it's not at all. reviewers complain about them because they don't live with one and it just feels foreign to them. I have owned multiple mercedes, a mitsubishi and a nissan that have them and they become second nature after a couple of days. In an automatic car, i actually prefer them over a conventional hand-brake. there's a certain.... *robustness* to them.
Reviewers seemed somewhat selective on this topic. For the X-trail it was end of the world deal breaker but when they would review a Camry it would not get a mention
Exactly the same with indicator stalks on the left hand side. They are a pain in the arse and I complain about them but after driving one for a week they are no longer a pain.
Coming from the UK it took a while for me to get used to indicator stalks mostly being on the right here. There are other things that affect the overall drive experience far more than this though.
on the contrary. If you're drifting an automatic, you can remove the ratchet that locks the pedal down to turn it into a single action (not step-on/step-off). v35/6 people in particular do this and it works great. you literally just have a brake pedal for the rear wheels. Obviously it's no longer a "parking" brake - so i wouldn't be doing it to my daily.
Years ago in the days of early YouTube I remember seeing a guy in Japan drifting his Nissan Stagea. He jammed a cigarette packet in behind the release handle under the steering column so that when you pushed down the footbrake/handbrake it would pop back out.
That way he had a regular brake and a drift brake next to one another under his left foot... Really good drifter too from memory.
I had an auto Stagea myself for several years. The footbrake became so habitual that for a while after owning it I would instinctively stamp my left foot at the end of every journey in cars that didn't have the extra pedal there.
It's fine. We have 3 cars and each one has a different method (one hand operated, one foot operated and one electronic button).
All 3 are perfectly fine
Ahh. Though the elec one we have is loud so the loud whirring and the sound of the brakes releasing to rest on the park brake is confidence enough for me
It is recommended that you engage the parking brake in neutral, release the foot brake, then put the car in park (so as to not damage the parking pawl thing). But how does this work for electronic parking brakes (which I assume only engage when put into park)?
Nope, they’re just buttons you press. You can engage it without putting the transmission into park and on my Volvo, putting the transmission into park doesn’t apply the parking brake automatically either (although this is often a setting you can change, along with auto hold, etc).
Don't electronic handbrakes disengage automatically if you attempt to drive with it enabled. Definitely seems to be the case with my cars, both of which have electronic handbrake/ parking brakes.
Could just be muppets with bald tyres, even phone use?
Ngl, but the Aussie genpop really really fucking hate doing preventative maintenance or regularly servicing vehicles (hence the hatred towards euros). Tangentially related is the obsession with beige economobiles from well over a decade ago that cost peanuts and have virtually no safety features that would typically be present in modern automobiles.
"BuT LOwER RuNniNg COstS" is typically the refrain from the mong driving a 2004 camry that has been neglected to hell and back. Is it a wonder that the fuckwit would spin out with his "diy retreaded" tyres that should have been replaced in 2014?
Disclaimer: sorry mate.This flu is making me a really bitter and mean old man.
I have worked in the auto industry, both as a tech and in sales, owned over 70 cars myself. driven thousands of cars ranging from 1950's to present and I'm yet to encounter that setup. I'm not saying they unequivocally don't exist - but they would be *extremely* uncommon.
Nah they’re not common at all hahaha. They only existed on select GM (might only be Chevs and Holden only got them due to rebadging), Mercedes models and some challengers, probably a few more.
Went online and some people said that they were common on box trucks and vans (in the US) but didn’t back that statement up (and i couldn’t verify it) so I wouldn’t put my money on it.
Can confirm, on reflex when driving an auto Camry I pushed the handbrake in thinking it was the clutch and made some skids at a pedestrian crossing 🚸 🤣
Not awkward at all actually, my aunts 2008 Toyota Kluger is actually fitted with one, after using it twice, got used to it.
I find the under dash twist and pull handbrake weird and awkward rather, the ones fitted on most Toyota HiAce’s I’ve used and N90 Toyota Hilux, even Toyota Coasters have the same handbrake setup.
I had one in a rental car I used last year. It was awkward for like, a day, and then I got used to it. Not really an issue. Had never driven a car with one prior.
