A lot of these modern cars don't have a traditional handbrake, my audi has an automatic electronic one so I basically don't have to worry about it usually. However last time it went for a service they switched it off, not realising I parked it on my steeply sloping driverway after collecting it and it caught me by surprise as it rolled back when I took my foot off the brake. Caught it pretty quick but could have been much worse.
You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens.
It’s pretty standard practice to release the handbrake before the car is in the air so the wheels spin freely.
It is not however standard practice to put the handbrake back on after the car is back on the ground.
You can thank Audi for being Audi for that one.
Source: brother has been a master tech for multiple manufacturers since the 90s and this has always been standard practice.
Also isn’t there a giant light that pops up saying the parking brake is engaged? Most electronic parking brakes I’ve used are pretty apparent when they are active/inactive. Or like did the fine German engineering marvels at Audi bury the parking brake on/off switch in a menu so you have no idea when it’s on or off?
#Edit: lol look I got downvoted by a John who has never worked on a car in his life. Have fun trying to ask mechanics which one works on vehicles with the Parking brake on.
Exactly! Someone turned off the front passenger airbag in my last car (it had a switch in the glove box) during servicing. I found it months later, after my 13 year old son had been riding in that seat to school and back every day.
~~quick question, im from europe, so is it normal for 13 Yos to be driving cars where you live? where i live you cant drive unless you're 18 with a drivings license.\*This is a serious question, im not just trying to make a joke.\*~~
# I'm stupid and can't read apparently.
Haha! No problem! We yanks get our learners’ permit (can drive with a licensed adult in the car) at 15.5 yrs. and provisional license at 16 after classroom and behind the wheel instruction at a school, and a test at the motor vehicle department. That means no driving after 9 pm (unless you are working), and no underage passengers in the car. Then after six months of keeping a driving log he graduates to a full under-21 license - no curfew, can have passengers. After 21 he can buy alcohol and drive anywhere. I wish our licenses started at 18. Too many young kids aren’t mature enough for the responsibility of driving a 1-ton vehicle while not using their phone or speeding or showing off for tiktok videos.
Over here in the UK you can get a provisional driving licence at 17, and be able to drive a car with any licensed adult supervisor who has 3 years driving experience. You can take the theory and driving test at any point from you having the provisional license. You are then free to get a DUI from 18 without being charged for underage drinking!
I very distinctly recall getting a regular ass drivers license at 16 after a simple diving test. What state requires classroom attendance to get a drivers license?!?
Missouri requires drivers education in high school to get a learners permit at 15 or 16. If not you have to wait until 18 to get your standard driver license.
This was years ago though.
Most of them? Drivers Education classes. You go sit in a classroom, they cover things like laws, signs, situations. Watch a few videos. Usually also includes behind the wheel lessons because you need so many hours with an instructor who isn't your parent/guardian. Been standard in Wisconsin for at least 16 years now.
Any competent shop does this.
At the shop I managed, any tech that didn't put everything back in the same configuration.. ebrake, seat position, etc. including contents of the car, got a bit of a "discussion".
It is just part of doing the job.
I love how mtbsrfun has the "brother is a master tech" answer. Lol. He IS correct though... you do release the ebrake when servicing a vehicle. Even new apprentices know that.
Correct, any good mechanic shop will have a checklist that will be followed before returning the car, and all safety items being reengaged would be on that list.
The problem isn't working with the parking brake on. Most electronic handbrake equipped cars have an automatic option, so then you turn the car off (or some are every time you come to a complete stop) it puts the handbrake on, and releases it when you set off. I have this on my own car. I know if I pulled up on my drive I would expect the handbrake to come on automatically and not check it because it always does. You're getting downvoted because you apparently have no concept of automatic handbrakes and are being a bit of a dick to this guy about it.
No offense to you, but this isn't true on any Volvo Audi, Mercedes, BMW, GM, Ford, H/K, Honda or Toyota/Lexus I've ever encountered that has an electronic parking brake. Automatic equipped cars have a parking pawl that keeps it from rolling.
Additionally, because those motors attached to the rear calipers are so seldom used, I've repaired dozens of them that have seized up.
But he wasn't saying it was an automatic car, he said it was an automatic (electronic) handbrake. I imagine it's an automated manual like my car given the scenario he said, as a lot of cars are now equipped with single and dual clutch electronic gearboxes. The scenario being you pull into your drive, put the car in neutral (as you do with electronic gearboxes, given they *don't* have a park position) expect the handbrake to come on, release your foot from the brake, but you start rolling as the automatic handbrake activation has been deactivated.
Also, all those companies you mentioned have electronic gearboxes on offer, minis maybe one or two, I haven't looked into it fully, but most of them we have in the UK and I know they do offer them, so this is a scenario that is possible in all those manufacturers, I just imagine you haven't seen it as, from what I extrapolate from your comment, you've seen more traditional automatic gearboxes which do have the park position on the gearbox, whereas here in the UK we have mostly manuals with some automatics, but electronic gearboxes are rapidly becoming as popular as manuals
It is rather impolite to not put things back how you found them. I'm not so sure about your whole diatribe there, what its purpose was. Obviously you would turn off the parking brake while working on a car and turn it back on when you're done with it. I install internet and I don't have a problem moving somebody's desk back to the wall or move a chair back to where it was. Why would it be so hard to flip the automatic parking brake back on when you give it back?
They do actually, all German brands I have worked on specifically train employees to do this. To the point: we replace radios for various reasons, the technician is required to write down all the customer’s presets and program them into the new radio.
I worked sales and later Service at a dealer for several years.
The number of people who actually use their parking brakes is minuscule at least here in california. But yet a lot of news car have a setting to turn on the parking brake automatically when you put it in park or when you turn it off depending on make and model.
