Remote start for manual

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by Wolvie70

BS

Elaborate. Exactly what is BS? That a parking brake cable will stretch? That after stretching enough it will snap? That parking on flat ground in gear with no parking brake engaged WILL hold the car still? That you have any common sense whatsoever? Elaborate.

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by StealthZL1

That is NOT TRUE. The cable is perfectly fine and engineered to engage the parking brake thousands of times.

Your turn. You want to call out my words as not true. Okay, let's break a few things down:

First, I don't disagree that a parking brake cable is engineered to engage thousands of times. But those tests are usually conducted in controlled environments. What about the effects of time, water, oil, road salts, and rust on the cable running under your car. What about the effects of small rocks and debris hitting that cable hundreds or thousands of times during the serviceable life of your vehicle. How about temperature for those of us that live in climates that have 100 degree summers and 0 degree winters?

Thousands of times - okay let's look at that.

There are 52 weeks in a year. Many of us get somewhere around 4 total weeks off from work, so 48 working weeks times 5 days per work week means 240 working days. You drive and park twice a day (to and fro) so that's 480 parking pulls per year. Two more pulls each day for Saturday and Sunday and you're at 672 pulls per year. For the sake of your argument, let's round that down to only 600.

Looking back at my personal car history (I'll leave the motorcycles out of this argument for now), the median age of a 4-wheeled vehicle I've sold is 13. I didn't own them that long since I have historically bought used vehicles (the '14 1LE I have on order will be my first new vehicle in, interestingly, 13 years), but that was their age when I dumped them. That would have been a median 7800 pulls per vehicle if I used the parking brake every time I drove the car.

I used to use the parking brake only, as most apparently do here, but stopped that practice after the CRX incident at school. Given the shelf life of a Camaro in the hands of the average forum member (it's amazing to me to see people selling 1, 2, 3, and 4 year old cars around here), and the median age, I can see why the collective hasn't seen a parking brake cable snap - but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And if you own a manual long enough, and continue to use the parking brake every time you drive the car - it will snap eventually. That's a simple fact of material science.

As a final note to this absurd saga ... motorcycles, with rare exception, all have manual transmissions which you park in gear - there are no parking brakes on motorcycles.

[blakjak55]

At least you did some research to prove your point in a manner of speaking.

Now go and figure out how many cars and bikes have spent their lives of service with no cable issues.

If the parking brake lever engages at a higher point after time of usage, I would look at the pad/shoe wear before suspecting a stretched cable and I wouldn't ever be afraid of it breaking. Anything can break, doesn't mean it will from using it as it's intended to be.

Sometimes, you're wrong.

[5thGenSean]

Billy10mm, I tried to stop calling you an idiot but you keep responding with really dumb responses. Please get an education and get into the automotive industry before trying to respond like you know something.

[Mouse6.2]

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

Do you park with the emergency brake on? If so, you shouldn't. It's a cable and it's only a matter of time before you stretch that cable out enough and it snaps, sending your now free-rolling vehicle (it can't possibly be in gear if you're considering remote-start) down whatever slight incline it happens to be parked on.

Park your manual vehicle the same way you do an automatic, in gear (first or reverse works quite well). This of course, prevents the possibility of remote-start, but that is the price of transmission greatness.

Interesting. I have been using the parking brake on my 91 jetta for 6 years and 100k miles and it still works great. What is the point in having a parking brake if you can't use it?

[5thGenSean]

Billy10mm doesn't understand the use of tensioning springs and auto adjusters, lets keep it our little secret!

[layzurguy]

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by 5thGenSean

Billy10mm doesn't understand the use of tensioning springs and auto adjusters, lets keep it our little secret!

5thGenSean can't use Google to see hundreds of examples of parking brake cables snapping. Let's keep it our little secret.

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by Mouse6.2

Interesting. I have been using the parking brake on my 91 jetta for 6 years and 100k miles and it still works great. What is the point in having a parking brake if you can't use it?

Didn't say you couldn't use it. Said specifically that you SHOULD use it when on any sort of serious decent incline to help keep the car in place. Recommended NOT using it on flat ground because doing so WILL stretch the cable. Keep a car long enough, and use the parking brake regularly enough, and the parking brake cable WILL snap. Some people have reported parking brake cables snapping in as little as 30K miles - I think those people either had a defective part, or more likely, over-stressed their parking brake by yanking on it with all their might - but the point is that its not only possible, but has been done many a time before.

