How to adjust the parking or emergency brake

[@huphamd]

Thank you so much! After brake service at Jiffy Lube, the car would slide down a slanted driveway. Took it back to them and they said "there's nothing wrong with the brakes". Instead of the aggravation of continuing to deal with their incompetence, I adjusted it myself using your instruction. Many many thanks to you.

[@redemptiverevelation]

Hopefully you learned never to go to a Lube Shop ever again?

[@huphamd]

@@redemptiverevelationYep. Lesson learned.

[@RoughRidersTV]

Glad it helped. Thanks for watching.

[@u-know-this]

My mechanic of 15 years didn't know how to do it. He adjusted the pedal instead which caused drag as the pads were rubbing the drum making the wheel real hot. Took it back and he reset it but it was obvious he didn't know how to adjust it . I had already found this video online I will adjust them myself

[@RoughRidersTV]

@@u-know-this Glad it helped. Thanks for watching.

[@jericodiaz]

Excellent video, the way you’ve explained it was outstanding Now, I need to double check my emergency brakes and adjust Blessings 👏

[@marksermons]

Over 22,000 views, but only 237 likes? Ridiculous! I’m so confused as to why people don’t support helpful videos, but will like and share garbage regularly. 🤦🏽‍♂️ Great video; thanks for the info!

[@RoughRidersTV]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@morrismartin7131]

I really learn something from this Mr .Martin from Redlands Ca. Thanks

[@tylersoun]

Thanks for this video. I changed my brakes and rotors on my 2020 pilot and couldn’t figure out why the emergency brake wasn’t holding. I didn’t have to do this with my 2011 pilot and 2000 accord.

[@clintonrice7702]

Thanks Brother. Easy job.

[@adg816]

I have a ‘17 Pilot AWD. Was wondering if the MDX was in neutral after jacking it up or left in the “Park” gear??

[@kd3623]

Does the E brake need to be on when you are adjusting? In other words, from the inside of the car should you pull on your hand brake and then make the adjustment or should it be on the down (disengaged) position?

[@happyfcekilla]

Parking brake needs to be off so the rotors can spin freely. You jack both rear tires up from under the rear differential and use 2 Jack's to secure..

[@Itsnotmyname1172]

Yes

[@CareyAnderson-eu5co]

He'll NO e brake is not to be engaged for adjustment.

[@CareyAnderson-eu5co]

It sounded like you backed that off way more than 8 clix

[@RoughRidersTV]

@@CareyAnderson-eu5co No, it was 8. The sounds were the screwdriver slipping before I got it to turn. You can feel when the star nut turns as you adjust it.

[@cdpc211]

Does the card need to be on neutral to do this?

[@robbyddurham1624]

I was trying to adjust my wife's infiniti this week. clicking up was loosening. I'd see two people say click up. when I took the disk off I saw the clicker was turned the other way. when I did the other side, same thing. I turned them around, hoping I remember

[@OFISHiallyOutdoors]

Thank you great demonstration

[@elidagreat1916]

Do you have to adjust after replacing rotors?

[@RoughRidersTV]

I would, yes. new rotors are thicker than the rotors you removed so you might get excess drag.

[@tims_4x4_garage]

Why 8 clicks? How do you know how many clicks to back off on your application ?

[@miguelquijas7207]

Subaru recommends lock then 8 off lock when doing new rese brake pads and rotors. But in this video I counted like 20 lots of double or triple clicks.

[@RoughRidersTV]

@@miguelquijas7207 It may have sounded like it, but I promise you, it was 8. Several of those were the sound of the screwdriver slipping before it the star rotated. I've been doing this stuff a very, very long time, it's not the first time I've ever worked on the brakes are the car.

[@nomasknoway9903]

The number of clicks to "back off" can be found in the appropriate repair manual for the vehicle model and year. For my vehicle it is 5 clicks. Typically, you can back off until the parking brake shoes have disengaged and you can turn the rotor by hand without binding or rubbing.

[@RetroPCUser]

Mine needs a major adjustment. Is it a good idea to repair an existing parking brake cable? Mine broke recently.

[@RoughRidersTV]

If the cable broke, then a replacement is the best option. I would not try to repair a broken cable.

[@RetroPCUser]

@@RoughRidersTV the cables are fine. The hanger slipped out of something and let go. I didn't post my comment correctly at first.

[@tdmgtdmg6283]

Is this the same for a Honda civic I changed my back brakes but I unplugged the e brake motor to do get better leverage then I plugged everything back in correctly and now my dash board is lit up telling me to release parking brake but it’s not engaged

[@RoughRidersTV]

Not sure, never had to work on a Civic. The ebrake is cable driven on this, not electronic so probably not the same.

[@quanje1938]

So I have to do this to all 4 wheels?

[@andrewgotishan8157]

No, I have a fwd car and the e brake locks up the rear wheels only

[@HagerVids]

Is the up and down for both drivers and passenger?

[@RoughRidersTV]

It's basically, lefty loosey, righty tighty on the star nut. You will feel it as it tightens and the wheel will get harder to turn.

[@HagerVids]

@@RoughRidersTV so i replaced both sides with new pads and hardware. Turned star nut on both sides until they would not turn freely and only a slight lag when e brake is engaged. Should I force turning star nut with a hammer? Maybe I can tighten cable connected to floor e brake?

[@RoughRidersTV]

@@HagerVids Basically, you are turning the nut until you cannot turn the rotor at all. Then you back the nut off by 7 clicks or so. The rotor should not freely spin (no drag) yet when you set the brake, it should engage quickly. If you have turned the nut and it won't turn any further, then you might need new brake shoes in the drum hat. The brake shoes are not the brake pads that squeeze the disc rotor. Replacing pads won't do anything on the parking brake as they are not part of that brake system. The parking brake is an independent braking system. When you adjust the star nut, you are moving those brake shoes closer/further from the brake surface inside the rotor hat. Just like brake pads, parking brake shoes need to be replaced every so often. So if you can't dial in the parking brake adjustment, pull off the rotor and inspect the shoes to see if they are worn and need to be replaced.