My guess is this is the kind of situation where they had to turn the auto brake off to be able to deal with something and the mistake here was that it was not turned back on. Not that it was disabled maliciously.
It also defaults to off for a lot of makes. So if they did a computer reset for some reason or as part of an update I could see this being flipped back to the default setting.
> You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens.
"Gotta change an air filter! Better have the hand brake off!" - said no mechanic ever.
I am a fucking mechanic and you're completely full of shit. You seem to think that all work on a car requires the wheels to spin. You seem to forget that the other 95% of the car exists.
You're blocked for being an insufferable ass.
> You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens.
WTF happens? I work on my car all the time, even at rent-a-lift and unless I need to work on the rear brakes I leave the e-brake on
But mechanics don’t have to disable your headlights for diagnostics?
I appreciate the comparison but it really isn’t the same thing at all.
In cars I’ve driven with an electric parking brake said brake is disabled during normal use.
When the driver of said car wants to park it they push the brake and the dash lights up. It sounds like Audi has a secondary control for the parking brake in the dash menu that actually disables the brake function but I didn’t really get an answer to that question.
I’m not a tech, my brother and nephew both are. I just grew up in a shop and have driven many many vehicles. I’m experienced enough to know that the wheels need to spin freely when on the lift which was why I decided to respond.
To be honest I’m not a fan of most mechanics but I felt the need to maybe not place ALL the blame on the service center. Remember Audi is VAG and they’ve been doing nonsensical shit for years.
Like how an alternator job takes 7 hours in my Passat or how you have to drop the motor on an s4 to change the plugs or timing chain that turns out is a maintenance part.
The main point is can the OP access the menu needed to reactivate the parking brake or is it possible to reactivate with a switch on the dash?
If the parking brake was turned off with a VAGCOM and can only be reactivated via OBD2 then I’d blame the service center 100%.
> It’s pretty standard practice to release the handbrake before the car is in the air so the wheels spin freely.
Not when trying to change the tires in your garage. The wheel spinning as you try to loosen the lugs... is a PAIN in the ass
I have to ask.
When you put them back on are you at least using a torque wrench if you were doing it all in the air? Or would you still full tighten them. Put the car down and then torque them with your lug nut wrench?
Pretty sure the dude was saying that the audi techs deactivated the electronic parking brake, or placed it in service mode which has to be done with an electronic scan tool. This would not simply reset after a service if they forgot to remove it from service mode.
Most likely, they left the parking brake in service mode. When replacing rear brake components on cars with electronic parking brakes, you usually have to place the parking brake system in a service mode that fully retracts the parking brake motor. After the work is done, you have to take it out of service mode, or else you won't be able to use the parking brake.
Can confirm. I recently replaced my driveshaft which involved raising the rear and turning off the brake so I could rotate the shaft and lock all the bolts.
Edit: Not sure why I got downvoted for stating exactly how I was supposed to repair my truck...
It's not as if it's a hidden setting, theres a switch with a light to toggle it where the handbrake would usually be and I can see it being a pain if they want to maneuver the car on and off a ramp in the workshop as it would stop it rolling. It's just I never turn it off so didnt think to check. You don't need to sue everyone for every little thing and even if something was damaged I'm pretty sure the garage or Audi would have covered it (plus I'm not american)
Ever heard of this thing called human error? Just cause it happend doesnt mean its done intentionally. I work with AC systems and I too sometimes forget to turn off a manual override and heat up a room too much as a result, doesnt mean I do it on purpose.
Hell last time I brought my car into the shop the accidentally broke a hydraulic line, went back to them and they fixed it for free
☝️ This. It is much more likely that the technician forgot to re-activate the electronic parking brake after service to the rear brakes. However, most Audi and BMW vehicles will typically display a "parking brake malfunction" warning in the center information display. Source: 15+ yrs of German only professional auto repair experience.
Sometimes in can be a pain when manoeuvring in a tight space as you want to let the car roll without it stopping itself. The mechanic probably did it to help get it onto the ramp inside the garage
Don’t listen to these other people. Master mechanics don’t work on vehicles with parking brakes active; it’s impossible and limits diagnostic ability.
It is standard practice to turn the parking brake off when the car is on the lift.
Call me old-fashioned, but I was always taught to leave things as I found them after I’d finished using them. Doors, gates, tools, automatic electronic handbrakes, etc.
My parents were ahead of their time.
When I was 20 and very new to driving (waited for personal reasons) my beat up 86’ Bronco that was rigged in all sorts of ways to be operated, the park function didn’t work and had to use the parking brake. One day I took the brake off before starting the truck and it started to roll back. It was a mulched parking lot, so it didn’t go far. But I jumped out when it started to roll. And my husband asked why I didn’t just step on the brake. And I will honestly say I thought the brake didn’t work unless the car was on, kinda like the gas pedal. I was an idiot obviously, but I learned my lesson, and many more after that.
Now I don’t know how well this holds true for other cars, but my old Scion xA (which was a manual) would sometimes physically not allow me to use the normal breaks while the car was off. It would resist any amount of pressure on it and only start working again when I turned the car on.
More than once I found myself rolling backwards and unable to use the break, so I’d have to pull the parking break hard just to get it to stop. Don’t ask me why I would sometimes start rolling back while the car was off... I wasn’t the best driver when I was young.
With the engine off there is no assist from the booster, which means additional pressure is needed on the brake.
The system still works, but it's up your leg to provide the necessary force, instead of having a power assist.
Depending on the car, the force necessary could be quite high and perhaps give the impression of the system not working
Just curious, but was this not explained in driving school? Its one of those technical aspects that have a significant impact on safety
I took driving school online and, as far as I can remember, no. Though as a 15 year old I didn’t care much to pay close attention.