Note how those telling me that I'm wrong can't articulate, in any way whatsoever, how I'm wrong. Still waiting for someone to show me where a parking brake cable is guaranteed not to snap by any manufacturer. Still waiting for someone to tell me why a clutch cable can snap so often, that the Motorcycle Safety Foundation makes it part of their beginning riders course to explain how to get your bike home if/when you do snap a clutch cable ... and yet a parking brake cable, which is essentially the exact same thing, is somehow immune to this disease.

Modern cars have auto-tensioners ... that's wonderful Sean. But if the cable isn't stretching, what do you need a tensioner for? And do cables just stretch forever? (hint: they don't)

[77rs]

I could never use the park brake on the '80;'s F-150's in thewinter with puddles or melting snow. They would freeze up overnight! And not release.

[5thGenSean]

Billy, I actually said auto adjusters and since this has been open to all car types you need to understand that lots of vehicles rely on the parking brake to keep the rear brakes properly adjusted. Our Camaros have a stand alone system.

Trust me when I tell you that there is a huge safety factor for the parking brake system and it will out live our quarter panels when used as recommended. The reason that cables snap is lack of use which creates lock up from corrosion.
If cables were snapping as often as you say they do then NHTSA would be all over it and safety recalls would be common. This is the latest recall I could find with a vehicle that has a cable, btw cable was not the problem:

ON MAY 11, 1998, FORD MOTOR COMPANY FILED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT CONCERNING PARKING BRAKE FAILURE ON CERTAIN 1999 F-350 SUPER DUTY VEHICLES BUILT AT THE KENTUCKY TRUCK PLANT FROM JANUARY 26, 1998 THROUGH APRIL 24, 1998; RECALL 98V-101. THE REDUCTION IN PARKING BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS MAY OCCUR ON SOME OF THESE VEHICLES, AND IS CAUSED BY THE RUST PREVENTATIVE COATING THE SURFACE OF THE PARKING BRAKE LINING MATERIAL WHICH REDUCES THE FRICTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AT THE LINING AND ROTOR INTERFACE. ON MARCH 13, 2000, ODI OPENED RQ00-010 ON PARKING BRAKE FAILURES ON 1999-2000 MODEL YEAR SUPER DUTY F-SERIES VEHICLES, ON THE BASIS OF SIX FAILURE REPORTS ON THOSE VEHICLES. ODI NOW HAS 10 REPORTS OF PARKING BRAKE FAILURE ON THE 1999 SUBJECT VEHICLES, BUILT OUTSIDE OF THE RECALL POPULATION, INCLUDING THREE CRASHES. THE DATA IN THE ABOVE TABLE DOES NOT INCLUDE PARKING BRAKE FAILURES ON THE RECALLED 1999 F-350 VEHICLES. THE DATA RECEIVED FROM FORD IN ITS RESPONSE TO THE RQ00-010 INFORMATION REQUEST, REVEALED A HIGH FAILURE RATE FOR THE 1999 F-450/550 VEHICLES (1200R/100K), AND A HIGH FAILURE RATE OF THE 1999 F-250/350 VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED OUTSIDE SEVERAL OF THE RECALL BUILD MONTHS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS BE OPENED TO ADDRESS THE PARKING BRAKE PROBLEM IN THE 1999 MODEL YEAR SUPER DUTY F-SERIES VEHICLES.

[5thGenSean]

Another thing @ Billy, quite a few of your references on google are people with modified/lifted suspension. Of course if you try to lift a vehicle and still retain the stock parking brake it will get stressed beyond design.

[Wolvie70]

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

Elaborate. Exactly what is BS? That a parking brake cable will stretch? That after stretching enough it will snap? That parking on flat ground in gear with no parking brake engaged WILL hold the car still? That you have any common sense whatsoever? Elaborate.

Everything you have posted. Does that narrow it down? I am not getting into it with a know it all moron as yourself on the internet.

Also to your motorcycle comment I have one of those and do not park with it in gear. God help me!

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by Wolvie70

Everything you have posted. Does that narrow it down? I am not getting into it with a know it all moron as yourself on the internet.

Also to your motorcycle comment I have one of those and do not park with it in gear. God help me!

You're incapable of being helped. And worry not, I'll take no offense from your intended insult, as anyone who parks a motorcycle in neutral clearly can't think their way out of a cardboard box.