[@HagerVids]

@@RoughRidersTV inspected the cable. It's not pulling on driver side. It does on passenger side. The connector that splits off looks old and rusty. Now I'm not sure if it's just a stuck line on one side or what lol

[@jh441]

Does this need to be done on both rear wheels or just one?

[@kovalenkoihor4325]

both have the same system. You need to do both rears

[@mosco2147]

What did you use as the Jack point to lift the rear end of the vehicle?

[@happyfcekilla]

Rear differential

[@TeleportsBehindYou]

Your owner's manual may have the jack points listed, both for the floor jack and jack stands. If not, look for some strong flat steel on the suspension

[@kimchee94112]

When the star located on the bottom, the adjustment is opposite.

[@RoughRidersTV]

It's basically righty/tighty and lefty/loosey when looking at the star nut.

[@tonyarmenta1553]

Very useful thank you

[@eastcoastroadrunner]

These brakes slide easily so every couple of years the inner drum and pads should be grinded to give it more friction.

[@badtothebone346]

Thank you for this I have to do my rear brake pads and rotors soon and I was wondering how to do this. I wasn't sure how many turns I should do. This cleared so much up for me. Thanks How did you know about backing off 8 clicks?

[@RoughRidersTV]

Thanks for watching. I have a video on how to do the back brakes/rotors as well, just haven't had time to edit it. As for 8 clicks, this was an educated guess based upon on other cars I've done.

[@ahmadalmasri9255]

Thanks, such a useful video, are they same steps as 2014 mdx?

[@ronnyatdrik4700]

Does the E-brake needs to be on during the adjustment?

[@mohamedalzoraabdelfattahal8837]

@@ronnyatdrik4700does it????

[@philjagdon6774]

Why not count the number of clicks when expand so you will know how many clicks when to loose. Is it better to ajust you nside where the handbrake is rather than what you did?

[@RoughRidersTV]

My MDX does not have an hand brake. However, you would not want to do it that way anyway. Counting won't do any good because it will never be the same as the brake shoe wears over time. It's all about how much drag you feel when rotating the wheel. So, just keep clicking until the wheel stops spinning and then back off some clicks so the wheel spins freely yet the show is still close so that it will engage the rotor wall when you apply the parking brake.

[@HappyLeoul]

I think it should be done while the parking break is not engaged

[@RoughRidersTV]

The parking brake is not engaged. Otherwise I would not be able to rotate the disc rotor at all. The idea is to do it until it locks, then back it off so the wheel spins freely. You would not be able to do this if the brake were engaged.

[@thomassnes3943]

What if you can turn the wheel while the parking brake is engagde? Is it possible to just do this adjustment then and afterwards the car would actually be held By the parking brake ? ​@@RoughRidersTV

[@RoughRidersTV]

@@thomassnes3943 If the parking brake is engaging at all, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to move the rotor with the wheel off as you would not have the mass of the tire and rim to help nor would you have the leverage you gain from rotating at the edge of the tire instead of at the center. If your parking brake isn't doing anything, then yes, you would be able to rotate it. However, you would be adjusting it until it stops the car so it would get you pretty close to the final adjustment. You would then be able to do some minor adjustments based upon feel of the parking brake pedal. what you don't want is the parking brake dragging even when not engaged as that would cause a lot of friction and heat up the rotor and rotor hat and lead to warping and excess wear.

[@H00v3r]

Toyota service manual requires you to adjust cable. Just because it doesn't roll in neutral does NOT mean it's adjusted appropriately. This method can still render a useless e brake in operation

[@RoughRidersTV]

This is not a Toyota. This is a parking brake, meant to hold the car while parked, especially on an incline. If it holds in neutral, it will hold in gear. If your Toyota manual says to adjust a cable, then adjust a cable. However, this method is fine, I've done it for decades without issue. It's why the put an adjustment nut on the brake mechanism, so you can adjust it as the pads wear down.

[@leeyonghee2459]

Thank you.....

[@cjblackwell372]

I cant believe you showed your license plate and physical address number on video here! You should heavily reconsider that decision

[@RoughRidersTV]

And do what with it? My lic. plate is visible every time I go out on the road. Everyone can see it, write it down pretty much every day. Privacy is a myth. Every time you use your ATM card, your data is collected and shared. Every time you go online, your clicks are tracked. It's not hard for anyone to find info on anyone else these days. The only way to reclaim privacy is to disconnect from the world and live in a cabin in the woods. Lastly, it wouldn't matter because I've moved states since this video was made, car has new plates anyway.

[@gt3jacoby]

@@RoughRidersTVguy acts like anyone would track someone down from an ebrake adjustment video😂

[@CareyAnderson-eu5co]

Nice to see and hear so.eone that knows what they are talking g about. I mean don't get me wrong I am as Red neck as they come up here in CANADA, er anywhere for that matter.... But when I see people that allegedly say, or, come out on here or anywhere, as someone who knows their stuff, calls an emergency brake a park brake "sorry, my world it's an emergency brake, for that time that you have a pedal that hits the floor when ya attempt a brake apication" however, anybody that owns a Honda, parked on a steep steep fkn hill, never set that EMERGENCY brake, and came out to their vehicle, and started to play hide and seek, will probably argue with me... Anyway salespeople that call a different "differential" a fkn rear end. Tell ya one thing, anybody "well guy anyway" that talks about my woman's rear end and I hear about it, they gonna be spitting chiklits, anyway hats off to this fella...