# Forgot to release parking brake woes while towing behind RV! **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808 "2023-05-25T20:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/1 "2023-05-25T20:14:44Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/c/b/cbbe93d64387c3a4b267352cc33774e985e8ff0e.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/2 "2023-05-25T20:18:03Z")
šŸ˜µ I would like to be the fly on the wall at the dealership when they tell the owner that problems caused by _Driver Error_ are not covered by the warranty. ---
**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/3 "2023-05-25T20:18:25Z")
Good lord! Youā€™d have thought the RV driver wouldā€™ve noticed a little more ā€œdragā€ when accelerating. Of course, driving an RVā€¦ it might all be dragā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/4 "2023-05-25T21:54:49Z")
If I positioned car behind rv prior to towing I am pretty darn sure I would not engage parking brake. Now, on a newer car with elec shifting I assume when you hit park the trans shifting is electronic and park brake is engaged? So, what does manual say to select shift mode when you plan to flat tow it? ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/5 "2023-05-25T22:29:16Z")
Iā€™m thinking it was in 2WD park. Or it had GREAT parking brakes! ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/6 "2023-05-25T22:40:45Z")
On the plus side, the rear brakes seems to be working well ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/7 "2023-05-26T00:06:02Z")
One day i was working in my office, my wife calls me at 5pm in a panic. She was ready to leave work, and the parking brake release lever broke off in her hand. I told her go ahead and drive home (3 miles), keep her speed below 35, and keep her eye on the side mirror. If she sees smoke coming from the rear wheel, pull over and let it cool off for 20 minutes. I left my office at 6, got home, ate dinner, went to check the car. Release handle was broken, linkage was intact, yanked it and released the brake. The car was a 2008 Chrysler Pacifica, which back then was a station wagon. 4 wheel disks, parking brake was two tiny brake shoes inside the hat of the rotor. Pulled the rotor, shoes were a bit glazed, sandpaper cleared that up. Checked transmission fluid, didnā€™t look, smell, or taste burned. Took the car for a drive, declared it ā€œgood to goā€. That car that was towed must have had one strong parking brake. ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/8 "2023-05-26T06:56:46Z")
The manual for a 23 Jeep Cherokee states that the trans should be in park with the power transfer unit in neutral, with this note just below You must ensure that the Auto Park Brake feature is disabled before towing this vehicle, to avoid inadvertent Electric Park Brake engagement. The Auto Park Brake feature is enabled or disabled via the customer programmable features in the Uconnect Settings ---
**Author:** ![bscar2](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar2/32/2468_2.png) [@bscar2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar2)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/9 "2023-05-26T20:37:26Z")
> [@old\_mopar\_guy](#): > > Checked transmission fluid, didnā€™t look, smell, or taste burned How does transmission fluid taste when it ISNā€™T burnt? ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/10 "2023-05-26T20:50:21Z")
When it is burnt, it tastes like roasted chestnuts. It has a ā€œclean tasteā€ when itā€™s not burnt. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/forgot-to-release-parking-brake-woes-while-towing-behind-rv/190808/11 "2023-05-26T20:57:37Z")
> [@old\_mopar\_guy](#): > > When it is burnt, it tastes like roasted chestnuts. It has a ā€œclean tasteā€ when itā€™s not burnt. Thank you for that explanation. I think Iā€™ll stick to _Johnny Walker Black Label_, with a splash of water. šŸ˜‰