today newer is worse it seems!!!
 
Originally Posted by benjy
everybody likes their unneeded JUNK until it malfunctions + costs $$$$ to fix. today newer is worse it seems!!!





Just put a hole in the floorboard and wear THICK soled shoes to brake with!!! Much SIMPLER and easy to FIX!!!!!
 
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