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Yes, that handbrake. You can likely still find the hydraulic or cable operated ones on low-cost automobiles, but new cars (at least in USA) almost universally h

Yes, that handbrake. You can likely still find the hydraulic or cable operated ones on low-cost automobiles, but new cars (at least in USA) almost universally have a little button to electrically enable the parking brake. In more advanced cars with an automatic transmission these electric parking brakes are automatically enabled and disabled when switching into park and drive mode. In the USA this change to electric parking brakes was hastened by most people just not using the parking brake at all, instead just putting the car into "park" on the transmission. Many experienced drivers I know in USA do not know what a parking brake is or how to use it.

kjkjadksj 3y ago
When I drove a stick even I hardly used the parking brake. If its flat ground keeping it in gear or in park is fine.
- graypegg 3y ago
  Yeah unless you live in a very hilly place it probably isn’t used too often. But it’s also the “I don’t care about what happens, stop the car NOW” brake in my head. “E-brake” is what I learned it as. I’m surprised people are ok with that being on the same drive-by-wire system as the standard brake.
  - kjkjadksj 3y ago
    Ebrake isn't really that strong to be fair. You can still drive with it engaged. Probably bad to rely on it in an emergency given it has no abs.
    - kristjansson 3y ago
      I lent a car to someone in college who only noticed the ebrake was still on when a campus officer flagged them down to ask why the back wheel was smoking.
      - blamazon 3y ago
        I've done this by accident a few times in my life - smell is usually the first indicator as the rubber components near the brakes start to suffer.
    - mlyle 3y ago
      > Probably bad to rely on it in an emergency given it has no abs If the normal brakes don't work (which, admittedly, is much rarer these days), it's your last line of defense. It's less important than it used to be, with dual redundancy required by regulation and with digital systems monitoring both braking loops. But there's still single points of failure on the brake pedal (like the pedal itself).
    - numpad0 3y ago
      It's called either handbrake or parking brake and that is what it is. I think calling it "e-brake" is American thing, bit weird like calling starter motor a "railroad e-motor". Anyways, other reasons for electric parking brake than already discussed is hill and stop light hold. Electronic brake pedal control relies on stored negative pressure on brake booster and cannot maintain pressure indefinitely, as opposed to electric parking brake which can.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
horsawlarway 3y ago
It's a regional variation. Super common in some areas to see handbrakes used all the time (ex: Atlanta, very hilly, lots of names like "Druid hills" and "piedmont"). Super common in some areas to see handbrake usage discouraged entirely (ex: Northern states, where the concern is that it'll freeze up) Super common in some areas to see no one care at all because it's just flat everywhere (ex: texas)
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  My Alaskan aunt told me to never use the emergency break, but in Seattle it’s use is pretty ubiquitous.
kevin_thibedeau 3y ago
For automatics it is an improvement over a cable that will rust up and keep your brake partially activated. I never use mine because it just forces additional repair expense.
xyzelement 3y ago
Do we have a problem because of this? I use the handbrake when driving standard transmission in Europe but never when driving an automatic. Never had an issue because of it or heard of anyone who has. Obviously my experience is limited but genuinely curious - what problems have we suffered because people w automatic transmissions just use "park"? If "none" then I guess I can't lament the disappearance of the handbrake although I did find it odd that my highlander only has the button which engages itself.
- yencabulator 3y ago
  To move a car in "P" without brakes, you just need to cause enough force to make the parking pawl fail. And it's just a little cog on a gear, it can be worn down by continuous use, without you knowing. I would not trust that on a hill, no way. > Constant use of only the parking pawl, especially when parking on a steep incline, means that driveline components, and transmission internals, are kept constantly under stress, and can cause wear and eventual failure of the parking pawl or transmission linkage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl#:~:text=Constant%20use%20of%20only%20the,parking%20pawl%20or%20transmission%20linkage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl#:~:text=Constant%....
- blamazon 3y ago
  Automotive engineers view it as a problem but most drivers probably are unaffected by it in their lifetime. A passenger car's automatic transmission is generally just a bad choice of a device to immobilize a car's wheels. It is difficult to service and has other uses (namely: propel the vehicle) that are prioritized in the design. By contrast, wheel brakes are designed to be easily serviced and their design is centered around stopping the car. When relying on the transmission for park, this engineering trade off results in the entire lateral force of the car resting on a tiny little piece of metal inside the transmission, that isn't designed to be constantly worn, the only thing keeping the car in place, easily replaced, etc. There's also this aspect of - transmissions are mutable, they can go in a lot of different vehicles. You can have the same transmission in a 2000lb sports car and a 8000lb truck. How big should the parking pawl in that transmission be? How do you make that decision before you even know what vehicles the transmission will go into? What happens when your transmission that was originally designed for a 2000lb sports car ends up 20 years later in a 9,000lb truck towing a 3,500lb trailer? The parking pawl does not change. Brakes will be serviced dozens of times over the lifetime of a vehicle, while the transmission might never be serviced. That's enough reason alone to leave the important task of immobilizing the car to the brakes, not the transmission, in my opinion.

