I dunno, I guess I'm in the hater's camp on this one. I realize things change and all, but, I don't want to have to buy a scan tool just to change brakes. Maybe it was under $100 for said tool. And hit every system in the car. And maybe came with wiring diagrams and whatnot to debug vehicle issues.
I'm not impressed with fancy pedal/switch tap dances to enter into hidden menus. Seems stupid. Back in the old days when cars didn't have huge LCD's and rows of buttons maybe that made sense. Today? I'm surprised you can't plug in a USB keyboard & mouse and navigate the various things available in the ECU (and TCU and body module and whatever else). I get that OEM's don't want to make it easy for "dumb" owners/users to get in and make mistakes. But IMO this brake service thing should be as simple as going into the service menu and hitting "service rear pads" and "relearn rear pad location" on the touchscreen. Anything more involved is going backwards in this era of simplification and point&click.
What! New car I can't change rear brakes w/o scanner w brake servicing?
- Thread starter JLawrence08648
- Start date
I don't miss having two brake systems to service with the drum brake in the hat parking brake with rear disc breaks. That is a simplification there.
On top of that, as the years and miles pile on, I have not had one of the hat style systems that I havent had to completely rebuild due to corrosion and things falling apart. Usually 150,000 miles in, but still a pain.
My F150 has a service mode, no scanner required.
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Yes, if your car has an electronic parking brake where the parking brake is engage/disengaged by an electric motor, instead of a mechanical lever connected via cable, you will need a scan tool capable of retracting the motor all the way so the brakes can be serviced.
Originally Posted by supton
I dunno, I guess I'm in the hater's camp on this one. I realize things change and all, but, I don't want to have to buy a scan tool just to change brakes. Maybe it was under $100 for said tool. And hit every system in the car. And maybe came with wiring diagrams and whatnot to debug vehicle issues.
...
Originally Posted by supton
... Today? I'm surprised you can't plug in a USB keyboard & mouse and navigate the various things available in the ECU (and TCU and body module and whatever else). ...
Kestas
Staff member
For all the electronics built into vehicles, you would think they would build-in a scanner type tool into the car.
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Chevy seems to have done this right, in my Camaro with the electric parking brake it just actuates a cable. Basically just replacing the lever, making the brakes still fully serviceable.
Originally Posted by Kestas
For all the electronics built into vehicles, you would think they would build-in a scanner type tool into the car.
Kestas
Staff member
I've been saying that for years about OBDII code scanners.
My 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL Plus at 40,000 miles needs rear brakes. Very disappointing.
It has an electric parking brake.
To retract the electric brake do I need a special scan tool, if so, what do I look for?
If not, can I un-bolt the electric brake and rebolt it back? Would there be something I would need to retract?
It has an electric parking brake.
To retract the electric brake do I need a special scan tool, if so, what do I look for?
If not, can I un-bolt the electric brake and rebolt it back? Would there be something I would need to retract?
Take the motor off and wind it back up using a suitable 12 point box end wrench or 12 point socket (tighten it not loosen or it will pop out), then you can push the piston back in, that's what I do and never had a problem.
Ford can be put into brake service mode with out a scan tool
I may be wrong, but cables don't stretch (or minimally). The E brake requires adjustment bc parts wear
Had bidirectional scan tool built into the graphic display in my 1989 Buick Riviera. Full function that was probably better than most handheld scan tools of the day.
Thank you for this. At some point I’ll have to do the rear brakes on my 2016 Mazda6.
Yup, I use my ebrake all the time ( never trust a parking pawl) and it never needs adjusted unless I have replaced the drum and shoes. I'd much rather a cable ebrake, if my hydraulic brakes fail I can use the ebrake lever to stop safely.
Blast from the past.
Thankfully our hybrid can have the parking brake easily unset so I can work on the rear calipers. So I shouldn’t hate too much on these systems.
Still have zero trust on these parking brakes, seems like they never hold well, regardless of how they work… I’ve heard our hybrid slip a bit in our driveway, and it’s basically new!
Thankfully our hybrid can have the parking brake easily unset so I can work on the rear calipers. So I shouldn’t hate too much on these systems.
Still have zero trust on these parking brakes, seems like they never hold well, regardless of how they work… I’ve heard our hybrid slip a bit in our driveway, and it’s basically new!
Mazda's with E brakes has a sequence method that any owner can use to retract the E-motor electronically. Easy to do the rear pads and fronts.
My Mazda6, 2017, has an electric e brake. 'Boy does it deploy tightly. I very soon learned that the vehicle should not be creeping at all when deploying it, as it deploys tightly, quickly. Cannot, effectively, use this as an emergency brake (unlike a hand-pull e brake) because a person can not modulate it...
Well , I suppose you could, if you were willing to let it lock up. Well, in my case, with its manual transmission, and with aggressive double-declutched downshifts, my transmission serves as my emergency "bail-out" action (though, effectively, dual-circuit brakes would make that circumstance double-jeopardy).
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