scenic electronic handbrake?? citroen???

[deano1970]

hi,
sold on my C5 estate and today picked up a little 04 plate scenic......1.4 petrol.....hoping to spend less on fuel,but we will see......I know this isn't a citroen but the response is much better here and people know what they are talking about.....ok, I got the car, not really as described, but almost full mot and taxed end august so i took it....ok,the messages on dash said "check parking brake" and "check airbag".....the passenger airbag had been deactivated by the switch near driver door and I suspect this was done to try and avoid the fact the check airbag light was on.....anyway, I got it home and plugged in my very basic code reader, it found one fault,which I cleared, that got rid of the airbag fault,but the "check parking brake" message is still there.....what I want to find out is,would this be an mot fail?? it doesn't say electronic parking brake fault" as some do, just "check parking brake" and the brake works fine incidentally?? any advice would be appreciated,although it is on the citroen post.... I just know from past experience,more people with more knowledge are in here....

[wurlycorner]

If there's an error message on the dash, yes I'm sure that would be an MOT fail - you're not allowed to have any fault lights on the dash now.

Passenger air bag might have been disabled because of a child seat being in the front or such like, rather than a fault (most modern cars have a switch for that reason now).

[demag]

I used to own one of these. A 1.5dci Grand Scenic, I think it was a 54 plate. After the (very brief) honeymoon period I learned to hate it with a passion. It reciprocated the feeling one day when it just cut out driving down the road and I had to have it recovered. Electronic gremlins are the forte of this model.

However the day before I managed to palm mine onto an unsuspecting dealer who gave me an unbelievable px on it, there was a recall for the electronic handbrake which was basically a new complete firmware download. A few cars had the handbrake operate on its own at motorway speeds! I did have loads of electronic problems but the handbrake wasn't one of them. I have also heard of cars going in for new handbrake cables and the owner being told you have to buy the complete handbrake assembly at £500+. However I think there is a workaround for this now. I used to get a lot of info from the Renault forum.

I'm sure you can check on a website (dvla?) what recalls there are and if your model has had them. Don't pay £500 for a new handbrake do some homework first.

Found this, there's loads more. http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/showthre ... +handbrake" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[deano1970]

it passed the mot in february.........so not sure when the new rules came in regarding warnings on the dash?? like i say, it doesn't say parking brake fault as many do,it just says check parking brake....if it turns out to be an expensive job,I shall run it for a year and scrap it...........not spending a load on it,the car isn't in a good enough state to warrant a load spending on it to be fair.......will get it looked at soon cos another problem is the seat won't move forward or back.......the cable has broken and a wire has been attached and is sticking out,this is obviously meant for adjusting the seat but it doesn't work.................

[Lighty]

The handbrake light can light up just because the car has moved whilst parked, it monitors movement for safety reasons.
Sometimes it can be because the pads are worn, and it is not holding well.
A diagnostic recalibration can sometimes sort it, most diag machines cannot perform this
If the cables are gone, a whole new mechanism is the order of the day, but I found a guy on the net who can fit new, but he didn't fill me with confidence tbh, and his "repairs" are expensive and a bit haphazard to sell to customers.

[lurchy666]

for Renault you would need Renaults own fault code reader to get into the handbrake system I should think ( Renault can clip) or a very high market fcr like a snap on or such like, check the pads etc like you usually would, if low I think you need the can clip/fcr to retract the pistons to change pads as well, I know you do on a Vauxhall and a vw to change pads, but never done a Renault,

[Old-Guy]

Electr(on)ic parking brakes are inventions of the Devil. "Electronic Hand-brake" is both an oxymoron and a serious mis-description: they are not 'hand' operated and cannot be used as an emergency alternative/supplement to the hydraulic brakes. Another example of a stupid design team complicating a simple device by adding (unreliable) electronic complexity.

Remember it was Renault who advertised a new model a few tears back with the boast that it had "no less than 13 computers" - that's about 10 reasons not to buy it given the abysmal quality and design of anything electrical in Renaults!

[lurchy666]

effectively a parking brake then, not an e brake/ handbrake, I didn't know you couldn't use them as a handbrake (serious design fault there me thinks) so on a new car if you have a brake fluid leak and run out you have no brakes whatsoever, hmmmm I think i'll keep with old school handbrakes, ( I know my Volvo one is next to useless (even tho it passes an mot) cause of the weight of the car its trying to stop, but its better than nothing in case of an emergency)

I'm reminded of land rovers and there handbrakes, well prop brakes as on a discovery or like a defender a pin in the diff on the early ones (I believe), try using them as a handbrake and rip the diff or props apart,

[Lighty]

The reason that manufacturers use these electronic parking brakes is due to the instances of vehicles rolling away when parked. I guess a few have been sued by owners who have not applied them correctly, or the discs shrinking as they cool, hence the same thing happening.
With an electronic brake , the car will not roll away, as it is constantly monitored.
Should your car suffer a Hydralic issue, it is very unlikely to be caused by a fault of the manufacturer, hence low risk of a law suit.

[lurchy666]

I was always taught yes put the handbrake on but also put it in gear/park on a auto, never rely on the handbrake alone,

[lexi]

Scenic has went back to manual h/brake last few years.
Must say though. The electric motor handbrake on my Vel is awesome for holding power.

You have a lever that will work the motor if you wish to apply power in any situation.
It is the brake manufacturing companies who provide and design all the leccy brakes etc. They then sell the hardware and systems to Car manufacturers.
As well as using diagnostics to retract pistons , it is a must to purge electrovalves in system if you lose all fluid.
Good luck with Scenic. From what I have gleaned, I would take standard Scenic over the Grand model.

[uncle buck]

Give this reset procedure a go...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_re ... ult_scenic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Hope it works for you.


Cheers.

[bxzx16v]

Our Laguna 3 has the electronic handbrake and it's fantastic on that, never gave any issues at all and would pick an electronic handbraked laguna over a normal one anyday.

Mark

[uncle buck]

Our Laguna 3 has the electronic handbrake and it's fantastic on that, never gave any issues at all and would pick an electronic handbraked laguna over a normal one anyday.

For what reason?

Don't you know how to pull a handbrake on ?

Can you not do a hill start with a normal handbrake?

I wonder if you would still be of the same mind if you had suffered problems and had been faced with a massive bill.


In my opinion devices like these are dumbing down driving.





Cheers.