After 10 Years Your BMW Probably Needs This!

In this video I show you how to adjust your ebrake on a BMW E90. This process would be similar to all BMWs that come with a handbrake from the factory from the last 15 years or so.
Over time the cables for your e brake stretch and it takes more travel and more effort to get the e brake to engage. This DIY shows you have to adjust them back into spec and make it safer.
A manual car is more likely to have stretched cables but depending on how often you use your hand brake and automatic car could be out of adjustment. I think it's safe to say that after about 10 years the vast majority of BMWs will have their handbrake out of adjustment if it has never been serviced.
In this video I show you how to it properly by disengaging the cables from inside the car. I also show you what the mechanism looks like.
I perform this work on my 2008 BMW 335i.
If this is the first video you are catching of mine please consider subscribing. I upload regularly.
Thanks for watching :) When you see the word "affiliate" listed beside any link in my description please know that this is a custom link and I will earn a small commission if you opt to purchase using said link. This is at no extra cost to you so it's a win all around :) Thank you!

[@BMWI-gk9wh]

Hi y’all don’t be afraid to work on your BMW. I have saved 7k on doing my own work on 3 of my e90s already. It’s not hard everything is simple as a puzzle. You read online forums and do it yourself. This guy has saved me so much money. Don’t let anybody tell you not to touch your euro car.

[@ryan-el9er]

i did my radiator job following this guy in the video. i’ve seen a number of his videos and have repaired my e90 based on other videos from reputable people. i fully agree that a BMW isn’t super expensive if you just do the work yourself.

[@VehicularDIY]

Love comments like this, thanks.

[@ryan-el9er]

@@VehicularDIY and i like seeing responses like this, haha. keep posting excellent quality videos. everyone appreciates it.

[@micraw714]

Very true! My first mod was intercooler about 4 years ago and I just did my valve cover yesterday following Vehicular DIY's tutorial. I probably would've sold my 335i years ago if it weren't for him haha 🤪

[@DodgeCity111]

You are correct. F31 335d here have just done engine oil filter, fuel & air filter, front & rear diff oil, transfer box oil, eibach springs, esys coding, big intercooler and will be doing transmission oil & pan soon. I have Ista +

[@bluesky8872]

My man taking a disc and rotor off just to improve the quality of his KZbin vid! Kudos to you man, you earned a like. 👌

[@seasonedtoker]

So many vids about E90 ebrake adjustment but only a few mention the spring under the brake lever. Good job, man.

[@cary3345]

I still dont really understand why deal with the spring under the brake lever, cant see what is it good for, why not just adjust the rear wheels, but maybe one day I will figute it out :D

[@sanakiyamam1987]

we did it without touching the spring under the brake lever and it worked. only the adjustment under brake disks

[@jhareng]

It locks the handbrake cables slack. Adjust wheel tensioner in so that wheel is locked then count the clicks by a certain number of clicks backing out, his case 4 both sides should then be balanced.

[@jhareng]

Same here done without locking the cable slack last night. I just used handbrake 4 clicks up and set each wheel so could barely move by hand rotation on each hub.

[@sanakiyamam1987]

@@jhareng there is a manual and it's calles TIS BMW it says if it's not more than 10 clicks than you don't have to touch the spring under the lever.

[@orlandochaparro6281]

I Have learn more from this guy than the manual from my car and the dealership all his video’s are too me a 👍👍👍👍👍up

[@VehicularDIY]

Thanks!

[@simplelangperorock]

i feel the same way. thanks man

[@armmargret1970]

First video that shows AND explains all details. Even if it is not in my language I am confident that I can follow the instructions to get the brake on my 10 years old E91 in good shape again. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@charlesbcraig]

This is timely. I have 226k miles on my 2007 E92. I have to pull it to the 10+ click mark like in the video or it starts moving down a hill! Thank you for this!!!

[@middlecovemotors2474]

YES! Finally someone talks about the cable adjustment. That's a bit tight at the cable but fine for a strong man like yourself. The easiest handbrake adjustment of any car.

