I have a 1999 Honda Accord EX Sedan, 5-speed manual transmission (bought it brand new). I park my car on a slope so I use the emergency/parking brake. Last week, temperatures dipped below freezing (into the 10s) and (coincidentally?) the emergency/parking brake locked up. I ended up replacing the calipers, rotor, and pads, but this morning (it was in the 20s) the emergency/parking brake locked up again.
Is this really coincidence? Can somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong? Has this happened to anyone else?

 

Moisture getting into the cable & freezing? When it happened the first time, did you check to see if the caliper was really froze or maybe it was the cable even that time?

 

I had not considered the cable freezing. I've never heard of moisture entering the cable and freezing (although I did not grow up around these low temperatures). My focus was on the rotor since it showed an unusual wear. Because of this, I decided to replace the caliper as well.
I am assuming moisture has pobably corroded the cable. Do I replace the entire cable or simply lube it to displace the moisture inside? This is an area I'm not familiar with.

 

If it's just ice, you can probably work some grease into it. Check the rubber boot at the end, is it torn? Disconnect the cable from the caliper. You should be able to slide the cable in & out to see if it's smooth.

If it's rusted I guess I'd replace it. How much time are you willing to spend instead of buying the cable.

If the cable was stuck, the wear on the rotor was a result of the brakes dragging.

 

i hear it's better to leave your car in gear, rather than to use the handbrake. though i personally use the handbrake myself as a matter of preference.

 

I used to have a ford ranger and I left it parked on what I thought was flat ground while I ran into the store. It was a habbit for me to just leave it in gear but when I came out it had popped out of gear and bumped into the car in front of me. There was no damage so I just pushed the truck back, got in and left.

Since then I use both the parking break and leave it in gear.

Better safe then sorry. If I lived where I had to park on a hill. I would also chuck the wheels with a 4x4 block of wood or buy wheel chucks at any parts store.

 

My pop never uses the e-brake, only in gear. His driveway is flat at the top, but steep down to the street. One day, his neighbor across the street knocked on his door to inform him that his Olds Achieva was in this guys' sideyard, upside down. To this day, Pop still doesnt use e-brakes.

Spy

 

Awesome insight! I will give it a shot this weekend.

 

I leave it in gear and use the e brake....

An odd thing though...when its cold out the ebrake light stays on even when its disengaged...oh well :chuckles: