1960 memo from GM CEO to engineers.
“We’ll make a new small car so cheap that customers will be dying to trade them in on a more expensive car!”
Works for TPMS too.
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I remember back in the 90’s just removing the bulb for the light… lol
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Years ago my youngest brother drove a Ford Pinto. Typical college student, he had no money. The brakes needed a lot of work but he ignored it. He started using the hand brake. Soon that was all he had!
Somehow our Mom became aware of this and yelled “Get rid of that car”! I think she helped him get a safe car and all was well!
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I couldn’t even see the bolts holding the unit in place so I was kind of at a loss for how to liberate it from the pocket where it was mounted. None of my cutting tools could fit in there except the fire wrench and without being able to watch the torch flame on the fastener, usually bad things happen…
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I had a similar experience except for me, it was a Bobcat I had bought new around 1980. The clutch had felt weird since day one and then one day, as I approached an intersection red light, I pressed the clutch pedal and the entire assembly broke off and was laying on the floor! Fortunately, the brake was able to overcome the engine, lurching to a stop. After I regained my senses and saw what happened, I was able to limp it home using the starter in first gear to get going each time I stopped. The pivot for the pedal assembly had a few blobs of cold weld from where it was attached to the plate so it was destined to fail…
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I see they make hand bendable copper-nickle brake lines now/ Is that available in the right sizes and fittings to replace fuel lines?
Ni Copp lines are suitable for fuel. They come pre-terminated in various diameters with the same flare fittings as brake lines. You can also buy just the line and use compression fittings for certain fuel applications. Dorman sells a 5000 psi compression fitting available at many auto parts stores. That being said, many modern fuel delivery systems use press to fit and clip style fittings on their lines. Might be tough to go end to end in those applications with custom lines…
I just noticed this posting and this is a word of caution. My 2019 Toyota Corolla has an electronic parking brake (EPB), which replaced the traditional lever or foot pedal with a button that engages and disengages the brake electronically.
In the default automatic mode (which is still active…) it engages the EPB when the vehicle is shifted into park and disengages it when shifted out of park.
I was afraid of what would happen if engaged by the console button while driving. I took it out onto a gravel no traffic road and at 5 MPH, I engaged it, and the brakes immediately locked up. I tried it again at 10 mph, same results…
So, if your car is similarly equipped, I would expect the vehicle to go completely out of control is applied at speed when the rear wheels lock up.
Good cautionary note!
You got me wondering about how my Rav4 would react. Fortunately, they seem to have taken this into account. The control systems are very sophisticated now. It says if you initiate the EPB at higher speeds, the car’s built in stability control system will use the main braking system in conjunction with the EPB to slow the car. It cuts engine power and disengages cruise if applied.
Good to know and be prepared. I’ve not liked the EPB for how it reacts under my normal routine. I like to stop at the end of my long driveway and pick up trash/recycling bins. I just drive up with the door open holding the bin in one hand. Nope. The car does not like moving with a door open and applies the EPB. You have to shift to park and go back to drive to override that safety feature…or press and hold the EPB to disable automatic deployment…
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Check your owners manual(s) to see if there is a speed at which the EPB stops working, I can see it working at very low speeds, but I would think (scary right) that it would not work at speeds over like 30 MPH or whatever…
Kinda like the electronically shifted transmissions, you can throw some (maybe most/all) up into reverse at higher speeds and nothing happens, but with the 2016-2023 at least Tacoma’s guys have thrown them up in reverse at around 40+ MPH and the back up camera comes on, but it stays in drive…
Just as an aside, my park ave had a faulty rear brake shoe, so if wet or humid, the first stop of the day the rear wheel would lock up. You could b3 going only 5 mph and it would never stop the car. Rear brakes alone hardly do anything. All better after I replaced the rear shoes. Last car I had with drums.
In my 560 plus page owner’s manual on my 2019 Toyota Corolla SE, there was no mention of how the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) operates in an emergency, only how to set it up for automatic or manual mode. Plenty of information about when it will work, might not work, and even when it will not work; but nothing if there is a complete brake failure…
So, what to do? Go to Google…
AI Mode gave me this…
If you need to stop the vehicle quickly because the primary braking system has failed, you should engage the EPB while the vehicle is in motion. Here is how it works:
*🥇 Pull and hold the switch: Pull up and continue to hold the electronic parking brake switch.*
*🥈 Automatic engagement: The system's computer will begin applying braking force to the rear wheels.*
*🥉 Safety features: The system is designed to apply the brake gradually, even at higher speeds, to avoid causing the rear wheels to lock up suddenly. This feature prevents a skid and helps you maintain control of the vehicle.*
*😊 Engineered for safety: When used in this way, the electronic system is designed to provide a more stable and controlled stop than a mechanical parking brake would. Once the vehicle comes to a stop, the system will hold the brakes in place.*
It has been over 5-years since I tried the stopping power of the EPB and I think back then, I merely pushed the button, rather than lift up on the switch… Looks like I have some testing to do tomorrow…
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