[@jimyl77]

this has to be the best description ive seen so far on how to do this job!

[@sampathsilva852]

Thank you so much for posting this clip. You are the only one I can find that shows how to engage and release the hand brake cable. Great job. You saved me!! Thank you for taking the time to post this video

[@scottsaint2122]

Very thoroughly explained, awesome job! Not many people make videos that explain in detail so well... 2 thumbs 👍 5 🌟

[@pauldaly3589]

Great video, very clear. Obviously you took the time to explain in clear terms what and why needs to be done. Thank you for doing this video.

[@rallyekev]

Great video, very clear and concise. I need to adjust the hand brake on my E92 as it’s rubbish and this video has explained the process perfectly 👍

[@romandapoz]

Made this adjustment today on my Bmw x1 e84 2010! Now It works properly!!! Thanks for uploading this video! Great work!!!! 😉

[@bujarmurselji4027]

Thnx for this video. No one else on KZbin has that part of spring lock on their videos. Made my Day!

[@edva3533]

Thanks for the tip about the spring. Changed my handbrake pads today successfully.

[@HOTBLAZINHOTBLAZIN]

Thanks I needed to do this!!!! Best on KZbin for E-90 you have help me so many times thanks!!!!!

[@twinturbo8304]

best bmw channel out there! I like the way you work on the floor, nothing fancy, just like a typical owner. Also your research is very good I don’t know where you get it. I noticed that you are very good with electronics . I sure would like to know what all of the sensors all over this car do and what those computers under the rear seat and in the trunk of do. I think this information would be very interesting to us. E 90. Keep up the great work I watch all of your videos and I look forward to them as a fellow 2008 and 54 four bolt on pilot

[@friguy4444]

Thank you. Yes the procedure is very similar on most BMW's. However on the E46 the place where you clicked the spring on the actual leaver hand break part isn't the same. It actually has an adjusting nut and bolt for each rear wheel. When you open up the boot covering the area (same general idea as with the E9X's E8X's) where that spring and hook type mechanism is there are the nuts sticking out at an angle. It is definitely best to adjust the brake shoes, just as you showed here as that part is identical, first. Then adjust the nuts up front under the boot to suit the feel and clicks of the pull. However if you only need a slight adjustment you can get away with tightening the two nuts at the pull handle. It's not the easiest thing to reach them the way you might want to because you will need a very deep socket or the right open ended wrench that will fit into it the way it requires. I think it's a ten mm. But it might be eleven. I adjusted those nuts a fair bit myself and it helped a LOT! But not for very long. The Cables stretched again from my yanking on the brake so hard all the time that they soon stretched out almost to the same as they were. So definitely best to do them at the hub then adjust the nuts after to get it right.

[@RodroRepara]

Excellent video, this help us to loose fear on working over our BMWs, save money and fixing them as it should, thank you!

[@kghwanadoo]

Great video exactly what I was looking for. I do all my X5 maintenance and this was just another small job that makes a huge difference.

[@simoned1978]

Just wanna say thanks for the video, just adjusted my brake after fitting new discs pads and caliper, thanks again from here in the uk 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Riley1524]

The only vid on this where it was done correctly. Love your channel

[@shamolshahran1570]

I tried to adjust mine by following other video's without knowing about the spring. Guess what ? Did not work. I thought to change the handbrake cable. Really frustrating. Almost lost the hope. You tube is a good source of information. So many people try to help each other. But some tries with little knowledge. But this man saved the day. Thank you very much for this tutorial. Really appreciate your video. Definitely will follow you from now on. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Subscribed.....

[@reeseboi8704]

Yesss been waiting for something like this. My E90 suffers from the exact same issue. I have to yank it all the way up for it actually remain standstill on a hill which is about 15 clicks in for mine. Time to finally fix the issue.

[@machtschnell7452]

Well explained. First time i have seen the brake handle release procedure.

[@joksanmorales]

Searching all over for this. Thank you! I have an e83 X3 (2006) and my P-brake handle set up is the same as the e-90, not e-46 as most represent. Going to try it out now!

