GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I know it is my fault but there are several times when I have driven off in my 5 speed Vibe with the hand brake not fully disengaged or fully down. In the first instance the brake light will be on but I may not notice as the car is not held back enough to further prompt me. In the second case there seems to be a certain amount of play in the brake before the brake late comes. Make me feel better . Has this happened to you?

doesn't the little warning light show? i used to do that a lot too, but made it a habit to double check before i drove off.

I've forgotten to release it once or twice when going to drive away, but never have left it partly applied... sorry if that doesn't make you feel better

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »doesn't the little warning light show? i used to do that a lot too, but made it a habit to double check before i drove off.Part of the problem is that I have a small box of tissues in the compartment just in front of the button on the handbrake. So when I disengage the brake, my hand, as it lowers with the brake may be slightly impeded by the tissue box. So I can let go of the brake before I have fully pushed it down. I guess I need to find another place for the kleenex.

stuff the box on the floor between the shifter column and the centre console?

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »stuff the box on the floor between the shifter column and the centre console?yup, what he said.

mine is between the back of the console and the back seat.

oh yeah i have a couple of times driven off with the brake still fully engaged. oooppppssss

I always lock my brake pretty tight. If I ever were to drive off without putting it down, my whole rear end would drag around. Kind of a give away there.

Has anyone else noticed their handbrake not holding the car very well on slopes? When I park in my driveway which is not flat, but not steep at all, unless I pull the brake ALL the way up, the car will roll backwards if I'm in it. I first noticed because when my sister is home, she sometimes drives the vibe and she doesn't put the brake all the way up and as soon as I get in, the car rolls back. I wouldn't think this to be normal so is there anything I can do or get done to help? Thanks!/end hijack

Quote, originally posted by Emerica13 »Has anyone else noticed their handbrake not holding the car very well on slopes? When I park in my driveway which is not flat, but not steep at all, unless I pull the brake ALL the way up, the car will roll backwards if I'm in it. I first noticed because when my sister is home, she sometimes drives the vibe and she doesn't put the brake all the way up and as soon as I get in, the car rolls back. I wouldn't think this to be normal so is there anything I can do or get done to help? Thanks!/end hijack Have your brakes checked. THe more travel of the handbrake, the less pad there may be. If there is sufficent pad left, then the dealer can do an adjustment procedure to reduce handle travel.

I'll check it out, thanks ragingfish

PS: it is a procedure one could do themselves, but it looks complex in the manual, hence the reason I recommend having the dealer do it.

I've had the same problem so I unscrewed the 4 screws that hold on the center console, unpluged the power cable and got to the handbrake. Theres a locking bolt you have to loosen and then another bolt you can tighten to stiffen the e-brake. Its easy to do but Ive got to the point where it won't tighten any more and I cant park on any type of incline. Any one know how much the dealer's gonna charge on that out of warranty?