AHHHHH! Drove with E-brake on today after getting my new Mazda 3

[masterblingpimp]

Hello everyone!

Today, I got a 2008 Mazda 3 GS, mint condition with 35,000km.

I was parking on a hill so I decided to use e-brake. Before, I drove a BMW X5, so I didn't really need to use e-brake. As you can guess, I forgot to take the e-brake off, and still drove for 7km (from movie theater back to my house). Do I need to go take it in for a check up? Argh.......

[WingZero_]

Test it, as in make sure it still holds you in place. Worst case scenario you stretched it, and it will need to be adjusted.

[AS RomaMazda]

Sorry, but how is one able to drive with their eBrake engaged? I'm thinking it's a matter of a manual vs. an automatic transmission..., no?

BTW, congrats on the new purchase, and as much of a blemish as it may seem, I wouldn't sweat it, really!

[Krazy]

I am sure it's fine... but yeah just test it lol.

My dad did the same on my 2010 Mazda 3 GS... he told me he thought my car had no power until he realized e-break was on then lectured me on why I even put it on.. on an automatic car lol
just a habit I guess lol

[TheMAN]

look at your instruments much when you drive? :whoa

for everyone who don't use their e-brakes when they park... you're really tempting fate... all you're doing is putting stress on your motor mounts which causes them to break sooner, plus you're depending on a piece of metal inside the tranny that's no bigger than your pinky finger to hold 2800lbs in place

ever heard of stories of kids sitting in a van and the parents just stand outside for a few minutes for a scenic view, and then the van rolls off the cliff? there's plenty of those around, and I bet you half of them were from broken park pawls

no offense, but "P" does not stand for "parking brake"... use the e-brake (actually called the parking brake) and pay attention to your instrumentation when you drive! this applies to ANY car



as for any damage, the worse thing that would've happen are boiled brake fluid, worn pads, and scorched rotors
7km shouldn't be much to worry about if you didn't drive fast... at worse you halved the life of those pads

[SonicBoy]

e-brake is short for Emergency Brake. What TheMan says above is 100% spot on but I'd like to add that by using everytime you park, you ensure the thing is working. I've seen some cars where the owner has never used the e-brake. When trying to engage it, it is rusted and the cables pop. Everyday use ensures that parts are moving and actually working.

Remember, this is your only life line should your regular brakes fail and you need to stop your car while moving.

[bluemazda3]

You should check your instrument panel man... i hope you werent driving too fast... your rotors are probably scortched.. might want to get the cables checked too.. my car rolled down my driveway cause my cables were stretched due to me forgetting to disengaging e-brakes, (this is only for 3 secs).

[masterblingpimp]

Thank you everyone. Lesson learned. I will check out if the parking brake still works, and get it checked next time i go in for an oil change or something.

[Elusivellama]

Another ebrake lesson... this past month, two people were killed while trying to pay for parking/activate the parking garage door while leaning out of their vehicles (their windows were busted or something). In both cases, their vehicles slid forward and pinned them against the wall... their foot must have slipped off the parking brake while their cars were still in neutral or drive. If your window is busted for some reason, all it takes is to put the car in P (if automatic) and always use the e-brake even on a level surface. Better yet, get the window fixed....

[Aitch]

http://images1.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/4801050/got-new-mazda-loved-drifting-everywhere.jpg?imageSize=Large&generatorName=Technologically-Impaired-Duck

[Rob23]

I am sure it's fine... but yeah just test it lol.

My dad did the same on my 2010 Mazda 3 GS... he told me he thought my car had no power until he realized e-break was on then lectured me on why I even put it on.. on an automatic car lol
just a habit I guess lol

its better for your car to put the e-brake on even in an automatic, no tension sitting on your transmission. lol i don't get ppl that don't use your e-brake.:loco

[Rob23]

Another ebrake lesson... this past month, two people were killed while trying to pay for parking/activate the parking garage door while leaning out of their vehicles (their windows were busted or something). In both cases, their vehicles slid forward and pinned them against the wall... their foot must have slipped off the parking brake while their cars were still in neutral or drive. If your window is busted for some reason, all it takes is to put the car in P (if automatic) and always use the e-brake even on a level surface. Better yet, get the window fixed....

poor woman, she had kids and everything. so sad that these things are able to happen..

[mido]

If you didn't hear screaching then you most likely didn't pull it hard enough .. It's probably fineee :)

[DumpInfo]

If you didn't hear screaching then you most likely didn't pull it hard enough .. It's probably fineee :)

+1

[Jackal]

7 km sounds like a long time. I use the e-brake when parking. First thing I check before I start driving off. I did reverse once with it on but I noticed right away. No harm done. 7 km. I'd get that looked at.

[tmpz]

7 km sounds like a long time. I use the e-brake when parking. First thing I check before I start driving off. I did reverse once with it on but I noticed right away. No harm done. 7 km. I'd get that looked at.

I did the same when I got my car, reversed out on to the street and couldn't move forward. Thought I was stuck in snow, but after a few minutes, I realized the e-brake was still engaged.

[Kwokalobster]

e-brake lesson: always use the damn thing! its there for a reason. Check your panel before moving to make sure everything is good to go!

