2004 2.5Ltr Hand Brake Occasionally Sticks On

[stypesteve]

Hi, the only problem I have had is, the Hand brake some times sticks on. The only way I can get it to release is to lock and unlock the car several times. My Jaguar is a 2004 model.

Mods edit...Split posts to start new topic.

[J44EAG]

The conventional handbrake is fitted up to 2002.5 MY. after that, the handbrake is the electrically powered so called Electronic Park Brake (EPB)

Your car is obviously a 2004 model fitted with EPB so the above posts are to do with the early model.

I have the EPB system on my MY 2004 X350 although my car being an R model has Brembo four pot foot brake calipers and a further pair of dedicated EPB calipers. However on a 2004 non supercharged S-type of the period your EPB work as park of the rear calipers so it is a two in one caliper system.

It may be that you have a reluctant EPB drive motor and cable on your car. However I would be more inclined to think that the "opposite and equal" calipers on the rear of the car might simply have corroded sliding pins which are causing the handbrake sticking issue. Even minor corrosion or lack of copper grease on the pins could be the cause of the problem.

I`d advise a rear brake caliper and pad strip to free all parts off, grease up and clean corrosion and muck from moving parts. It does build up over the years and a little TLC can improve things hugely.

Hope that helps.

Mike

Mike

[GordonJ]

If you need somewhere to work on this, you know where the garage is.

Gordon

[stypesteve]

Hi Mike, thanks for that I will give it a go and all being well it will be ok.

[stypesteve]

Gordon thanks for the offer of your garage, very kind.

[J44EAG]

Be very careful with an EPB rear pad reline.

The DIY way I found successful in the absence of electronic gear to put the system into maintenance mode was to turn on the ignition and hold the EPB switch down whilst turning the ignition back to the off position.

Rear brakes were then dismantled, worn pads removed and the caliper cleaned of muck and corrosion. Using one of the universal piston wind back sets available for around £15, I selected a suitable sized wind back adapter fitted to a left or right handed threaded tool supplied with the kit. Pistons, dependent on which side of the car you are working on, can wind back either clockwise or anti clockwise. They will probably only need to be wound back about 10mm to allow the unworn new and thicker pads to be fitted. OE pad set costs are generally about £35 a set but I sourced a Febi Bilstein pad set on the internet from Germany for under £13. A good saving with a quality pad set.

The backs and side surfaces of the pads should be greased with Copper Slip or similar. Get the whole lot refitted, then work the lever arms to cause the pistons to be worked back out of the caliper to start to push the new pads into running clearance against the discs. DO NOT NEGLECT TO DO THIS ACTION. Do not use the hand brake switch until you have carried this action out. Failure to pump pistons back out manually will result in the EPB mechanism winding in to far and reaching the end of its motor travel.It cannot be wound back out again and a new unit would be required. Be warned. EPB motor unit replacement is around £173!

Once you have pumped out the pistons again manually then you can switch on the ignition and work the switch up and down. Check the hand brake switch locks disc rotation and releases again. Sometimes "Hand Brake Fault" will display on the dash message centre. Use a code reader/clearer unit to attempt to extinguish the message if it occurs.

Two suitable diagnostic tools are useful in my experience. The iCarsoft 930i from UK Diagnostics on line for around £90 or the Torque app on an Android or now an Iphone (recently made available) together with an OBD Bluetooth ELM327 chip (around £6.50 on ebay) which plugs in to the OBD port in the car to the lower left of the steering column. Sometimes this fault message can be difficult to clear as I discovered. Not even my local independent Jag specialist equipped with an IDS professional dealer program could get rid of the message. We resorted to battery disconnection for twenty minutes which hard dumped computer information held obstinately within the cars internal computer modules. It is frustrating to have to do that as you may need to re-enter the radio code and re-set electric windows or other systems. Use the battery disconnection hard dump method as a last resort.

I trust the above helps people. Please don`t forget to pump those pistons back out manually or you might find yourself with a real headache.

Mike

[stypesteve]

Thanks for that Mike really appreciate all the advice.
Steve

[J44EAG]

Worth noting that the fifth and sixth individual brake, ie stand alone extra EPB two calipers are fitted to supercharged STR models equipped with Brembo/Jaguar Sport large four pot units front and rear.

Non supercharged cars will probably have combined standard sized two pot rear calipers which have the EPB unit combined within the foot brake caliper. Piston winding after reline should be possible by pumping the foot brake pedal to reinstate running clearances. Once again I would advise doing that action BEFORE attempting to use the cockpit handbrake off and on switch. That will avoid the electric motor unit over running its limits.

Mike