Hi out there,
I have a 2001 pt cruiser w/100,000 mi, and the hand brake stopped holding so the mechanic put on new brakes, but no cable or anything else. It still does not hold 100% of the time and not on a steep incline at all; it will roll. I was told there was no adjustment (he took the console off) and that when applying the hand brake to also leave it in gear and turn in the wheels. Is it ok to have the car stopped solely relying on the gear, esp. on a steep hill? When I asked about a new cable, he said “well how crazy do you want to get w/repairs?”
Cables can get streched over time, but the hand brake usually does have an adjustment under the vehicle to compensate for this, and more to the point for worn rear shoes and drums. If the shoes were replaced but the drums not resurfaced, then you may have glazed drums, and this can effect more than just your parking. If the auto adjust on your brakes is not working, or your mechanic (who has a bad attitude if you ask me) did not re-set the shoe adjustment propperly this could cause the problem too. I would find a new mechanic to do an inspection of the entire brake system. This is not the kind of problem you should ignore for any lenght of time at all, it is dangerous.
It’s time to find a new mechanic. The adjustment is made on the rear brakes as the vehicle has an auto adjustment for the emergency brakes. It’s a dangerous condition to park this vehicle on a steep hill with either a manual or automatic transmission. An emergency brake that is properly adjusted is critical.