[Souls]

its better for your car to put the e-brake on even in an automatic, no tension sitting on your transmission. lol i don't get ppl that don't use your e-brake.:loco

yeah... I use it all the time... so it'll be functional when you REALLY need it! unlike VW's who are notorious for ceased cables (FAIL)

i forgot too once... I was like WTF? no power? disks where f'n hot, but the pads weren't smokin' (yet) and no scorch marks, so everything's OK. as for my cluster, I use my ebrake switch to kill my DRLs for HID... then taped the indicator in the cluster, so I saw nothing LOL

[Freakzaz]

haha I accidentally did the same thing a day after I got my 3. Drove for about 2km's and when I got home we noticed a burnt smell. I got so freaked out but it seemed to run fine thereafter. :chuckle

[masterblingpimp]

Just updating this thread, everything is perfectly fine :) No biggie !

[Maz3Dan]

I'm gonna catch some major flack for this, but i drove with my e-brake on last night from Steeles and Dufferin to Bathurst and Clark going 80. I started to smell burning coming from my A/C vents. I hope there isn't too much damage! :bang I don't normally make that kind of mistake, had a fight with my ex

[geobur]

I'm gonna catch some major flack for this, but i drove with my e-brake on last night from Steeles and Dufferin to Bathurst and Clark going 80. I started to smell burning coming from my A/C vents. I hope there isn't too much damage! :bang I don't normally make that kind of mistake, had a fight with my ex

did that in my old car...not a very nice smell.


its better for your car to put the e-brake on even in an automatic, no tension sitting on your transmission. lol i don't get ppl that don't use your e-brake.:loco

agreed...I use it on my automatic all the time, it is a good habit to get into, and like other people have said, if you don't use it you lose it, just like muscles...gotta be flexin dat e-brake

[peterm15]

I'm gonna catch some major flack for this, but i drove with my e-brake on last night from Steeles and Dufferin to Bathurst and Clark going 80. I started to smell burning coming from my A/C vents. I hope there isn't too much damage! :bang I don't normally make that kind of mistake, had a fight with my ex

You may want to check your back breaks.
Did that a few months ago but wasn't going as fast as you. Checked my brakes. They were fine.

[SonicBoy]

I'd get the calipers and slide rails serviced as they probably burnt up all the lube. While doing that service, have the brake pads examined for wear.

I think the 2nd gens have an alert if you drive with the e-brake on. A warning tone and light in the dash comes on.

[hex]

i cringe at the sight of people barely coming to a full stop, slamming their transmissions into park, and get out of the vehicle, all the while their cars are still rocking back and forth.

i for one have gotten into the habit of using my parking break every time i get out of the car. i've had a friend tell me not to do it (apparently because i'll break it after too much use), but i choose to ignore it. however, i drive stick, so i guess it's more important.

[paulabreu]

So is it bad to drive with your e-brake on? loool..jk,
last year coming back from Montreal, I left the gf drive and she drove from Odessa to Napanee ( about 20 kms )with the e-brake on, luckily there was no damage to the brakes at all

[credential23]

lol. I have a habit that I always check and make sure that my ebrake was down(off) before and while I'm driving. Because there was this one time that I forgot to bring down the e-brake after I went for a gas, Then while I'm driving(ebrake on) I was like..."shit.OhmayGawwd... Did I put diesel?" because I noticed that the car was slower and lack power and I thought I broke it. Then after that I noticed that ebrake was the cause. lol. Made my nervous for about 2mins.

[r4mi5awi]

It's harder to notice sometimes when it's in pedal form like in some minivans, suvs and trucks. Always disliked Mercedes for having it on their sedans for some reason, another one of my automotive pet peeves.

In any case, this rarely happens to me only on occasions when I borrow or have to move someone's vehicle out of the driveway.

I wouldn't sweat it, your new car anxiety is getting the best of you.

[ssolidd]

it makes your tranny work much harder and 7km is not short... : )

[stock3]

For those that have a hard time telling if the parking brake is engaged or not, look at the gauges, the red exclamation mark in a circle should be enough;)

[Aitch]

For those that have a hard time telling if the parking brake is engaged or not, look at the gauges, the red exclamation mark in a circle should be enough;)

All this time I thought that came on to tell you your driving is AWESOME!!!

[6strings]

All this time I thought that came on to tell you your driving is AWESOME!!!

lmao

[Flagrum_3]

i cringe at the sight of people barely coming to a full stop, slamming their transmissions into park, and get out of the vehicle, all the while their cars are still rocking back and forth.

i for one have gotten into the habit of using my parking break every time i get out of the car. i've had a friend tell me not to do it (apparently because i'll break it after too much use), but i choose to ignore it. however, i drive stick, so i guess it's more important.

This is one of those huge misconceptions floating around, unlike the 'ol brake fluid needing changing often crap. E-brakes should be used often with autos, and all the time with manuals!...Non use of the e-brake will definately cause issues. I've used mine always, and almost 8 years on and no issues whatsoever with the e-brake.

To OP; I wonder if with the inspection you had done, that they checked your sliders+calipers properly. These should be checked, as your brakes would have experienced some serious heat build-up during the incident.


_3

[r4BBiT]

It's harder to notice sometimes when it's in pedal form like in some minivans, suvs and trucks. Always disliked Mercedes for having it on their sedans for some reason, another one of my automotive pet peeves.

In any case, this rarely happens to me only on occasions when I borrow or have to move someone's vehicle out of the driveway.

I wouldn't sweat it, your new car anxiety is getting the best of you.

You can get used to that foot pedal pretty quickly, the only problem I have with it is that the wife keeps kicking the plastic panel with her dirty shoes :D

And if you forget it the whole car goes crazy telling you that you did: beeping noise, the whole gauge panel blinks red and yells at you that parking brake is not released so it's pretty hard to miss.