What new cars have "real" hand-controlled parking brake?

Not foot- actuated, not electrically-activated, but the actual lever next to the driver that lets you mechanically activate the parking brake anywhere from minimum to maximum hold.

Honda Accord has a hand lever with a cable. At least my 2017 does. It’s probably the same on the 2019.

My 2017 Sonata has a foot pedal.

Many cars still use a manual cable-operated parking brake, but the pedal operated configuration is often used because a hand lever is often in the way and takes up valuable passenger space.

I’ve also never had to repair a pedal operated parking brake because someone spilled ice cream on it or dropped an earring down the cover.

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The newest car I drive, my mother’s 2015 Jetta, has a hand lever parking brake.

I’ve missed the auto show for two years now for various reasons but have to say this would not even be on page one of items to look at. In fact without going out in the garage and looking, I can’t tell you what the Acura has. The Pontiac has the center lever because I use it when I go to the post office on the hill. Regardless, rear brakes in an emergency aren’t going to do much but a lever action at least would allow not locking up the brake lever if you kept your finger on the release. On a foot operated, the brakes would lock up until you pulled the release again. Slight advantage. I think the last time I was in that situation though was with my 1960 Morris Minor in 1966.

The hand lever allows you to have fun in the snow kicking the tail end out in a controlled manner because you can control the release.

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10 years ago, I regularly had to // park on those San Francisco hills. I don’t think I want to do that 4 pedals dance while someone else sneaks into the open spot

The hand lever never failed on me before. Of all the things I’ve driven, I like pneumatic parking brake the best

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Pneumatic parking brake? Are you talking maxi brake on a large truck? If you are, I agree completely.In the early days of my trucking career the parking brake on a truck with air brakes was just a tall ratchet type hand lever with a steel cable and the trailers lost all their brakes if you lost your air. Now you have to have air in the one side of the system to release the brakes and big springs that will apply the brakes if your air pressure drops to 60 lb. or if you pull one fo the 2 emergency knobs on the dash ) one for the tractor and the other for both the tractor and trailer. Some of the early trucks I drove had just hydraulic brakes on the tractor and vacuum brakes on the trailer.

I’ll be contrarian here, as I prefer the foot pedal for the parking brake. I’ve had arthritis since I was young and the hand levers are painful for me to use. I know from experience, having driven a 1973 Corolla with a hand lever as my daily driver for twelve years and occasionally for two more years.

Releasing the brake on a lever is particularly difficult and painful. The foot pedal is easy to operate though.

When I last shopped for a new car the choice came down between an Accord with a parking brake lever versus a Camry with a foot pedal. The Camry’s foot pedal ended up being one of several final deciding factors.

It’s nice to have a choice for individual personal preferences. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yup, I used those when I was a weekend tour bus driver. I once had to set it with my right foot. The pin that connect the plastic knob to the valve popped out so there was no way to pull up on that valve without a vise grip. Before I could get on my hands and knees to look for that pin, I needed to secure the thing. The only thing I thought of doing was to fan the brakes until the pressure dropped enough for the parking brake to set. It took a few minutes

That is the procedure they teach school bus drivers to use to set the brake when parking and leaving the bus on a field trip. That way, someone can’t get on the bus and push the brake knob in and release the brake without the key to start the engine to build air pressure.

Maybe we are reaching the point where there is just too much technology and need to just get back to simple mechanical levers. (I refuse to even look at the article on the EU controlling car speed like big brother.) At any rate went down to the car wash this morning and an older lady was ahead of me in her VW. Opened her door, punched in the code for a wash, and got back in her car. When the was was empty she proceeded into the car wash jerking all the way. I thought she must have a heavy brake foot. She never made it as far as the tire stop and opened the door again and got out inside the car wash. She said I can’t get the parking brake off. I couldn’t help her, not knowing anything about VW switches, and not about to walk into the car wash. She finally just hit the gas and squealed the tires all the way out and gave up. I won’t go into the rest and don’t blame people for honking but I didn’t want her brush wash when I’d already paid for my ultimate wash.

At any rate when I got home I looked it up and sure enough there is a little switch on the console to release the brake if you put your foot on the brake pedal. But in addition there is another switch for braking the car at a light or something so you don’t have to keep your foot on the brake pedal. Seems like it activates if the engine is running, in park and if you open the door and get out so your car doesn’t run away. Come on folks, who needs this stuff?? Poor lady. No problem for a young techy but gee whiz, not everyone is suited for all this junk.

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Cars are one of the few expensive consumer products that come with actual written-on-paper instructions. It takes time to read and comprehend them, but considering how long it takes to pay for a car, it’s a small non-sacrifice.

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I presume the question is not about a hand-controlled electronic parking brake (I don’t like them)

I gave a like not because I agree with you, but I like your car wash story. And that’s the reason why I ain’t buying a used car, not from people who had no business driving the car before me

Our new car has a electric parking brake. You have to press the brake pedal as you push the button to release. If you have your belt on, you can give the gas a light tap. The go command releases the brake, raises the engine’s rev, and slips one of the clutches in the transmission. All three are performed automatically.

There’s also the auto hold function that maintains hydraulic brake pressure after you come to a complete stop. It reverts to the electric parking brake after 5 minutes. Again, tapping the gas pedal with your belt on would give it the valid go command. It is not difficult to grasp, just different

And you’re not wrong. I really don’t need all this. I don’t even need the automatic transmission. But I really wanted the multilink rear suspension(instead of the twist beam) given how rough the roads are around here. It is only available at the top trim along with electronic parking brake and many other stuff. If I paid for it, I might as well use it

It is: lever (with release button) to cable to rear brakes.

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Most car manuals are way too long, I really don’t need 30 pages about how to use the seat belts and another 30 pages about the seat operation. On my car the manual for the radio is even bigger than the one for the car and there is no point in me trying to read it because when I try, I don’t know what they are talking about. I have the same problem with computers, I have two Macs for Dummies books, but they assume a certain basic knowledge and vocabulary that I just don’t have. It is hard being a mechanical guy in a digital world.

I am having trouble with banking and stock sites because they want to us two factor authentication by sending me a text, but I don’t have anything to send a text to.

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Multi-factor authentication can often use an email address as an alternative, or place an automated phone call to authenticate.

…in case that helps.

My 2017 Accord came with a paper manual and a CD with the manual on it. So, I downloaded an owner’s manual to my work computer. Now I have it three ways.