Can we talk about how I drove with my parking brake half on for 3 years?

Last Tuesday I was getting my oil changed at the Valvoline on Broadway and the mechanic pointed out my rear brake pads were completely shot. Turns out I must have bumped the parking brake pedal one time and never fully released it. Anyone else find out they were doing something dumb for way too long because nobody told them?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_johnson5127d ago

Half on for 3 years? I call BS unless your car has zero power. My old Honda would drag like crazy even with the parking brake barely on. Sounds like you just didn't notice the smell and the sluggish acceleration, not a mystery.

milacraig27d ago

Seriously, "didn't notice the smell and the sluggish acceleration" - that really got me, @kim_johnson51. I've been there with a stuck caliper on my old Subaru and you are so right, you can feel that drag immediately. Three years of that would have killed the gas mileage and probably cooked the brakes way before now. My car would start pulling to one side after just a mile with a half stuck brake. So yeah, I'm totally with you that something doesn't add up here.

jamesf4127d ago

Three years with a stuck caliper? That's like saying you didn't notice you were dragging a cinderblock behind your car for three years. Your gas bill alone should have been a dead giveaway, let alone the smell of burning brakes every time you parked. I had a caliper seize up on my old truck and within a week my mpg dropped by like 8 miles per gallon. Pretty sure you'd notice spending an extra $40 at the pump every month. But hey, maybe your car was just really good at hiding its pain, like a stoic golden retriever with a thorn in its paw. Either way, that dealership probably saw you coming from a mile away.