Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) failure

[djkaosone]

easier said than done.
alot of things in the way, clearance is non-existant. teh area to work in is in front of the frame rail, not behind it (where the spare is).

This was actually my plan, i crawled under there, and said nope. paid $900 to a shop for labor and have 0 regrets. the time, hassle, and rusty bolts (soon to break) i would have been battling was well worth the money paid.

I haven't crawled under there, so I have no idea. I just stopped using mine when it went. Saved myself $900, . If I do tackle this in the future, I'll try to document it with as minimal work as possible.

 

[DaytonaRS7]

I haven't crawled under there, so I have no idea. I just stopped using mine when it went. Saved myself $900, . If I do tackle this in the future, I'll try to document it with as minimal work as possible.

saved yourself almost $2000. pars is $900. labor is another $900+

 

[kenk]

I fixed my parking brake in a 2010 LR4 just last month by removing entire module and cables and replaced the gears ($15 from eBay) and I thought it much easier than anticipated. Earlier in this thread I linked a video chronicling a British man changing a LR3 parking brake and it wasn’t anywhere near that difficult. Maybe it’s because I have a California car with no rust but there was no need to mess with the rusted bracket like he did, the LR4 seems like a different and easier design to remove it. There are only two screws in a rubber washer that are easily accessible that need to be removed.


It takes a long time because there are many steps but it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I anticipated. First, several hours watching videos (no one single video showed everything but watching two from BritPart, one from Emmanuel Tatouris, one from Atlantic British, and two from Powerfulukltd, plus reading Bodsky’s Brake Bible I was able to get a good picture of what to do) and getting courage to tackle the job. Then ~11 hours car time for me, who is not very experienced mechanically (I’ve never even replaced brakes) but the $2200 shop repair estimate made me bold enough to try.


The good news, I believe that, is that if you hear a grinding or screeching that means the module motor is probably good, it’s working to try and engage the brake but can’t. I think there is a design flaw in the parking brake motor/cable system that makes it prone to “fail”. It fails because the brake cables connect to a bolt that is supposed to be partially threaded into the module and pulling it activates the brake. Eventually this bolt can get screwed completely in making it so tight that it can no longer release the brake cable without the emergency release. The gears in my parking brake were perfectly intact. I replaced them but I don’t think it was necessary. Threading the bolt to the correct depth was all that was required.

The attached photo shows the open module with the bolt (yellow circle) completely removed. It is supposed to be threaded 5 turns into tube circled in blue, a little less than halfway in. Mine was threaded all the way to the bolt head. I use my parking brake daily (sloped driveway) and hasn’t given me any problems in the month since repair.

Let me know if you’re interested in more details as I have more pictures and some video.

 

[cperez]

I was able to get a good picture of what to do) and getting courage to tackle the job.

Well done!

But now you have me curious as to what is the "normal" sound of the LR4's EPB being applied. The best description I've heard for the sound is that it's like your Rover is auguring itself into the ground. I always enjoy that visual when I apply the brake when I'm away from the house (never when parked in my garage; no need). Mine makes what I can only describe as a servo/mechanical twisting sound but it is consistent, sounds "healthy" and I've never had any symptoms. I don't normally use the drive-away release feature but when I do, it functions as intended. Manually releasing the EPB is also a low drama affair. Knock wood.

 

[kenk]

Well done!

But now you have me curious as to what is the "normal" sound of the LR4's EPB being applied. The best description I've heard for the sound is that it's like your Rover is auguring itself into the ground. I always enjoy that visual when I apply the brake when I'm away from the house (never when parked in my garage; no need). Mine makes what I can only describe as a servo/mechanical twisting sound but it is consistent, sounds "healthy" and I've never had any symptoms. I don't normally use the drive-away release feature but when I do, it functions as intended. Manually releasing the EPB is also a low drama affair. Knock wood.

Before it broke I never really noticed any sound when applying the parking brake. Since the repair I’ve sometimes noticed a very faint mechanical whir lasting 1-2 seconds both applying and releasing it, which was probably there all along. I don’t use the drive away release feature either (it does work) because I usually reverse out and it doesn’t seem to automatically release in reverse. Of course it could release in reverse and I’ve just not pushed it enough.

 

[cperez]

Before it broke I never really noticed any sound when applying the parking brake. Since the repair I’ve sometimes noticed a very faint mechanical whir lasting 1-2 seconds both applying and releasing it, which was probably there all along. I don’t use the drive away release feature either (it does work) because I usually reverse out and it doesn’t seem to automatically release in reverse. Of course it could release in reverse and I’ve just not pushed it enough.

It will definitely release in reverse as well as forward. I don’t like the minor jolt sensation even though it’s probably 100% normal. I had drive away feature on a Jag XJ8 and it was buttery smooth.

 

[Stuart Barnes]

It’s buttery smooth on the wife’s Velar as well, unlike the pulling your foot out of mud feeling I get with the disco.

after looking online I see that the velar has parking brake pads not shoes. so it could just be a function of design having to wind in and out the cable release which makes the lr4 more stodgy

 

[timc930]

Reading thru this, is this a common problem? Should you "exercise" parking brake periodically? In the two years of ownership, we have never used the parking brake, well, I rarely drive the truck and never use it when I do drive it, and my wife has no idea how it works..

 

[Stuart Barnes]

Reading thru this, is this a common problem? Should you "exercise" parking brake periodically? In the two years of ownership, we have never used the parking brake, well, I rarely drive the truck and never use it when I do drive it, and my wife has no idea how it works..

According to Land Rover :-


“Always apply the EPB when the vehicle is parked.”

I use it more often than not. But if you never use it then the shoes won’t wear out

 

[ryanjl]

Only time I've ever used mine is when I put new rotors on the back and had to bed them in.

I don't ever really park on an incline, though.