# Handbrake goes way too high, dealer says it's normal



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Your dealer is an idiot.

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/57-how-library/6485-how-adjust-rear-drum-brakes.html

I bet your brakes will feel a lot better.


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

Many owners have noted this problem as well and it's because your rear drum brakes need to be properly adjusted, as many are not from the Lordstown factory. I think there is a whole thread about this on here, just use the search box to locate it.


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

You're dealer is being lazy. You can get the e-brake adjusted if it's too high. Try them again, or if one is nearby, try a different, more competent dealer.


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## Calintz (Jul 21, 2011)

I think the Eco has drum brakes just adjust them and your hand brake won't go so high plus you will have better braking reponse. XtremeRevolution did a thread about adjusting your drum brakes. Here it is.

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/57-how-library/6485-how-adjust-rear-drum-brakes.html


Hope this helps! I did this to mines as well and my braking has improved you can notice the difference. Good Luck!


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

One of the reasons the armrest slides back is because of known interference......don't use that as a guide.

You have rear drum brakes and they are very slow to bed in fully.....often in the 5000 mile range of stop and go driving.
Thats a good thing though.....kinda shows you how long they will wear.....ft disc/rear drum systems tend to have a drum brake shoe life of around 150k.....about three sets of fronts to one set of rears.
But, do verify the rear adjustment at every tire rotation.

All that, to say the lever travel is not that abnormal.

So, here's what you do.....take it down the street (like you are the only person on it street or a parking lot with all closed stores) and at about 10 mph or whatever that is in kliks, push in the clutch and yank the handle.

If it locks the wheels, the adjustment is fine.......EZ eh?
Now, if you don't like how far you must pull it and the brakes are fully worn in, and it does lock the wheels when applied, you are desiring the emergency brake to engage sooner than is designed......won't hurt a thing if thats what you want but that means you pay a shop to do it or do it yourself....the dealer cannot charge Chevrolet to make adjustments that are not required.

Rob


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## Sk8ermarc (Apr 10, 2012)

Wow thanks for all your answers.
When I went to the dealer I told them if they could check (and adjust) the rear drums because I thought it was the problem and they said that was not on warranty and I would need to pay for this, but they didn't even look... 
I will check the thread on brake adjusment! Hope it will solve the problem!


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Adjusting the drum brakes will solve this problem 100%. I re-adjusted mine recently after 40k miles since the last adjustment, and my e-brake went back down.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Sk8ermarc said:


> Wow thanks for all your answers.
> When I went to the dealer I told them if they could check (and adjust) the rear drums because I thought it was the problem and they said that was not on warranty and I would need to pay for this, but they didn't even look...
> I will check the thread on brake adjusment! Hope it will solve the problem!




Sk8ermarc,
I would like to apologize for the issues that you are having with your Cruze. I would recommend that you contact GM of Canada for more assistance with this. You can contact them at 800-263-3777 Monday-Friday 7:30am - 11:30pm or Saturday 7:30am - 6:00 EST. Please keep us posted. 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Sk8ermarc (Apr 10, 2012)

sciphi said:


> Adjusting the drum brakes will solve this problem 100%. I re-adjusted mine recently after 40k miles since the last adjustment, and my e-brake went back down.


Thanks for the feedback! As soon as the weather is good I will get on the job.



Chevy Customer Service said:


> Sk8ermarc,
> I would like to apologize for the issues that you are having with your Cruze. I would recommend that you contact GM of Canada for more assistance with this. You can contact them at 800-263-3777 Monday-Friday 7:30am - 11:30pm or Saturday 7:30am - 6:00 EST. Please keep us posted.
> Thank you,
> Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


Thank you Stacy. As there are no "good" dealers near where I live, I will do the job myself as it's seems really easy to do. I like my Chevy but every GM dealer I went in my area are not willing to help anyone and the service is bad.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Sk8ermarc said:


> Thanks for the feedback! As soon as the weather is good I will get on the job.
> 
> 
> Thank you Stacy. As there are no "good" dealers near where I live, I will do the job myself as it's seems really easy to do. I like my Chevy but every GM dealer I went in my area are not willing to help anyone and the service is bad.




Sk8ermarc,
Please keep me posted and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## ItsBenAWhile (Mar 15, 2013)

Does it really matter it goes high? Sorry this is pretty much my first car. I have been using it a little and noticed it goes up ALOT but thought it was normal.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

ItsBenAWhile said:


> Does it really matter it goes high? Sorry this is pretty much my first car. I have been using it a little and noticed it goes up ALOT but thought it was normal.


It's a big deal since it's a symptom of a bigger issue. The bigger issue is that it means your drum brakes are poorly adjusted. That means your braking performance is worse since the fronts are picking up the slacking rears. It means that the ABS and stability control aren't as effective as they should be. It also means the front brakes are more likely to warp and will need work sooner since they're doing more work, wearing themselves down faster. 