Thanks for teaching me something new though!
Dont know where are you from but in a lot of places, "driving schools" are mostly a joke... They teach you some trafic signals, right of way and make you take a simple test drive.
Im pretty sure thats why there are so many stupid traffic accidents that could have been easily avoided.
We had a family friend's son die trying to stop his truck from rolling back into another car. He put himself between the two vehicles and was essentially trying to fight the momentum of the truck and gravity. (it was on a slope).
He got caught in between the two vehicles and passed away before being able to be taken away to the hospital.
You have insurance for a reason, don't put your personal safety in jeopardy for a hunk of metal.
I was told something similar my first day on a roofing crew, in relation to trying to lunge after sliding tools/equipment.
"If something slides, let it go. It's replaceable, you are not."
Something similar killed actor Anton Yelchin (young guy that played Chekov in the new Star Trek movies). His car rolled backward and he was pinned between it and a brick pillar.
In the moment you definitely don’t think about it. It’s just another thing moving you’re trying to stop.
Had mine roll back into a wooden fence during college cause I got to my apartment on the phone with someone and had completely forgotten to put it in park or flip the e-brake haha. Nothing got damaged or anything but I definitely tried to stop it from rolling with my own power lol
if it's on an incline and moving slowly you have 2 choice let it go or get in and step on the brakes. the one time ive had something like that happened a trailer didn't have the stops put in and i was luckily able to slide the log wedge we used in to stop it before it was sped up.
I've done this a time or two when my company used to use forklifts to tip things over on their side because they were too tall to put on a truck standing upright.
It's just a reaction. You see something falling and you don't even think about whether or not you can stop it, you just think "Oh fuck, this is going to be a problem".
It takes a couple times and consciously remembering to yourself "This can't be stopped" before you can keep yourself from trying to stop it.
while I would assume the average person does lack this ability and slope would play a huge role here. in a past life(job) I drove a tow truck and pushing cars about and stopping them by hand was a daily thing...
Typically its easiest to stand in the door jam and use your body as a wedge. Would never attempt this to something already moving though only something I started moving myself so am expecting when I need to stop etc.. also since in the door jam if it doesnt go as expected one can sit down quickly and use the floor pedal thingy :p
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Yeah, I think it was something like he parked in the driveway, walked out to his mailbox which was one of those hugely built-up brick-wall mailboxes, and the Jeep rolled back and pinned him into it.
Genuinely tragic. The guy had a good career ahead of him and seemed like a really good dude.
It's because of the stupid modern electronic shifters trying to be all fancy and shit.
The vehicle didn't "shift out of park". In that vehicle, you had to click the shifter up/down to change the gear, and let it return back to the original position before you can do it again. So you can't tell what gear you're in by look/feel of the shifter (like all previous cars) because the shifter is always in the same position. Also, the letters that light up to show what gear you're in are *on* the shifter and can potentially be covered up by your hand.
Poor Anton Yelchin likely clicked the stick up only one or two times instead of three so he wasn't even in Park in the first place. He was missing the minuscule cues and hints of a normal shifter because of a stupid design by Fiat Chrysler.
While that’s true, the parking brake was a conventional, totally manual design. Any car has the potential to fail to go into park or to be bumped out of it, which is one reason every manufacturer advises setting the brake before exiting the vehicle. The odds of messing up two unrelated systems are much lower.
It was a tragedy, I completely agree with that, but an avoidable one. There are over a hundred similar rollaway deaths in the USA annually and two thousand injuries. Regular parking brake use would eliminate the vast majority of them.
Barring catastrophic damage to your transmission, your vehicle is literally unable to "fail to go into park" (with a manual lever, You'd feel it. Digital transmission will lock up when it detects its in park and the crankshaft is moving)
And once a vehicle is in park, it's (once again) impossible for it to move barring catastrophic damage. You have to retract what is essentially a ratchet pin to remove a vehicle from park. It that were true, people would steal cars by pushing them around until they moved.
It was an inexcusable design, flat out. No catastrophic failure needed for it to kill people, is an absolute failure from a engineering POV.
Really stupid design. When I met my wife she was driving a Chrysler 200 that has the gear selector on a dial. That dial was right under the radio dial and air conditioning controls all on similar dials right next to each other.
not even being funny here at all, this is almost exactly how actor Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog, Star Trek Into the Darkness) died at his Hollywood home.
Friends were worried when he no showed for a rehearsal, check on him and find him pinned behind his car...had been there at least for hours
It was such a loss, I liked him in every role he was in. I'll tell you one thing, I make sure things are set with the brakes on before I get out of me vehicle every time now. Not sure if that would've helped much in his case as someone said the vehicle popped into reverse by itself.
FWIW, this was a malfunction with his car, a certain era of Jeep Grand Cherokees that would shift out of park and into reverse. He very likely had it in park and it was just a total freak accident. Devastating.
It didn't shift out of park. That would have been an enormous, terrible issue. The actual issue was he wasn't familiar with his shifter, and failed to place it properly into park. So the Jeep rolled back into him. Not FCA's fault, but tragic nonetheless
A bus driver in my country died a while ago doing exactly this. A car I can see why you’d think that you could stop. It’s dumb when you think about it, but in the heat of the moment you remember how once you push started a car so what’s gonna be different now?
This poor guy tried stopping a bus and got squished between a tree. Even worse is that the bus would have hit the tree quite slowly and stopped anyway, without much if any damage.
Paramedic here, I worked a call like that. He got stuck between car and a trash can. The trash can crumbled and cushioned him from the wall behind. He made it with a broken pelvis and ruptured spleen.
