Auto park brake, should I be worried?

[Alex jb]

Wife's Renault has the auto handbrake, lots of nightmare google stories but we have had no trouble.
The A4 wagon (58) in the process of buying has an a switch also.
Only used it once on the test drive.

Two questions.
How does it work!? Can I let the clutch out and it will release on bite like the Renault? Does it auto apply when you stop the engine?

Second, are they problematic? It had a note on the delivery note (bought by local trade from a main dealer) saying 'parking brake fault', it now seems to work fine but sales guy couldn't tell me what was fixed... Maybe they just reset the fault code.


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[Scott K]

I can only tell you about my wife's one. It has hill hold which you can set to apply the parking brake when the car comes to a stop. The brake releases when you pull away. There have been some problems with the brakes and they also mean that changing rear pads/discs yourself is difficult without VCDS. My own A6 has had a creaking parking brake for 2 years and still works fine although I was preparing for a £700 bill!

[Alex jb]

Wow, that's a decent bill for a park brake repair!
I changed the pads on my wife's Renault and it cost £35 for pads. You would never have known it was fancy electronics, the caliper/rotor is like any other.

If you can disable or not use the hill assist I bet it will make it all last longer.

Looking forward to driving it again before I decide...


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[markp306]

Two questions.
Can I let the clutch out and it will release on bite like the Renault?
Yes, if you are wearing your seat belt.

Does it auto apply when you stop the engine?
No



I had a handbrake fault on my previous 2008 avant. It was an ECU. I can't recall the cost now, sorry.

[Zenerdiode]

Standard fitment is the Electronic Parking Brake. It is engaged or dis-engaged by the console switch. It also dis-engages when ECU feels engine torque at a certain clutch position, i.e. you're just biting the clutch and not just at that clutch position in neutral. It does not engage when engine is stopped.

'Parking Brake Fault' can be caused by something as simple as pulling the switch too slowly (i.e. neither up nor down...) or something as expensive as the control unit. A fault scan would tell you.

The Hill Hold Assist is an optional extra. It engages when it senses the car coming to rest when there is pressure on the footbrake. It will not activate if the car rolls to a stop. It doesn't promote wear on the handbrake mechanism because rather than operating the parking brake each time, the ABS system holds hydraulic pressure in the system therefore all four brakes hold the vehicle. It dis-engages much more quickly than the parking brake so driving off is much smoother.

[Alex jb]

Ah! That must be the system that kept coming on by itself in the MY13 VW van at work. Freakin annoying! Realy came off with a lurch, no where near as smooth as the Renault system.
Never mind, I don't drive that van anymore and if my A4 does have the assist, I'll try it and if I don't like it I'll turn it off

Thanks Zenner


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