[@docimastic]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce a truly superior and very helpful and informative video. It is absolutely excellent! Thanks again, David

[@IzziedeD]

Thanks for this, man. I’ve done brake adjustments many times on my E36 including messing with the springs at the brake handle, but never released the spring on my E86, it’s a bit different. Now I see how easy it is. Much appreciated.

[@jeffreydelk2361]

Excellent DIY video - thanks for the effort on it!

[@aimized1460]

Thank you my guy ! Quality video as always ! I’m painting my calipers today and will redo this ebrake tension as well, mine has about 10-17 clicks 15 years old e90 still my bae LOL 🙏

[@maxmoughal5183]

I did my E60 recently without locking the spring and I wasn't that happy with it, but having done it again with the spring locked its much better now :)

[@alexramirez4289]

wow! i just adjusted mine this morning! good vid

[@Senorbarnez]

Thanks for a great, clear, and concise video. No fuss.

[@EuroAutoEnthusiast]

Thanks for this Bro! Simple and straight forward 👍🏽

[@grubasyk]

Just followed this without touching the spring in the cabin and it worked. F20 114d from 2013 manual. You have to spin that gear upwards on rear left wheel and downwards on right one. Thanks for sharing!

[@AtomicPixel]

Helpful as always. Thx brother!

[@modoodle1851]

Excellent video . great stuff

[@gokhanozgul2199]

Explained very well, thank you!

[@ncmiller011]

Just want to say thanks. I did this job this afternoon on my 2006 330xi following your guidance. My drivers’ side adjuster barrel was seized at the minimum position (who knows why), so I think maybe that side wasn’t engaging at all. I removed the rotor, cleaned up the adjuster barrel and set both sides nine clicks back from locked. Seems to me that if you adjust back from locked wheels, that should account for shoe wear and cable stretch? I may make a further adjustment to tighten, but for now, it’s a huge improvement for a driver with a sloped driveway. Thanks again!

[@duriedzozo1828]

Well done , thanks for taking time and explaining very helpful going to do mine

[@rogerone7387]

Thank you Sr. For your expert information, we're sure very useful for all of us BMW owners who do are own work. In the long run it's a great help to save us all money. Thanks again.

[@atinoteintunovas9969]

Ooooh yeas!!! That was a great explanation and very clear on how to do it! Orland Chaparro is right! We learn a lot from this guys since they take the time to explain to us how to do this, so important things that have to be done to our cars. Not every time we can be going to the dealer to do every little stupid thing that has to be done to the car and then at the same time the dealer is making a feast with our bank accounts. How nice for them, haanngh??? No way Jose !!! Not in this life time!!!

[@Juammpy81]

Thank you once again for another helpful diy video. BMW 🤍💙

[@Iwannagofast94]

Great video, thanks for posting 🤙🏼

[@-kk8619]

Holy on my right side i can turn that think more than 6 times? Left side was okay. But now my handbrake do it awesome. Thx buddy💕

[@pinoysi06]

Always very detailed e90 videos👍🏽 you should do a rear and front subframe poly bushing video🔥🔥🏎

[@xyzspec82]

Thank you for this nice video! It's done! 😎

[@gregorybrigando]

Great contribution. Thanks!

[@Ali.McL9]

Great video man, thank you. Straight forward clear instructions with good video to back up!!!

[@nateryan7041]

brilliant video mate thansk for the effort

[@garynoble5464]

Excellent video, thankyou

[@MrFryfish]

One of the most challenging thing to change on bmw is rear bearings... Clutch and flywheel is less. You need a very good hydraulic jack, 4 stands and build a wooden platform for supporting the gearbox when dropping or puting it back.

[@notadoctor2598]

I like your style. I subscribed.

[@anval1257]

Great Video Bro !! I am suscribing and encourage you to keep on posting !!

[@boostfiend5795]

i’ve been needing this lol

[@veritas17]

Good stuff man, thank you for the welcome info!