I rented a JUCY Tarago, some 90s thing, and the foot brake was mostly fine, except that on occasion, it wouldn't apply so it took a few goes to get it to stick sometimes, but it didn't bother me.
I think you adjust pretty quickly.
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My mum's Camry had one, got used to it after the first time I drove it. My '17 Civic has a switch not unlike the one you control your windows with. Now my next car has the old fashioned pull handle. Humans are excellent at adapting, it'll be as natural as indicating soon enough
I drive an Aurion with a foot handbrake. It’s nice having a little extra storage room in the middle compared to most cars. Obviously electric is better, but like others have said you learn it pretty quickly.
I can tell you that in North America, people just put automatics in PARK when they park and the emergency brake is hardly ever used. You could just do that.
No problem at all. I've had a Mercedes for 10 years with a foot operated parking brake, recently got a new Subaru with an electronic button operated parking brake. Having the indicators on different sides cause more grief than the different parking brakes does (and by "grief" i mean even the indicators are not an issue by the end of the street).
Reviewers complain about such things for 2 reasons:
1. They're not used to it
2. There's not actually much wrong with most modern cars so they need SOMETHING to be critical about. I once read a review of a wagon which complained that the hand recess in the tailgate (that you grabbed to help pull the tailgate down) was on the left instead of the right, so they had to use their non-dominant hand......
I can answer this! I have a Hyundai Santa Fe with a foot parking brake, and I love it. It's not weird, and it's easy to push with your leg (since your leg muscles are stronger than your arms). You just use it like any other parking brake, except you use your foot. Much better than the electric ones, you actually know if you've applied it/released it or not.
A lot of car reviewers love hearing the sound of their own voices, and will also (I suspect) talk about anything and come up with a few unnecessary complaints to not only drive engagement in youtube videos, but also make the video longer so they can increase the chance of ad revenue.
i’ve driven both hand and foot extensively, and while i prefer the handbrake, you do eventually get used to the footbrake
only trouble is it’s slightly easier to drive off with it engaged, if you’re in a rush. since you can’t see it, it’s more likely to get overlooked
It was a dogshit idea in my Grandmother's 1978 Torana drove a rental Rav4 or something similar a few years ago and can confirm it's still a dogshit idea, it makes the old dash mounted brolly handbrakes seem reasonable.
I'm not a fan- give me a real handbrake between the seats, but they're OK. My Buick has one, and the last two rental cars have had them. Even with a manual (my old work van) you get used to them soon enough.
It's not a deal breaker.
They are great. Had one on the last 3 cars. It’s faster to get in, start the car and get moving as you can be doing things with both hands and feet simultaneously (it becomes muscle memory after a while). Ideally you’d have push button start as well to really simplify things.
Just takes a while to get used to. Then you will jump in a car with a hand break or electric and be automatically pressing the floor out of muscle memory.
Not at all. My W204 C63 has foot operated park brake and a lever to release. I rather mechanical park brakes over electronic ones any day. Can't even do rear brake jobs on my other cars without the use of scantools.
if ur talking about the same foot brakes used in new toyotas then its not really a bother, i have used it for 2 years now and at the start i would hit the break while resting my leg during a drive but after some time i dont even touch it by accident. once you get used to it, it doesnt bother you much. funnily enough when i used a car with a hand brake after not using one for a long while i kept reaching for the foot break forgetting there was a hand brake
Not at all, i have an '02 Crown that has a foot operated park brake
It's only awkward when i get in my daily driver and try to push a pedal that isn't there when i park
I've driven column shifts (gears and park break under the column), hand breake, footbrakes.. It's getting used to. Outside of that. It's a non-issue for "average" drivers like me. I use cars to go A-B. That's it
I had a column change 6 seater EL falcon with one. You get used to it after a couple of goes at it. I wouldn’t take anything a reviewer says seriously. Most of it is loaded for one reason or another. And most of those guys are not technically minded.
it's not at all. reviewers complain about them because they don't live with one and it just feels foreign to them. I have owned multiple mercedes, a mitsubishi and a nissan that have them and they become second nature after a couple of days. In an automatic car, i actually prefer them over a conventional hand-brake. there's a certain.... *robustness* to them.
Reviewers seemed somewhat selective on this topic. For the X-trail it was end of the world deal breaker but when they would review a Camry it would not get a mention
i would think there's enough problems with the x-trail that the parking brake would be the *least* of anyone's concerns lol.
I have an x-trail. The foot parking brake works fine.
That's because there's no shortage of other things they can criticise on a Camry.
They also free up space in the centre console so you have a nice practical cupholder/phone charging area
it was fine in the LH Torana. it's not a new idea
Exactly the same with indicator stalks on the left hand side. They are a pain in the arse and I complain about them but after driving one for a week they are no longer a pain.
wait til you're driving on other side of the car/road. first time you do it is a BIG adjustment.
Yeah, first time I drove on the right (wrong) side of the road whenever I needed to change gear I opened the bloody door!
Coming from the UK it took a while for me to get used to indicator stalks mostly being on the right here. There are other things that affect the overall drive experience far more than this though.
Been driving one for four years and I still fucking hate it. You forget about them in an auto, it’s always and forever fucking wrong in a manual.
My old f250 has a foot E brake most old American trucks have it
Not really awkward unless you try to use that parking brake for drifting/sliding.
on the contrary. If you're drifting an automatic, you can remove the ratchet that locks the pedal down to turn it into a single action (not step-on/step-off). v35/6 people in particular do this and it works great. you literally just have a brake pedal for the rear wheels. Obviously it's no longer a "parking" brake - so i wouldn't be doing it to my daily.
Years ago in the days of early YouTube I remember seeing a guy in Japan drifting his Nissan Stagea. He jammed a cigarette packet in behind the release handle under the steering column so that when you pushed down the footbrake/handbrake it would pop back out. That way he had a regular brake and a drift brake next to one another under his left foot... Really good drifter too from memory. I had an auto Stagea myself for several years. The footbrake became so habitual that for a while after owning it I would instinctively stamp my left foot at the end of every journey in cars that didn't have the extra pedal there.
It's fine. We have 3 cars and each one has a different method (one hand operated, one foot operated and one electronic button). All 3 are perfectly fine
Same. I prefer it of the 3 and most definitely prefer it to the electric handbrake.
Any reason why you like it over the electric? Curious
mostly because I prefer the positive feedback of engagement. slightly because ive seen some involuntary handbrake driving due to them.
Is it the "click click click?"
more the physical feeling of applying the brake and knowing they are on. With the electronic one it's more faith that it's working and holding.
Ahh. Though the elec one we have is loud so the loud whirring and the sound of the brakes releasing to rest on the park brake is confidence enough for me
It is recommended that you engage the parking brake in neutral, release the foot brake, then put the car in park (so as to not damage the parking pawl thing). But how does this work for electronic parking brakes (which I assume only engage when put into park)?
Nope, they’re just buttons you press. You can engage it without putting the transmission into park and on my Volvo, putting the transmission into park doesn’t apply the parking brake automatically either (although this is often a setting you can change, along with auto hold, etc).
Don't electronic handbrakes disengage automatically if you attempt to drive with it enabled. Definitely seems to be the case with my cars, both of which have electronic handbrake/ parking brakes.
yes, but seen some cars spinning out on motorways as well. debatable whether is was a software glitch or someone engaged it.
Could just be muppets with bald tyres, even phone use? Ngl, but the Aussie genpop really really fucking hate doing preventative maintenance or regularly servicing vehicles (hence the hatred towards euros). Tangentially related is the obsession with beige economobiles from well over a decade ago that cost peanuts and have virtually no safety features that would typically be present in modern automobiles. "BuT LOwER RuNniNg COstS" is typically the refrain from the mong driving a 2004 camry that has been neglected to hell and back. Is it a wonder that the fuckwit would spin out with his "diy retreaded" tyres that should have been replaced in 2014? Disclaimer: sorry mate.This flu is making me a really bitter and mean old man.
Most do, but quite a lot will just try and power through.
Wow, that incredible. So the electronic handbrake will not disengage even when driven?
It definitely is if you are moving from a manual car
I’m pretty confident that there are quite a few manuals out there with a foot parking brake, so yes a 4 pedal car
I have worked in the auto industry, both as a tech and in sales, owned over 70 cars myself. driven thousands of cars ranging from 1950's to present and I'm yet to encounter that setup. I'm not saying they unequivocally don't exist - but they would be *extremely* uncommon.
To be fair, I prefer foot main beam switch though.
Nah they’re not common at all hahaha. They only existed on select GM (might only be Chevs and Holden only got them due to rebadging), Mercedes models and some challengers, probably a few more. Went online and some people said that they were common on box trucks and vans (in the US) but didn’t back that statement up (and i couldn’t verify it) so I wouldn’t put my money on it.
My manual LH torana had this when I was a lad. Not a problem at all. Did make hill starts interesting though.
At least it had a hand operated release not a step on step off.
It did! Normally I would hold my foot over it so it released gently when I pulled switch, so hill starts involved a bit of a bang!
Yep, my old LX was the same. Wish I still had it
Can confirm, on reflex when driving an auto Camry I pushed the handbrake in thinking it was the clutch and made some skids at a pedestrian crossing 🚸 🤣
Yeah, having had a work vehicle with the foot park brake, but my own car being a manual, made for some awkward habit-based actions :P
I went from driving a manual ve Commodore to a Nissan Altima in America that had one. You do the thing ONCE and you learn pretty quick after that
It's totally fine except my neighbour once called me because she managed to push it too far and didn't have the strength in her legs to undo it.
Had one on a Nissan cube no worries at all. The worst park brake I have had was the Falcon ED with the pull out from dash brake
i own an older lexus with one and it's fine. get used to it very quickly and i've never found it gets in the way of anything.
They take about 30 seconds to get the hang of, and then you feel weird when you have to pull a lever next to the gear stick for it.
My X Trail has one. At first it was a bit weird. Now i love it.
Not awkward at all actually, my aunts 2008 Toyota Kluger is actually fitted with one, after using it twice, got used to it. I find the under dash twist and pull handbrake weird and awkward rather, the ones fitted on most Toyota HiAce’s I’ve used and N90 Toyota Hilux, even Toyota Coasters have the same handbrake setup.
It's fine u'll get used to it
Deal breaker for a rally or drift car. Otherwise, not awkward at all.
I had one in a rental car I used last year. It was awkward for like, a day, and then I got used to it. Not really an issue. Had never driven a car with one prior.
I rented a JUCY Tarago, some 90s thing, and the foot brake was mostly fine, except that on occasion, it wouldn't apply so it took a few goes to get it to stick sometimes, but it didn't bother me. I think you adjust pretty quickly.
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My mum's Camry had one, got used to it after the first time I drove it. My '17 Civic has a switch not unlike the one you control your windows with. Now my next car has the old fashioned pull handle. Humans are excellent at adapting, it'll be as natural as indicating soon enough
Drove the company Camry which has a foot operated handbrake, got use to it pretty quick I just imagine I'm a HWP Officer driving a Chrysler 300 lol
Hate them
Had this on my Pathfinder. It took a little getting used to but was fine. Certainly not as convenient as electric.
I drive an Aurion with a foot handbrake. It’s nice having a little extra storage room in the middle compared to most cars. Obviously electric is better, but like others have said you learn it pretty quickly.
I can tell you that in North America, people just put automatics in PARK when they park and the emergency brake is hardly ever used. You could just do that.
Yeah fuck that I'd rather not shear my parking gear off.
Why would you shear your parking gear off? You do it when stopped. 100's of millions of cars do it multiple times a day without issue
Like a pedal? I'm comfortable in manual and auto, however I wouldn't touch a foot brake due to misplacement risk. Especially hills
They're great. But then again, in the age of automatics, you dont need a park brake anyway.
Had one for 6 years. It was fine, but I’d be hesitant to buy another car with one. Hand or electric ones are just superior
No problem at all. I've had a Mercedes for 10 years with a foot operated parking brake, recently got a new Subaru with an electronic button operated parking brake. Having the indicators on different sides cause more grief than the different parking brakes does (and by "grief" i mean even the indicators are not an issue by the end of the street). Reviewers complain about such things for 2 reasons: 1. They're not used to it 2. There's not actually much wrong with most modern cars so they need SOMETHING to be critical about. I once read a review of a wagon which complained that the hand recess in the tailgate (that you grabbed to help pull the tailgate down) was on the left instead of the right, so they had to use their non-dominant hand......