kjkjadksj 3y ago

When I drove a stick even I hardly used the parking brake. If its flat ground keeping it in gear or in park is fine.

graypegg 3y ago
Yeah unless you live in a very hilly place it probably isn’t used too often. But it’s also the “I don’t care about what happens, stop the car NOW” brake in my head. “E-brake” is what I learned it as. I’m surprised people are ok with that being on the same drive-by-wire system as the standard brake.
- kjkjadksj 3y ago
  Ebrake isn't really that strong to be fair. You can still drive with it engaged. Probably bad to rely on it in an emergency given it has no abs.
  - kristjansson 3y ago
    I lent a car to someone in college who only noticed the ebrake was still on when a campus officer flagged them down to ask why the back wheel was smoking.
    - blamazon 3y ago
      I've done this by accident a few times in my life - smell is usually the first indicator as the rubber components near the brakes start to suffer.
  - mlyle 3y ago
    > Probably bad to rely on it in an emergency given it has no abs If the normal brakes don't work (which, admittedly, is much rarer these days), it's your last line of defense. It's less important than it used to be, with dual redundancy required by regulation and with digital systems monitoring both braking loops. But there's still single points of failure on the brake pedal (like the pedal itself).
  - numpad0 3y ago
    It's called either handbrake or parking brake and that is what it is. I think calling it "e-brake" is American thing, bit weird like calling starter motor a "railroad e-motor". Anyways, other reasons for electric parking brake than already discussed is hill and stop light hold. Electronic brake pedal control relies on stored negative pressure on brake booster and cannot maintain pressure indefinitely, as opposed to electric parking brake which can.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

horsawlarway 3y ago

It's a regional variation. Super common in some areas to see handbrakes used all the time (ex: Atlanta, very hilly, lots of names like "Druid hills" and "piedmont"). Super common in some areas to see handbrake usage discouraged entirely (ex: Northern states, where the concern is that it'll freeze up) Super common in some areas to see no one care at all because it's just flat everywhere (ex: texas)

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
My Alaskan aunt told me to never use the emergency break, but in Seattle it’s use is pretty ubiquitous.

kevin_thibedeau 3y ago

For automatics it is an improvement over a cable that will rust up and keep your brake partially activated. I never use mine because it just forces additional repair expense.

xyzelement 3y ago

Do we have a problem because of this? I use the handbrake when driving standard transmission in Europe but never when driving an automatic. Never had an issue because of it or heard of anyone who has. Obviously my experience is limited but genuinely curious - what problems have we suffered because people w automatic transmissions just use "park"? If "none" then I guess I can't lament the disappearance of the handbrake although I did find it odd that my highlander only has the button which engages itself.

yencabulator 3y ago
To move a car in "P" without brakes, you just need to cause enough force to make the parking pawl fail. And it's just a little cog on a gear, it can be worn down by continuous use, without you knowing. I would not trust that on a hill, no way. > Constant use of only the parking pawl, especially when parking on a steep incline, means that driveline components, and transmission internals, are kept constantly under stress, and can cause wear and eventual failure of the parking pawl or transmission linkage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl#:~:text=Constant%20use%20of%20only%20the,parking%20pawl%20or%20transmission%20linkage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl#:~:text=Constant%....
blamazon 3y ago
Automotive engineers view it as a problem but most drivers probably are unaffected by it in their lifetime. A passenger car's automatic transmission is generally just a bad choice of a device to immobilize a car's wheels. It is difficult to service and has other uses (namely: propel the vehicle) that are prioritized in the design. By contrast, wheel brakes are designed to be easily serviced and their design is centered around stopping the car. When relying on the transmission for park, this engineering trade off results in the entire lateral force of the car resting on a tiny little piece of metal inside the transmission, that isn't designed to be constantly worn, the only thing keeping the car in place, easily replaced, etc. There's also this aspect of - transmissions are mutable, they can go in a lot of different vehicles. You can have the same transmission in a 2000lb sports car and a 8000lb truck. How big should the parking pawl in that transmission be? How do you make that decision before you even know what vehicles the transmission will go into? What happens when your transmission that was originally designed for a 2000lb sports car ends up 20 years later in a 9,000lb truck towing a 3,500lb trailer? The parking pawl does not change. Brakes will be serviced dozens of times over the lifetime of a vehicle, while the transmission might never be serviced. That's enough reason alone to leave the important task of immobilizing the car to the brakes, not the transmission, in my opinion.