[@draganpopovic3138]

THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT VIDEO! 👌👍

[@jessebarraza6039]

I love those wheels. Same ones that are on my E60

[@sanakiyamam1987]

we did it without touching the spring under the brake lever and it worked. only the adjustment under brake disks

[@chialor1945]

Good stuff mate.

[@rahmetefe8181]

Thanks man very helpful

[@bsouza1675]

Good vid, well done 👍

[@MarioDallaRiva]

Awesome! Thanks, bro.

[@perttunummenpaa9063]

Great video!

[@richardrichard5409]

Finally, someone doing this with the correct procedure...there are some dangerous videos out there showing how this shouldn't be done😎

[@user-jk9dz2dj7w]

This video just saved me getting new cables. Mine was somehow disengaged like at 526.

[@Ajodegi]

I love your DIYs, they are well explained and you do not skip any step which is great. You saved me a lot of time, money and you have encouraged me to tinker with my car. Lastly, thank you for this specific DIY, I have to go trough it on my girlfriends E87 and my E90 and now I know what to do exactly. Thank you again, much appriciated All the best for you from Poland

[@cruzcruz1910]

Ahhh noice I gotta pull my e-brake sky high when I’m on hills but lemme try this 👀

[@taglime1541]

Adjusted mine two weeks ago, great video though!

[@alexwalsh31]

Sick video. Mine is super strong now, rubs slightly though hopefully it will just wear down naturally.

[@jbatacan2]

Hopefully it isn't too different on my E60, me parking on a driveway means I have to yank like I'm lifting thors hammer to make it stay. Another banger video!

[@VehicularDIY]

Its nearly identical on your E60 so you could follow this video.

[@demonkiller3418]

@@VehicularDIY e39?

[@michaelpast19]

Thank you so much!

[@jasonbishop991]

great video thank you. i had replaced handbrake assembly because the teeth wore off and was horrified to find that after installing and putting the car back together that handbrake didnt get tight. it just pulled like nothing. then i pushed on the spring and that did the trick.

[@boblelion9444]

Bonjour, Merci pour ce tuto. Bonne journée.

[@jabberwockytdi8901]

People who talk about suspension position, that doesn't affect anything, the adjustment of a Bowden cable just depends on the relative lengths of the fixed outer cover vs. the movable inner actuation cable , since neither the fixed outer length or the relative length of inner to outer can be affected by suspension travel it's not relevant for basic cable length adjustment. When the engineers design the cable routing they also have to take care that the routing of the cable doesn't allow it to get bent too tight or rub etc. so as not to get increased sliding force of the inner in the outer or get water/dirt ingress due to damaged outer etc.

[@Msjskdk]

That’s great my e39 2001 went into have the parking brake done twice and it was pooo and still is, i know they never done what you just showed me on the handbrake lever because i was watching them. Same old story if you want a job doing properly do it yourself so i will. I can work on cars but wen i you get a bit older you don’t want to be laid on the ground (uk) and i thought its a bmw specialists so shouldn’t have been a problem.. Also at the same time the rocker cover gasket (twice) on the second time around with new rocker cover it still blow out, then i’m watching utube and some mateeee shows me a thing underneath the inlet manifold,, i done it meself and no more problems, apart from my lower back 👍

[@Sava.S]

On my e90 handbrake barely holds when I pull it as far it would go, now on third click it holds as it should, thank you sir very much

[@juanjosegallomejia9662]

Thanks a lot. Very good

[@Alpejohn]

The parking brake on my E87 seems to sometimes hang when disengaged. But if i reverse 20-30 cm it seems to release. It also has a long travele like you show here. Did not know about this service thing, so i will definetly look into that when i adjust it. Probably need to clean it in the rear to as there probably is some dust and rust.

[@martymeyer4125]

Well done

[@unpopularopinionz]

The interior trim wrap is fucking gorgeous

[@dynamoeffekt]

Excellent DIY. One question though; would it not be better to replace the spring first, if it is 10 years old?