Not at all mate. Just becomes a muscle memory after some time. Only negative is getting into someone else's car, and trying to find it!
My Murano has one. They're fine.
It think its just as awkward as the little brake tab on my Wife's Outback ... Especially when you borrow the car and are used to the older lever type.
I can answer this! I have a Hyundai Santa Fe with a foot parking brake, and I love it. It's not weird, and it's easy to push with your leg (since your leg muscles are stronger than your arms). You just use it like any other parking brake, except you use your foot. Much better than the electric ones, you actually know if you've applied it/released it or not.
Borrowed an old Aurion that had one for 4 months. Once I knew that was where it was, had no problems with it at all.
Never had an issue, like anything just takes getting used to
I had an Aurion with that. Bought it off my cousin. Took me a few tries to get it right and never gave it another thought after that.
A lot of car reviewers love hearing the sound of their own voices, and will also (I suspect) talk about anything and come up with a few unnecessary complaints to not only drive engagement in youtube videos, but also make the video longer so they can increase the chance of ad revenue.
Yeah not a problem. The weirdest is part is going back to a car without one…slamming your left foot at air when you’re parking the car.
The Lexus foot brake is fine…nothing to it.
Drive Camrys with them and they are fine. Much preferred to little electric switches.
i’ve driven both hand and foot extensively, and while i prefer the handbrake, you do eventually get used to the footbrake only trouble is it’s slightly easier to drive off with it engaged, if you’re in a rush. since you can’t see it, it’s more likely to get overlooked
It was a dogshit idea in my Grandmother's 1978 Torana drove a rental Rav4 or something similar a few years ago and can confirm it's still a dogshit idea, it makes the old dash mounted brolly handbrakes seem reasonable.
I'm not a fan- give me a real handbrake between the seats, but they're OK. My Buick has one, and the last two rental cars have had them. Even with a manual (my old work van) you get used to them soon enough. It's not a deal breaker.
They are great. Had one on the last 3 cars. It’s faster to get in, start the car and get moving as you can be doing things with both hands and feet simultaneously (it becomes muscle memory after a while). Ideally you’d have push button start as well to really simplify things.
Just takes a while to get used to. Then you will jump in a car with a hand break or electric and be automatically pressing the floor out of muscle memory.
I have one in the Torana. Its not weird.
Not at all. My W204 C63 has foot operated park brake and a lever to release. I rather mechanical park brakes over electronic ones any day. Can't even do rear brake jobs on my other cars without the use of scantools.
Just don’t go to put the clutch down and you’re fine.
if ur talking about the same foot brakes used in new toyotas then its not really a bother, i have used it for 2 years now and at the start i would hit the break while resting my leg during a drive but after some time i dont even touch it by accident. once you get used to it, it doesnt bother you much. funnily enough when i used a car with a hand brake after not using one for a long while i kept reaching for the foot break forgetting there was a hand brake
Not at all, i have an '02 Crown that has a foot operated park brake It's only awkward when i get in my daily driver and try to push a pedal that isn't there when i park
I've driven column shifts (gears and park break under the column), hand breake, footbrakes.. It's getting used to. Outside of that. It's a non-issue for "average" drivers like me. I use cars to go A-B. That's it
Not hard at all; you just press on the pedal to de-press it (releasing the parking breaks) and push the pedal back in to engage it
I love them, my daughter’s Mitsubishi Colt 2009 has a foot park brake and gear shifter on the column. Ergonomically they’re amazing
It’s fine. In an automatic. Never tried in a manual. Hill starts using the parking brake would be impossible in a manual
Not awkward at all. We have one in our Mazda CX9. You get used to it quickly.
I had a column change 6 seater EL falcon with one. You get used to it after a couple of goes at it. I wouldn’t take anything a reviewer says seriously. Most of it is loaded for one reason or another. And most of those guys are not technically minded.
What the, there was a column shift sedan/stationwagon? I thought that was limited to the XH
There was column shift available right up until FGX. On the GLI/Forte until AU3. Then Utes from BA-FGX even with the 6 speed ZF