[SafetyChes]

Hello all, I have a 2012 Auto Diesel. Last year when it went for the MOT they failed it on the handbrake. Even when the cable was tightened, it still wasn't holding (even with new pads and discs) I gave up and told the garage to fix it. Well MOT is due in August and it seems to be happening again. Handbrake wont hold even on a gradual incline I have to rely on the "park" setting on the auto gear box. Can anyone point me in the right direction? new handbrake cable? the garage did say he fixed it by adjusting something on the brake it's self, not sure if its the calliper he's adjusted or something else.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ches

[BrendanP]

Does your car have the manual handbrake or an electronic one?

If it's the manual handbrake I suspect the caliper is seizing up, or at least the handbrake part of it. If you take the wheel off, you can see the handbrake cable loops around a lever with a hook on the end. Pulling the handbrake lever turns the shaft the lever is attached to and that pushes the caliper piston outwards by an internal lead screw. If, however, that shaft has seized in the caliper body then it doesn't spring back like it's meant to, so there's less movement of the lever, which means the pad doesn't get pushed against the disc hard enough to hold the car.

I made a video yesterday of how to check it and posted it on YouTube   

I doubt it's a problem with the handbrake cable, they're pretty chunky and don't stretch noticeably. If the shaft has seized in the caliper body due to corrosion then it probably means replacing the caliper. As a temporary fix someone may have squirted it with WD40 and worked it free with a spanner. That might work for a while but it will probably jam up again.

If you have the electronic handbrake it has an actuator integrated into the caliper and nothing I've mentioned above applies.

[sundiz]

Isn't 2012 FD? Is you car first or second body model? In FD hand brake is adjusted from the drum brake inside rear brake disc. After it has been adjusted, the slack will be taken off from the cable. In GD screw brake piston is used for hand brake.

With FDs, at least here were there is salt and snow the rear rusts easily. After time the hand brake expander linkage, which is connected to the cable and is located Inside the rear brake drum, can get rusty and crusty. It will cause loss of power as only one brake pad will make contact to the brake drum. New linkages or cleaning the old ones will help with better and even brake power.

[BrendanP]

Sundiz made a good point, your car may be the 1st generation FD model on a '61 or '12 plate. The GD was launched in 2012 but there were a few FD still being sold.

With the wheel off you can quickly check if the mechanism has seized up by trying to move the hooked lever back and forth with your fingers (with handbrake released). It should spring back freely without sticking. The good news is that once you've dismantled the brake it's possible to clean up the lever, apply a suitable grease and put it back. I did this on my partners car and it has done 100,000 miles since without seizing up again.

If you search my posts I made a step by step tutorial with photos on how to do it. It's a regular topic in the forums.

The bad news is that if a mechanic tried to fix it by tightening up the brakes using the adjustment under the brake drum, that will work for a short time but if the lever isn't freed off, it just holds the brake shoes against the brake drum so eventually they wear out and your handbrake becomes useless again. It can also wear a groove on the inside of the drum. You then have to be prepared to fit new brake shoes and possibly brake disc/drum, as well as freeing up the handbrake lever mechanism. The brake shoes are designed to hold the car, not to stop it, hence they are quite narrow with thin linings, they will soon wear down if they're constantly rubbing.

Can someone explain what FD GD mean please?

My 2009 has the drum over disc type hand brake system. The hand brake shoes are inside the drum.

My passenger side was sticking on
if I rocked the car back and forth you could here a click above the calliper
I could also see that the handbrake cable was also rocking back and forth.
The drivers side worked perfectly.
I currently have no handbrake at all and I’m waiting to have the shoes changed and the handbrake adjusted.
I would do it myself but it’s far too cold and I hate working on the floor.
I only noticed that something was wrong as I thought the wheel bearing had gone bad due to whining when driven and the fact that the hub assembly was piping hot.  So when I went to change the bearing assembly this is when I noticed the problem and in fact the bearing was perfectly fine.
I will book the car in this week and I’ll also have an oil change whilst it’s there.

[CraigB]

Can someone explain what FD GD mean please?

Briefly explained in the first paragraph of the post prior to yours

FD = 1st generation 2007 - 2012

GD = 2nd generation 2012 - 2017

PD =3rd generation 2017 - ongoing

Can someone explain what FD GD mean please?

Briefly explained in the first paragraph of the post prior to yours

FD = 1st generation 2007 - 2012

GD = 2nd generation 2012 - 2017

PD =3rd generation 2017 - ongoing

Thanks

[The Gonz]

Can someone explain what FD GD mean please?

Briefly explained in the first paragraph of the post prior to yours

FD = 1st generation 2007 - 2012

GD = 2nd generation 2012 - 2017

PD =3rd generation 2017 - ongoing

Thanks

Quick visual aid at the top of the page: left to right, FD, PD, GD.