[@tsepanglebata5550]

Thanks bro

[@jarlamchen8625]

Very good vid. Amazing your ebrake went 14 clicks, I literally lost it :joy:

[@claudiotavares3369]

Hi, nice video. 👍 For me the best explanation how to do it👌

[@antonperiram8029]

Please can you show how you've fitted the f series steering wheel, particularly wiring the controls and click back on turn signals. Thanks.

[@jlindborg1105]

There is no need to worry about cable stretch as the automatic tensioner you released under the handle will take care of any slack.

[@ClutchCobraKID1]

Just subscribed to your channel been working on cars since I was little I'm 33 now and sis wanted a bmw so we got a 14 320i x drive. You know the F30 with the N20 so I get to play(work) with it all the time. U got vid of the manual trans swap? I see you got all sorts of vids id be interested in, is the manual trans swap somewhere in there?

[@arranconeroyuka]

excelente video, muchos videos solo muestran el ajuste del freno de tambor, pero no muestran que se debe presionar el resorte que mencionas, tengo un bmw e60 espero me funcione porque tiene el mismo sistema. gracias :D

[@Bemaritohtori]

My e46 needs this every week

[@Decrepit_biker]

Ah the adjustment of the BMW does fuck all lever! Great job 😁

[@a9653192]

Does this work with the F30 generation? I’ve been having to adjust the parking brake directly on the wheel

[@DirtyGarageTx]

So down for tighting up for loosening

[@Xpress_Graphix]

Hi, does the same principle apply to E70 X5 with electronic parking brake?

[@Saqib.S]

Im about to change the parking shoes on my car. Before changing, your saying i/we should slack the tensioner inside the car? Like handbrake? And then change parkingshoes and then tighten it with a screwdriver from the wheels? Can anybode explain me what that has to do with the handbrake? Why does he slack the tensioner inside the car first? What happends if you don't?

[@charlesberry4958]

I (explative starts with an f) love the stick shift!!!

[@garydeandeery]

So hand break down then turn the back wheels adjuster down so lose then put hand brake up to 3 clicks then back wheels adjust up till wheels won’t move then test the hand brake. Is that right?

[@RTB-1157]

Yeh easily the best description on how to properly adjust your sky high bmw handbrake! One question, if ya don't compress the mechanism under the handbrake lever and proceed to adjust the rear shoes is there any difference in the result? Thanks!

[@VehicularDIY]

Thanks, if you didn't compress the spring and you don't take the slack off the cables I would think that there is the possibility for one side to be adjusted tighter than the other side. It would leave the potential for uneven engagement.

[@RTB-1157]

@@VehicularDIY What is happening is sometimes i pull the the handbrake and it's very high? Drop the brake and pull again its 3 clicks? Can be very annoying? My E46 had an easier system as you probably know, the 2 cables have 10mm nuts that you can adjust? But thanks to your video I reckon I can solve this issue! Thanks again bro! 👍

[@johnjones607]

Would doing the adjustment without doing the bit under the handbrake itself cause the shoes to stick or drag? I've had my rear discs and pads replaced, one caliper was sticking so they replaced that, however, if i engage the handbrake, when i pull off the brakes really squeek, if i leave the hand brake off and pull away there is no squeek, also as im driving i hear a metalic scraping sound all the time from the rear.....no garage i've ever used does the thing under the handbrake, they say it's not needed o.0 I dont think my other rear caliper is sticking, i can't be 100% sure though as i haven't lifted the car and tried this myself yet., one had and it had warped the disc and locked on completely so the car was banging and juddering all over the place when i drove it. I have my car booked in to get the other caliper replaced, will cost nearly £200 in parts and labour, if the brake shoes are to blame i'll be very annoyed so want to try this as like i say, no garage i've ever taken my E92 does it, they lift the car on the hoist thing, poke a scredriver through the wheel and do the last bit of the procedure, never ever go under the handbrake book to do the spring thing.

[@paulludwiger8030]

i couldnt turn the adjustment screw. it was kindof stuck. what did i dp wrong? do i need to lift both rear wheels from the ground?