Emergency brakes

[webster22]

I did a stupid thing and drove about 10 miles with my emergency brake on. Will this hurt my car? I am afraid to ask my husband after doing such a stupid thing. I have only had the car two weeks (2005 model) and I hope I didn't mess up the rotors or anything.Any advice out there?

[keithvibe]

On your 2005 you have drum brakes on the rear. The emergency brake is attached only to the rear brakes of the car... You might have worped the drums on the rear of the car you might have even glazed over the pads on the brakes. I would suggest drive it for a few days. If you haven't noticed any weird vibrations when your applying the brake I would say your safe... but if you really want to be on the safe side. Take it back to the dealer or make an appointment with ANY brake shop they will inspect the brakes at (most will do this at no charge)... but BEWARE because you are a woman they may want to do a brake job just to make a buck, DON'T tell the brake shop what you did just ask them to inspect the brakes.... If they tell you, that you need brakes just say thank you and your going to get a second opinion.If you were closer to me I would offer to check them myself... I would suggest if your husband is car savy to inform him, of your mistake... it was just that a mistake... ANY MAN who is a good may won't get upset about little things like that, it can be fixed if damaged, and he might even be able to check out the brakes.

[joatmon]

It happens. I have done it, and more than once, but not in the Vibe. Is your Vibe an automatic tansmission? Mine is a manual, and in it, I notice when the extra drag makes it a lot harder to start out, but in an automatic, it is a lot easier to forget about the parking brake.I agree with keithvibe.I would pay attention for new symptoms, such as a pulsing feeling in the brake pedal when you brake hard. Also, I'd make sure the parking brake still worked ok by stopping on a hill, put the parking brake on, and with your foot ready to step on the brake pedal, put it into neutral (not park) and verify that the parking brake alone is enough to hold the car on the hill. If you don't have any strange symptoms, and the parking brake still holds the car, then most likely nothing was damaged.