I have a '99 VW Golf manual shift that has chosen to rebel against the past couple of cold winters. When the temp. stays below freezing, the emergency brake follows nature and does the same. I can’t move the car. If I let the car run for a LONG time, it will help enough so I can move the car and eventually get the brakes unfrozen, but I can tell it is not a good thing due to the smell of worn brakes when I do this. What’s up? I should just not use the emergency brake in the winter?
Or you could just have the emergency brake cable replaced. They’re not that expensive.
Your e-brake should not get frozen in any position but if it does, park the car on a level surface and don’t engage the parking brake. I’d guess that moisture is somehow getting to the brake cable.
Frozen parking brake cable is the most likely culprit. This would be cheap to replace.
I don’t recommend not using the parking brake, since it is a safety feature.