Parking Brake

[Machello]

I am new here Well... I have this problem where I have pressed the parking brake and released it but the parking brake does not release with the lever. It is stuck... Any help would be most apperciated.

[shorod]

Welcome. As a general rule of thumb, when requesting help it is usally necessary to include the model year of your car as well as the engine type (12V, 24V, 32V, SHO). If you have the station wagon, mention that too.

Chances are pretty good that if you do not use the parking brake on a regular basis the cable is rusted. You apply the parking brake with the foot pedal, so you can exert enough force to overcome the rust in the cables. However, the system relies on a relatively weak spring to release the cable when the pedal release is pulled. That spring will not be strong enough to retract the cable if there is much rust in the cable shields.

Does your car have disc or drum brakes in the rear?

You may be able to release the tension on the cable between the spring and the brake assembly by crawling under the car when properly supported on jack stands and tugging manually pulling the cable free after releasing the parking brake pedal. Once you get it released, you will want to use penetrating oil to dissolve the rust. Ideally, you would replace the cable from the pedal to the distribution point, but that may not be practical since it sounds like you don't use the parking brake very often.

If you do replace the cable and/or plan to use the parking brake often, be sure to use it regularly (like every time you park the car) to help prevent it from sticking in the future.

-Rod