C5 X7 EPB manual conversion

[C5newbie]

Hi all, One of the more common topics on here and other car forums is around these fancy electronic parking brakes that cars seemed to be fitted with nowadays. I've got an 09 C5 X7 with one and although it is working fine at the moment, I thought it would be worth having a plan in case it went bang one day due to the cost of a new unit (approx £1000). Ive been looking at a few other car forums where people have managed to replace the unit with the manual equivalent in their non-french cars. Some c5 x7's also came with manual handbrakes so in theory, could this be done?

The following steps are what Ive seen on other forums (I think it was a ford one):
1. release handbrake, disconnect battery
2. remove module, cables etc
3. remove plastic interior trims, switch etc and all remaining EPB parts
4. Install manual handbrake lever, cables and other necessary parts from C5 x7
5. replace rear calipers (if they don't function with the new manual handbrake)
6. install replacement interior trim
7. Use computer to disable EPB so the car doesn't keep looking for it.

What do you all think? is this possible?

[wheeler]

I know of someone that done it on a Scenic, all the correct trims were used from the donor car, it looked factory fitted & operated fine however it constantly said on the dash there was a handbrake fault. I don't know if this can be overcome with CLIP?

[GiveMeABreak]

There is also the issue of the ESP System that is designed to work with the EPB.

There are not that many issues here from owners and parts are available from aftermarket suppliers.

Personally speaking, I wouldn’t bother going through all that hassle for a problem that doesn’t exist to be honest.

[C5newbie]

Don't get me wrong, whilst its functioning Im not going anywhere near it. But from what I've read, replacing handbrake cables among other things isn't the most practical job on these. Just curious if there are other things that could be done so that should the worst happen, I know my options and don't end up paying a huge amount due to pressure of needing the car back on the road.

wheeler, wouldn't a handbrake warning be an MOT fail?

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes it does - If the EPB MIL light is on it is in the 'major' category.