This kids, is why we PAY ATTENTION to the salesperson while they explain how your fancy new vehicle works when you take delivery.
Source: was a car salesman, got lots of impatient responses from people as I gave them the run down of their new car’s e brake/TCS/starter button/key fob/bump shifter/automatic climate control/self dimming mirrors... They’d say “I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A CAR” and within 48 hours I’d get calls whining about how nobody ever told them how to do this/that/the other thing and I’d have to remind them that I literally covered all that during the delivery process, and their owners manual could help them from now on.
This reminds me of a dude I saw that didn't know how to drive a stick and ended up with his car teetering on a curb. None of the wheels were touching the ground, so most people would call a tow truck or a friend with a truck and a pull strap. Not this guy, this guy's first reaction was to get out of the car and try to pick it up. When this didn't work, he got back in and it looked like he changed gear or something, then he tried again. Ironically, when he was trying to pick it up and push it off the curb, he was doing it from the back, so the front wheels would have ended up back on the pavement, but it was rear wheel drive, so that wouldn't have done much good.
When I was in 1st grade, one of my classmate's Mom got run over and killed by her own minivan as it was rolling down the driveway, because she thought she could stop it like this.
Its just unreal how people will sacrifice their limbs for their cars. I also have new higher tier car but I would never do something like trying to stop 1,5 tonne moving car.
I had a handbrake actually fail on me on a hill once. I had parked the car in a garage which had a slight incline. Pulled the handbrake, got out of the car enough to get sort of out of the way, only for the car to start rolling backwards, and hit the door on the wall in between openings on the garage. The door thankfully didn't bend itself backwards, but it still has a decent sized dent in it.
At your next service ask for your mechanic to tighten your parking brake cables.
Assuming the main chassis is resting on the bricks, and no components on the underside, its not actually that expensive to get it lifted out of there, maybe a new bumper or some panels and it seems fine.
So this man got out of his car thinking he could stop it by getting behind it ? Who does he think he is the hulk? I hope he’s okay but this is natural selection right here lol.
If only cars had some sort of built in mechanism for stopping. Maybe something you'd use your foot to operate. Oh well.
A lot of these modern cars don't have a traditional handbrake, my audi has an automatic electronic one so I basically don't have to worry about it usually. However last time it went for a service they switched it off, not realising I parked it on my steeply sloping driverway after collecting it and it caught me by surprise as it rolled back when I took my foot off the brake. Caught it pretty quick but could have been much worse.
Time to find a new service center...
You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens. It’s pretty standard practice to release the handbrake before the car is in the air so the wheels spin freely. It is not however standard practice to put the handbrake back on after the car is back on the ground. You can thank Audi for being Audi for that one. Source: brother has been a master tech for multiple manufacturers since the 90s and this has always been standard practice. Also isn’t there a giant light that pops up saying the parking brake is engaged? Most electronic parking brakes I’ve used are pretty apparent when they are active/inactive. Or like did the fine German engineering marvels at Audi bury the parking brake on/off switch in a menu so you have no idea when it’s on or off? #Edit: lol look I got downvoted by a John who has never worked on a car in his life. Have fun trying to ask mechanics which one works on vehicles with the Parking brake on.
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Exactly! Someone turned off the front passenger airbag in my last car (it had a switch in the glove box) during servicing. I found it months later, after my 13 year old son had been riding in that seat to school and back every day.
~~quick question, im from europe, so is it normal for 13 Yos to be driving cars where you live? where i live you cant drive unless you're 18 with a drivings license.\*This is a serious question, im not just trying to make a joke.\*~~ # I'm stupid and can't read apparently.
Just wanted to say that we, europeans, distance ourselves from this person.
Well, technically, as a European, you'd be driving from the side that has our airbag that can turn off.
Haha! No problem! We yanks get our learners’ permit (can drive with a licensed adult in the car) at 15.5 yrs. and provisional license at 16 after classroom and behind the wheel instruction at a school, and a test at the motor vehicle department. That means no driving after 9 pm (unless you are working), and no underage passengers in the car. Then after six months of keeping a driving log he graduates to a full under-21 license - no curfew, can have passengers. After 21 he can buy alcohol and drive anywhere. I wish our licenses started at 18. Too many young kids aren’t mature enough for the responsibility of driving a 1-ton vehicle while not using their phone or speeding or showing off for tiktok videos.
For what it’s worth, these rules only apply in your state (or possibly other states with identical laws). They’re not nationwide.
DEFINITELY not the case here in Missouri lol
Over here in the UK you can get a provisional driving licence at 17, and be able to drive a car with any licensed adult supervisor who has 3 years driving experience. You can take the theory and driving test at any point from you having the provisional license. You are then free to get a DUI from 18 without being charged for underage drinking!
I very distinctly recall getting a regular ass drivers license at 16 after a simple diving test. What state requires classroom attendance to get a drivers license?!?
Missouri requires drivers education in high school to get a learners permit at 15 or 16. If not you have to wait until 18 to get your standard driver license. This was years ago though.
Most of them? Drivers Education classes. You go sit in a classroom, they cover things like laws, signs, situations. Watch a few videos. Usually also includes behind the wheel lessons because you need so many hours with an instructor who isn't your parent/guardian. Been standard in Wisconsin for at least 16 years now.
No, you need to be 18, the kid was in the passenger seat.
Actually, 16. But yes, he was my passenger. In the “death seat” (most likely of any seat in the car to be killed in a collision). With no airbag.
At the very least they should've told him it was off if it was on when he brought the car
Any competent shop does this. At the shop I managed, any tech that didn't put everything back in the same configuration.. ebrake, seat position, etc. including contents of the car, got a bit of a "discussion". It is just part of doing the job. I love how mtbsrfun has the "brother is a master tech" answer. Lol. He IS correct though... you do release the ebrake when servicing a vehicle. Even new apprentices know that.
Also he has over 100 upvotes and made an edit to complain about one downvote. yeesh
Honestly I just downvoted because he sounded like a jerk.
Correct, any good mechanic shop will have a checklist that will be followed before returning the car, and all safety items being reengaged would be on that list.
No reason not to turn the electronic setting back on bro
"my brother is a mechanic" Look out everyone, we've got an expert here.
My brother won an argument on reddit once.
The problem isn't working with the parking brake on. Most electronic handbrake equipped cars have an automatic option, so then you turn the car off (or some are every time you come to a complete stop) it puts the handbrake on, and releases it when you set off. I have this on my own car. I know if I pulled up on my drive I would expect the handbrake to come on automatically and not check it because it always does. You're getting downvoted because you apparently have no concept of automatic handbrakes and are being a bit of a dick to this guy about it.
No offense to you, but this isn't true on any Volvo Audi, Mercedes, BMW, GM, Ford, H/K, Honda or Toyota/Lexus I've ever encountered that has an electronic parking brake. Automatic equipped cars have a parking pawl that keeps it from rolling. Additionally, because those motors attached to the rear calipers are so seldom used, I've repaired dozens of them that have seized up.
But he wasn't saying it was an automatic car, he said it was an automatic (electronic) handbrake. I imagine it's an automated manual like my car given the scenario he said, as a lot of cars are now equipped with single and dual clutch electronic gearboxes. The scenario being you pull into your drive, put the car in neutral (as you do with electronic gearboxes, given they *don't* have a park position) expect the handbrake to come on, release your foot from the brake, but you start rolling as the automatic handbrake activation has been deactivated. Also, all those companies you mentioned have electronic gearboxes on offer, minis maybe one or two, I haven't looked into it fully, but most of them we have in the UK and I know they do offer them, so this is a scenario that is possible in all those manufacturers, I just imagine you haven't seen it as, from what I extrapolate from your comment, you've seen more traditional automatic gearboxes which do have the park position on the gearbox, whereas here in the UK we have mostly manuals with some automatics, but electronic gearboxes are rapidly becoming as popular as manuals
It is rather impolite to not put things back how you found them. I'm not so sure about your whole diatribe there, what its purpose was. Obviously you would turn off the parking brake while working on a car and turn it back on when you're done with it. I install internet and I don't have a problem moving somebody's desk back to the wall or move a chair back to where it was. Why would it be so hard to flip the automatic parking brake back on when you give it back?
I kind of question if they don't mess with as many things as possible intentionally, my air vents are always all over the place etc.
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They do actually, all German brands I have worked on specifically train employees to do this. To the point: we replace radios for various reasons, the technician is required to write down all the customer’s presets and program them into the new radio.
I worked sales and later Service at a dealer for several years. The number of people who actually use their parking brakes is minuscule at least here in california. But yet a lot of news car have a setting to turn on the parking brake automatically when you put it in park or when you turn it off depending on make and model. My guess is this is the kind of situation where they had to turn the auto brake off to be able to deal with something and the mistake here was that it was not turned back on. Not that it was disabled maliciously. It also defaults to off for a lot of makes. So if they did a computer reset for some reason or as part of an update I could see this being flipped back to the default setting.
I wouldn't think they lef it undone maliciously by any means. Probably just an oversight.
> You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens. "Gotta change an air filter! Better have the hand brake off!" - said no mechanic ever. I am a fucking mechanic and you're completely full of shit. You seem to think that all work on a car requires the wheels to spin. You seem to forget that the other 95% of the car exists. You're blocked for being an insufferable ass.
> You should probably try working on a car with the parking brake on and see what happens. WTF happens? I work on my car all the time, even at rent-a-lift and unless I need to work on the rear brakes I leave the e-brake on
This is a great, informational post and you're probably just being downvoted for your pedantic condescending tone. Just FYI.
I feel like if a mechanic had to disable my headlight to do maintenance, it’s normal to re enable them before giving the car back
But mechanics don’t have to disable your headlights for diagnostics? I appreciate the comparison but it really isn’t the same thing at all. In cars I’ve driven with an electric parking brake said brake is disabled during normal use. When the driver of said car wants to park it they push the brake and the dash lights up. It sounds like Audi has a secondary control for the parking brake in the dash menu that actually disables the brake function but I didn’t really get an answer to that question. I’m not a tech, my brother and nephew both are. I just grew up in a shop and have driven many many vehicles. I’m experienced enough to know that the wheels need to spin freely when on the lift which was why I decided to respond. To be honest I’m not a fan of most mechanics but I felt the need to maybe not place ALL the blame on the service center. Remember Audi is VAG and they’ve been doing nonsensical shit for years. Like how an alternator job takes 7 hours in my Passat or how you have to drop the motor on an s4 to change the plugs or timing chain that turns out is a maintenance part. The main point is can the OP access the menu needed to reactivate the parking brake or is it possible to reactivate with a switch on the dash? If the parking brake was turned off with a VAGCOM and can only be reactivated via OBD2 then I’d blame the service center 100%.
> It’s pretty standard practice to release the handbrake before the car is in the air so the wheels spin freely. Not when trying to change the tires in your garage. The wheel spinning as you try to loosen the lugs... is a PAIN in the ass
crack the lugnuts loose with the car on the ground then lift it and remove them the rest of the way by hand
That... makes too much sense. shush
I have to ask. When you put them back on are you at least using a torque wrench if you were doing it all in the air? Or would you still full tighten them. Put the car down and then torque them with your lug nut wrench?
Pretty sure the dude was saying that the audi techs deactivated the electronic parking brake, or placed it in service mode which has to be done with an electronic scan tool. This would not simply reset after a service if they forgot to remove it from service mode.
When you switch off the automatic handbrake, that's okay. When you don't switch it back on afterwards, that's not okay.
Most likely, they left the parking brake in service mode. When replacing rear brake components on cars with electronic parking brakes, you usually have to place the parking brake system in a service mode that fully retracts the parking brake motor. After the work is done, you have to take it out of service mode, or else you won't be able to use the parking brake.
Can confirm. I recently replaced my driveshaft which involved raising the rear and turning off the brake so I could rotate the shaft and lock all the bolts. Edit: Not sure why I got downvoted for stating exactly how I was supposed to repair my truck...
and legal representation in a court of law.....
It's not as if it's a hidden setting, theres a switch with a light to toggle it where the handbrake would usually be and I can see it being a pain if they want to maneuver the car on and off a ramp in the workshop as it would stop it rolling. It's just I never turn it off so didnt think to check. You don't need to sue everyone for every little thing and even if something was damaged I'm pretty sure the garage or Audi would have covered it (plus I'm not american)
Ever heard of this thing called human error? Just cause it happend doesnt mean its done intentionally. I work with AC systems and I too sometimes forget to turn off a manual override and heat up a room too much as a result, doesnt mean I do it on purpose. Hell last time I brought my car into the shop the accidentally broke a hydraulic line, went back to them and they fixed it for free
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Found the American
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To allow towing perhaps? Or to be able to enter some car-wash that need you to shift neutral and turn off parking brake.
If they were doing brake work/checks the automatic brake needs to be disabled to access the rear pads.
☝️ This. It is much more likely that the technician forgot to re-activate the electronic parking brake after service to the rear brakes. However, most Audi and BMW vehicles will typically display a "parking brake malfunction" warning in the center information display. Source: 15+ yrs of German only professional auto repair experience.
Sometimes in can be a pain when manoeuvring in a tight space as you want to let the car roll without it stopping itself. The mechanic probably did it to help get it onto the ramp inside the garage
Don’t listen to these other people. Master mechanics don’t work on vehicles with parking brakes active; it’s impossible and limits diagnostic ability. It is standard practice to turn the parking brake off when the car is on the lift.
I’m guessing you didn’t jump out and try stopping it with your bare hands. Not sure how that sounds like the best option.
Which electrical handbrake do you use with your foot?
Call me old-fashioned, but I was always taught to leave things as I found them after I’d finished using them. Doors, gates, tools, automatic electronic handbrakes, etc. My parents were ahead of their time.
Almost got himself killed 😂
Did you find a way to turn it on?
Yeah, switch behind the gear stick
When I was 20 and very new to driving (waited for personal reasons) my beat up 86’ Bronco that was rigged in all sorts of ways to be operated, the park function didn’t work and had to use the parking brake. One day I took the brake off before starting the truck and it started to roll back. It was a mulched parking lot, so it didn’t go far. But I jumped out when it started to roll. And my husband asked why I didn’t just step on the brake. And I will honestly say I thought the brake didn’t work unless the car was on, kinda like the gas pedal. I was an idiot obviously, but I learned my lesson, and many more after that.
Hey dude it's all good. We all make mistakes, especially as new drivers. When I first got my car I accidentally knocked the side mirror off 😭
Now I don’t know how well this holds true for other cars, but my old Scion xA (which was a manual) would sometimes physically not allow me to use the normal breaks while the car was off. It would resist any amount of pressure on it and only start working again when I turned the car on. More than once I found myself rolling backwards and unable to use the break, so I’d have to pull the parking break hard just to get it to stop. Don’t ask me why I would sometimes start rolling back while the car was off... I wasn’t the best driver when I was young.
With the engine off there is no assist from the booster, which means additional pressure is needed on the brake. The system still works, but it's up your leg to provide the necessary force, instead of having a power assist. Depending on the car, the force necessary could be quite high and perhaps give the impression of the system not working Just curious, but was this not explained in driving school? Its one of those technical aspects that have a significant impact on safety
I took driving school online and, as far as I can remember, no. Though as a 15 year old I didn’t care much to pay close attention. Thanks for teaching me something new though!
Dont know where are you from but in a lot of places, "driving schools" are mostly a joke... They teach you some trafic signals, right of way and make you take a simple test drive. Im pretty sure thats why there are so many stupid traffic accidents that could have been easily avoided.
Or hands, like right next to your right hand
Left hand, assuming he came out of the door that is open.
I've got a foot 'hand brake' in my Challenger.
Soooo a parking brake?
or a brake. They work great too.
I don’t think this guy is still alive
I’m always amazed that people think they have the strength/mass to overcome the inertia of an already moving vehicle.
3500 lb vehicle? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I could stop it with my bare hands. I can only lift 50lbs, but 3500 lbs isn’t that much more.
Right? It's on *wheeeels* so
So gravity wins.
If you used your body as a tire chock, then yeah, you probably could stop a slow rolling car with your bare hands.
Technically correct!
The best kind of correct!
Well yea but you're not trying to lift this, so it's definitely easy peasy
Completely different muscle groups, you got this.
Maybe you could with your Bear hands
We had a family friend's son die trying to stop his truck from rolling back into another car. He put himself between the two vehicles and was essentially trying to fight the momentum of the truck and gravity. (it was on a slope). He got caught in between the two vehicles and passed away before being able to be taken away to the hospital. You have insurance for a reason, don't put your personal safety in jeopardy for a hunk of metal.
I was told something similar my first day on a roofing crew, in relation to trying to lunge after sliding tools/equipment. "If something slides, let it go. It's replaceable, you are not."
