VF Electric Handbrake Warning

To all those who will be driving a new VF, Beware, the electric handbrake can be activated at any speed!
For those like myself who are so use to the power window switch being in the centre console on the VE, that location is now the handbrake switch! I was luckily only driving slowly out of a carpark maybe 20 kmh and I went to put up my window, I unconsciously went to the centre console with my left hand as i have done for years and flicked the switch! Needless to say the handbrake worked extremely well and the contents of my girlfriends handbag went from her lap to all over the dash in a split second!
I spoke to the dealer and asked if there was a certain speed at which point the handbrake wouldn't engage for safety's sake and the answer was NO!
So be very careful and conscious when doing highway speeds (especially in the wet) or if you have kids in the car that like playing with switches!
Poor design and potentially very dangerous!
Cheers Greg.

That is ridiculous.

Reminds me of my youth and handbrakies in the old HR wagon :lol:

That cannot be right.

No way that is right. An accidental press of the button at speed could be fatal.

Would be worth testing on a dirt road, I'd imagine if it comes on at all it would be reduced by the speed so it doesn't lock up, my understanding is it must work as an emergency brake as well as a parking brake.

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Originally Posted by C4B

That cannot be right.

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I didn't imagine it I can assure you, I'm not game to try it at a higher speed but feel free to give it a go yourself and let us know what happens?
The dealer even told me he had done it himself while leaving a parking ticket machine/ boom gate. He had his window down to put ticket in machine and when boom went up he drove through and flicked the switch trying to do up his window, as he is used to VE switch locations, and he nearly headbutted the windscreen!

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Originally Posted by IJ.

Would be worth testing on a dirt road, I'd imagine if it comes on at all it would be reduced by the speed so it doesn't lock up, my understanding is it must work as an emergency brake as well as a parking brake.

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I would like to think the ABS would at least cut in and stop the rear wheels locking up? I'm not going to test it though!

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Originally Posted by gjohnson

I would like to think the ABS would at least cut in and stop the rear wheels locking up? I'm not going to test it though!

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As per IJ's comment, the handbrake also serves as an emergency brake. If your brakes fail you would want to hand brake to work at any speed. In fact I think you'll find it might even be an ADR/Roadworthy requirement.

As to your point, the handbrake doesn't have an ABS function so it would just lock the rear wheels at worst. And because it doesn't have an ABS function the ESC wouldn't work on the rear wheels either, the ESC would have to try and control the car by braking the front wheels only.

I wonder if the ESC is linked to the handbrake switch such that it can compensate for possible rear wheel lock up by the handbrake?

Who wants to be a lab rat and test this out for us?

Cheers, Matthew

Grass paddock, get up to 80 clicks and flick the switch. Oh and make sure you've got the Go-Pro recording :driving:

Put a call in to a Mate that worked on the VF, he doesn't know but is asking the guys that did the programming..

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When the Park brake is engaged above xxx speed the ABS pump is fired up then once the speed drops to yy the mechanical brake takes over

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Hmmm have to wonder what happens in the case of hydraulic failure...

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Originally Posted by IJ.

Hmmm have to wonder what happens in the case of hydraulic failure...

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Then it goes straight to the park brake presumably. Thinking about this, hopefully GM have linked the park brake in with the ABS and ESC and it could all actually work very well. If you press the park brake button whilst moving the normal hydraulic brakes are applied until safe to apply the park brake, if the hydraulic brakes don't work then the park brake comes on. By applying the hydraulic brakes first than the ABS and ESC can still work.

I'll be curious to see what your mate at GMH says.

Cheers, Matthew

The info I've read on these electric handbrake systems suggest they have a safety feature that won't allow it to engage it if just pressed (above a certain speed), but if pressed and HELD it will engage as an emergency brake. So a quick press won't work, but a held press will happily put you through the windscreen no matter what speed you were doing.

He Laughed at Greg's story and said it would be very easy to do if you were used to driving a VE :)

Just waiting to hear back from the Brake Engineer.