Emergency brakes should be a handle that pulls a mechanical cable that directly actuates the rear brakes. Simple and reliable, like you would want in an emergency.
I just did this on my 2011 Miata. It has about 50k miles on it. Driven in Wisconsin, and while I’ve mostly kept it off winter roads, it’s inevitably going to have more corrosion than an equivalent car kept in a warmer/dryer climate.
$600 for the repair. Given how long it lasted, I don’t consider that too crazy.
That’s more a statement against car ownership in general. Repairs are going to happen. Making the e-brake into a switch that activates solenoids by way of a CAN bus to microcontrollers doesn’t change that. If anything, it’s likely even more expensive.
It’s not an emergency brake because it isn’t. All breaks failing on your car at the same time is statistically and technically almost completely impossible unless you ignored loads of very obvious warning signs. You’re going to notice leaking hydraulics waaayy before the breaks become useless for example.
Now that I think of it, making it an electronic system might actually be because of people like you. Because if you lose control of the car and panic thinking your brakes don’t work, folks might pull that “emergency brake” and lose all traction and make things way worse. That is if the cable is even able to bring a speeding car to a stop, which it wasn’t engineered for in the first place.
But if it makes you feel safer, enjoy your bliss. I just hope for everyone’s sake you focus on steering the car to safety instead of pulling the parking brake if you ever lose control of a car.
Uhh, master cylinder failing would result in all brakes failing. Things these days are internally partitioned so that front and back are separated, and thus complete failure is unlikely, but still possible. It used to be all in one, and the e-brake is very, very important in vintage cars because of it. Less so now, but there was no good reason to change it besides manufacturing cost.
You’re making an awful lot of assumptions on my driving skill based on (checks notes) wanting a redundant system.
But if it makes you feel safer, enjoy your bliss. I just hope for everyone’s sake you focus on steering the car to safety instead of pulling the parking brake if you ever lose control of a car.
If this is your version of “impersonal”, you need to recalibrate.
And no, I’m not wrong. Total brake failure still happens, and a separate system is still important.
Emergency brakes should be a handle that pulls a mechanical cable that directly actuates the rear brakes. Simple and reliable, like you would want in an emergency.
Except when the cable snaps, It’s an expensive pain in the ass to replace.
I just did this on my 2011 Miata. It has about 50k miles on it. Driven in Wisconsin, and while I’ve mostly kept it off winter roads, it’s inevitably going to have more corrosion than an equivalent car kept in a warmer/dryer climate.
$600 for the repair. Given how long it lasted, I don’t consider that too crazy.
Unless you don’t HAVE 600 dollars.
That’s more a statement against car ownership in general. Repairs are going to happen. Making the e-brake into a switch that activates solenoids by way of a CAN bus to microcontrollers doesn’t change that. If anything, it’s likely even more expensive.
I have never had one fail. Never even heard of one snapping.
The one on my stepvan doesn’t pull quite hard enough on its own, but it works.
And …it’s a cable? Like seven cents a foot?
It does happen. Guess how I know…
What you’re thinking of in cars is not an emergency brake.
Yes, it is. The fact that it’s often considered a “parking” brake doesn’t change things.
If the hydraulic lines spring a leak or the master cylinder fails, the mechanical line from the e-brake is still functional.
Is that a newer thing? All my cars have always had a cable… (2006 Acura, 2014 Subaru) I change my own brakes.
Yeah, it’s been pretty common the last few years. My wife’s 2021 Mini does it.
It’s not an emergency brake because it isn’t. All breaks failing on your car at the same time is statistically and technically almost completely impossible unless you ignored loads of very obvious warning signs. You’re going to notice leaking hydraulics waaayy before the breaks become useless for example.
Now that I think of it, making it an electronic system might actually be because of people like you. Because if you lose control of the car and panic thinking your brakes don’t work, folks might pull that “emergency brake” and lose all traction and make things way worse. That is if the cable is even able to bring a speeding car to a stop, which it wasn’t engineered for in the first place.
But if it makes you feel safer, enjoy your bliss. I just hope for everyone’s sake you focus on steering the car to safety instead of pulling the parking brake if you ever lose control of a car.
Uhh, master cylinder failing would result in all brakes failing. Things these days are internally partitioned so that front and back are separated, and thus complete failure is unlikely, but still possible. It used to be all in one, and the e-brake is very, very important in vintage cars because of it. Less so now, but there was no good reason to change it besides manufacturing cost.
You’re making an awful lot of assumptions on my driving skill based on (checks notes) wanting a redundant system.
I think I kept it as impersonal as possible. The only thing I’m telling you is that you’re wrong.
If this is your version of “impersonal”, you need to recalibrate.
And no, I’m not wrong. Total brake failure still happens, and a separate system is still important.
Impersonally, you are a fucking moron