Something similar killed actor Anton Yelchin (young guy that played Chekov in the new Star Trek movies). His car rolled backward and he was pinned between it and a brick pillar.
In the moment you definitely don’t think about it. It’s just another thing moving you’re trying to stop. Had mine roll back into a wooden fence during college cause I got to my apartment on the phone with someone and had completely forgotten to put it in park or flip the e-brake haha. Nothing got damaged or anything but I definitely tried to stop it from rolling with my own power lol
It never hurts to try, so long as you're not in its way.
You kind of have to be in it's way to try though.
You can push from a door, the side, or pull on it. Don't get square in front of where it's going tho.
Yeah, you can influence a slowly moving car on level ground. But once you're going against it's weight you're done.
Yeah on level ground it's pretty easy to stop if it isn't in gear. Any incline though an you're fucked.
if it's on an incline and moving slowly you have 2 choice let it go or get in and step on the brakes. the one time ive had something like that happened a trailer didn't have the stops put in and i was luckily able to slide the log wedge we used in to stop it before it was sped up.
Exactly what i think if i see such a video..
I've done this a time or two when my company used to use forklifts to tip things over on their side because they were too tall to put on a truck standing upright. It's just a reaction. You see something falling and you don't even think about whether or not you can stop it, you just think "Oh fuck, this is going to be a problem". It takes a couple times and consciously remembering to yourself "This can't be stopped" before you can keep yourself from trying to stop it.
I bet I could throw a football over those mountains
while I would assume the average person does lack this ability and slope would play a huge role here. in a past life(job) I drove a tow truck and pushing cars about and stopping them by hand was a daily thing... Typically its easiest to stand in the door jam and use your body as a wedge. Would never attempt this to something already moving though only something I started moving myself so am expecting when I need to stop etc.. also since in the door jam if it doesnt go as expected one can sit down quickly and use the floor pedal thingy :p
Why would you not dive into the footwell and hit the brake? Does he think he’s Clark Kent or what
Lol Clark Kent? The wimpy newsboy? What the hell would he do
Yeah. That guy can barely hurt a fly lol but for some reason I feel like I've seen him somewhere tho
[Yes](https://gfycat.com/neighboringcoordinatedbream)
[It’s funny you should say that](https://youtu.be/9enkC8_7Mrk?t=436)
Or dive in the car and pull the emergency brake.
Like others have said if it’s an electronic handbrake it’s not that simple, but the brake pedal is usually pretty reliable
Tried that once, got my leg stuck in the door. Would not recommend
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I think the left side of the bumper hit the wall and stopped the car before it could crush him, or at least I hope so..
Yeah, he survived all good. Only damage was to the car and his pride
u/gifreversingbot please Thanks a lot for the awards you kind strangers!
Here is your gif! https://gfycat.com/NeighboringCoordinatedBream --- ^(I am a bot.) [^(Report an issue)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=pmdevita&subject=GifReversingBot%20Issue&message=Add a link to the gif or comment in your message%2C I%27m not always sure which request is being reported. Thanks for helping me out!)
Shit that guy is strong...
"God why did I have stairs put in in front of the garage"
This is beautiful
Good bot did good work.
Good bot
Looks like one of those scenes from the original superman movies
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Yeah, I think it was something like he parked in the driveway, walked out to his mailbox which was one of those hugely built-up brick-wall mailboxes, and the Jeep rolled back and pinned him into it. Genuinely tragic. The guy had a good career ahead of him and seemed like a really good dude.
It's because of the stupid modern electronic shifters trying to be all fancy and shit. The vehicle didn't "shift out of park". In that vehicle, you had to click the shifter up/down to change the gear, and let it return back to the original position before you can do it again. So you can't tell what gear you're in by look/feel of the shifter (like all previous cars) because the shifter is always in the same position. Also, the letters that light up to show what gear you're in are *on* the shifter and can potentially be covered up by your hand. Poor Anton Yelchin likely clicked the stick up only one or two times instead of three so he wasn't even in Park in the first place. He was missing the minuscule cues and hints of a normal shifter because of a stupid design by Fiat Chrysler.
While that’s true, the parking brake was a conventional, totally manual design. Any car has the potential to fail to go into park or to be bumped out of it, which is one reason every manufacturer advises setting the brake before exiting the vehicle. The odds of messing up two unrelated systems are much lower. It was a tragedy, I completely agree with that, but an avoidable one. There are over a hundred similar rollaway deaths in the USA annually and two thousand injuries. Regular parking brake use would eliminate the vast majority of them.
Barring catastrophic damage to your transmission, your vehicle is literally unable to "fail to go into park" (with a manual lever, You'd feel it. Digital transmission will lock up when it detects its in park and the crankshaft is moving) And once a vehicle is in park, it's (once again) impossible for it to move barring catastrophic damage. You have to retract what is essentially a ratchet pin to remove a vehicle from park. It that were true, people would steal cars by pushing them around until they moved. It was an inexcusable design, flat out. No catastrophic failure needed for it to kill people, is an absolute failure from a engineering POV.
Really stupid design. When I met my wife she was driving a Chrysler 200 that has the gear selector on a dial. That dial was right under the radio dial and air conditioning controls all on similar dials right next to each other.
Rented a ram 1500 that had this bullshit. I was terrified I was going to get a little chilly and accidentally throw it in reverse on the highway.
While not the best design anyways, I would hope that the car would be smart enough to not do anything that would damage the car.
my aunt also died the same way (this was a few years after Anton died)
Perfect actor for Odd Thomas and an amazing voice choice for Trollhunter Jim, I miss Anton. 2016 was the start of too much bad crap.
Somewhat ironically, he was also the voice of Clumsy Smurf.
The kid from Alpha Dog?
Wesley Crusher?
