Emergency brake won't release

[u2girl]

My 1998 Villager has been in the shop a lot lately. The newest dilemma is that the emergency brake won't disengage. The interior brake lever goes down and the light is off, but the car won't move in drive or reverse. It would stick in the past and sort of "pop" when it was moved, but today it isn't budging and has left a 2 foot long streak on the driveway where it is stubbornly staying locked and sliding on the concrete. Any advice?

[tempfixit]

Originally Posted by u2girl

My 1998 Villager has been in the shop a lot lately. The newest dilemma is that the emergency brake won't disengage. The interior brake lever goes down and the light is off, but the car won't move in drive or reverse. It would stick in the past and sort of "pop" when it was moved, but today it isn't budging and has left a 2 foot long streak on the driveway where it is stubbornly staying locked and sliding on the concrete. Any advice?

I would check the cables for adjustment to see if you can get them to release. Once you get them released I recommend that you remove the rear brake drums and check all the hardware for any defective parts. The holding springs could be weak to where the shoes are engaging out of alignment causing binding and not releasing.

Look at the Online Service Manual, it discribes how to check and adjust fron and rear cables and equalizer. Let us know how it goes.