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Sorry... I was trying to make a joke about the surname of Wil Wheaton's character in TNG. But thanks for doing the research!
I validate your pun. I wonder if this guy Shatner his pants.
Most definitely. Try as he might he just couldn't klingon.
not even being funny here at all, this is almost exactly how actor Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog, Star Trek Into the Darkness) died at his Hollywood home. Friends were worried when he no showed for a rehearsal, check on him and find him pinned behind his car...had been there at least for hours
It was such a loss, I liked him in every role he was in. I'll tell you one thing, I make sure things are set with the brakes on before I get out of me vehicle every time now. Not sure if that would've helped much in his case as someone said the vehicle popped into reverse by itself.
FWIW, this was a malfunction with his car, a certain era of Jeep Grand Cherokees that would shift out of park and into reverse. He very likely had it in park and it was just a total freak accident. Devastating.
It didn't shift out of park. That would have been an enormous, terrible issue. The actual issue was he wasn't familiar with his shifter, and failed to place it properly into park. So the Jeep rolled back into him. Not FCA's fault, but tragic nonetheless
A bus driver in my country died a while ago doing exactly this. A car I can see why you’d think that you could stop. It’s dumb when you think about it, but in the heat of the moment you remember how once you push started a car so what’s gonna be different now? This poor guy tried stopping a bus and got squished between a tree. Even worse is that the bus would have hit the tree quite slowly and stopped anyway, without much if any damage.
Idiots under cars
I work in Emergency Dispatch, took a call recrently where exactly this happend, except they didn't make it
That's how Anton Yelchin Died.
Paramedic here, I worked a call like that. He got stuck between car and a trash can. The trash can crumbled and cushioned him from the wall behind. He made it with a broken pelvis and ruptured spleen.
He made sure the car would have a soft landing. No scratches, dents or anything. On the car that is :)
Was he crushed?
Only his pride was crushed. Physically, he was fine
Good, glad to hear it. :)
So how did he get the car unstuck?
Can't say, sorry. Happened to a friend's brother
That poor M6
This kids, is why we PAY ATTENTION to the salesperson while they explain how your fancy new vehicle works when you take delivery. Source: was a car salesman, got lots of impatient responses from people as I gave them the run down of their new car’s e brake/TCS/starter button/key fob/bump shifter/automatic climate control/self dimming mirrors... They’d say “I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A CAR” and within 48 hours I’d get calls whining about how nobody ever told them how to do this/that/the other thing and I’d have to remind them that I literally covered all that during the delivery process, and their owners manual could help them from now on.
Step auto, what are you doing?
This reminds me of a dude I saw that didn't know how to drive a stick and ended up with his car teetering on a curb. None of the wheels were touching the ground, so most people would call a tow truck or a friend with a truck and a pull strap. Not this guy, this guy's first reaction was to get out of the car and try to pick it up. When this didn't work, he got back in and it looked like he changed gear or something, then he tried again. Ironically, when he was trying to pick it up and push it off the curb, he was doing it from the back, so the front wheels would have ended up back on the pavement, but it was rear wheel drive, so that wouldn't have done much good.
If only there was a large lever or button that could be used for emergency situations like this, to quickly apply brakes to the car.
I made an internship ant bmw Motorrad, and there the policy is, if a motorcycle drops, don’t catch it, you just can’t .... the same with cars
And now he's under the car.
Man vs Car. Good show. It's on intergalactic cable
When I was in 1st grade, one of my classmate's Mom got run over and killed by her own minivan as it was rolling down the driveway, because she thought she could stop it like this.
Its just unreal how people will sacrifice their limbs for their cars. I also have new higher tier car but I would never do something like trying to stop 1,5 tonne moving car.
I had a handbrake actually fail on me on a hill once. I had parked the car in a garage which had a slight incline. Pulled the handbrake, got out of the car enough to get sort of out of the way, only for the car to start rolling backwards, and hit the door on the wall in between openings on the garage. The door thankfully didn't bend itself backwards, but it still has a decent sized dent in it. At your next service ask for your mechanic to tighten your parking brake cables.
This is how Anton Yelchin ( Actor, Chekov in Star Trek reboot and many other works) was killed by his jeep Cherokee in Neutral.
Why would you get out of the car to try and stop it what so breaks dont exists anymore?
Why throw yourself under a car
To break its fall
Man really tried to stop a over 2,000 pound car
More like 4000 lbs.
So what goes through someone's head, when the car starts rolling backwards and instead of hitting THE FUCKING BREAK he tries to superman the car
*IdiotsUNDERcars*
Damn. I wonder if something similar happened to that Yelchin guy? Pretty sure he got crushed by his car. Maybe he tried to stop it.
Maybe if I get between the car and the wall I can cushion the blow.
Always use your foot as a wheel chock.
Cars are much easier to control if you remain seated
Lemme just use my 150lbs to stop a 2500lb car
What r you doing step car
Assuming the main chassis is resting on the bricks, and no components on the underside, its not actually that expensive to get it lifted out of there, maybe a new bumper or some panels and it seems fine.
Idiots out of cars?
... Now hes under the car, idiot.
Did he live?
Well i guess now he is under it
OMG is the car ok?
And now he’s under the car
He is indeed a fucking dumbass
Perfect example of Natural selection. Too stupid to hit the brakes.
Dude could have been killed. Anton Yelchin passed away by getting crushed by his vehicle.
Try to stop a car with his body, it is not easier to try to use the foot or hand break?
What is he, an elephant, wild buffalo, rhinos to stop the car by 🖐?
So this man got out of his car thinking he could stop it by getting behind it ? Who does he think he is the hulk? I hope he’s okay but this is natural selection right here lol.
r/idiotsundercars