It takes 10 minutes to adjust each side once the car's in the air. 5 minutes for both sides if you know what you're doing.


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## ItsBenAWhile (Mar 15, 2013)

I don't have any tools. Im sacred I would mess something up. Can I take it to a dealer and tell them,,,,,what would I tell them? To adjust the rear breaks?


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

ItsBenAWhile said:


> I don't have any tools. Im sacred I would ******* something up. Can I take it to a dealer and tell them,,,,,what would I tell them? To adjust the rear breaks?


How many miles on your Cruze......I ask because the shoes won't be fully bedded to the drum if the miles are under 5k.

If not fully bedded, then adjustment is pointless.....it'll need a second adjustment in very short order.

Rob


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## ItsBenAWhile (Mar 15, 2013)

I have just about 500.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

5k miles is a long time to be driving on mis-adjusted drum brakes. I'd wait until you have time to bring it up to the dealer, which will likely be in a few hundred miles. Brakes bed pretty quickly, even drums. 

If your handbrake lever hits the center console armrest while both are fully extended, the drums need adjustment. They shouldn't be hitting. If they are, tell the dealer you don't want to make more work replacing the center console lid after repeatedly hitting it with a handbrake lever that travels up too far. The car's under warranty, and this is a warranty issue if they're adjusted that poorly to be hitting something it shouldn't be hitting.


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## ItsBenAWhile (Mar 15, 2013)

sciphi said:


> 5k miles is a long time to be driving on mis-adjusted drum brakes. I'd wait until you have time to bring it up to the dealer, which will likely be in a few hundred miles. Brakes bed pretty quickly, even drums.
> 
> If your handbrake lever hits the center console armrest while both are fully extended, the drums need adjustment. They shouldn't be hitting. If they are, tell the dealer you don't want to make more work replacing the center console lid after repeatedly hitting it with a handbrake lever that travels up too far. The car's under warranty, and this is a warranty issue if they're adjusted that poorly to be hitting something it shouldn't be hitting.



Mine does hit the center console if its out all the way.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

One thing you can try without taking the wheels off - reverse at 15 MPH, then jam on the brakes as hard as you can. The ABS pulsing will self-adjust the drums a small bit and firm up the pedal/lower the parking brake a little bit, but if the mis-adjustment is significant enough for the parking brake to not grab at anything but the top notch, I doubt this will work.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

They shouldn't be touching when the drum brakes are adjusted properly. There should be an approximately 1" gap between them. Even when I yank my handbrake hard, it still doesn't touch the center console lid when it's fully out.


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## Deadstick (Mar 18, 2013)

I have the exact same issue, I pointed it out before we took delivery of the car. Dealer said it was normal. I knew better, but also know it should be an easy adjustment. But why should a BRAND NEW CAR HAVE A MALADJUSTED PARKING BRAKE? The service guy even printed out a page of the maintenance manual trying to show me it was normal. I still disagree. Has anyone looked to see if the cable has a tension adjustment nut, or it is definitely time to get a brake spoon out and adjust the drum?


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

It's easier/faster to adjust the drums since that directly affects the parking/handbrake lever height. They're mis-adjusted from the factory since it takes extra time to adjust them better, most folks won't know the difference, and the rear drums won't wear as much, thus reducing maintenance costs down the road. Basically it's a winner for GM all around. Although if you do care, it's annoying to have to go through hoops to get it taken care of under warranty. 

Our Fit came from a factory halfway around the world with mis-adjusted drum brakes, so poor drum brake adjustment from the factory is not limited to GM.


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## ItsBenAWhile (Mar 15, 2013)

What can I say if I call the dealer?


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## BowtieBoy (Oct 1, 2015)

Well I'm really late to the game, does anyone know if the old trick of riding the brakes in reverse still gets them to auto adjust? I have a manual so I never really ride the brakes, even when backing out of a parking space, which is why after about 2k miles my brake handle barely holds me on my driveway. Is that still a solution before I go to the dealer or do the adjustment myself?


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Perform a manual adjustment......plan on another when you rotate the tires at 7500.

You are seeing the shoes bedding into the drums....a normal break in for drum brake systems.

Rob


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## Cruzncannada (Nov 21, 2015)

For those doing there own manual adjustment, while I did skim the posted thread about it one thing I see a lot of at work is do it yourselfers adjusting them until they grab just enough and the putting it all back together, done bobs your uncle.
We see a lot of people forgetting to reassemble (drums both on WITH the holding screw in place) then they drive and one side catches and drags a lot. 
Make sure to reassemble both sides, pull the parking brake a few times, pump the peddle if you want, make sure to get the shoes where they will actually sit during driving then see how they spin by hand looking for excessive grabbing.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

BowtieBoy said:


> Well I'm really late to the game, does anyone know if the old trick of riding the brakes in reverse still gets them to auto adjust? I have a manual so I never really ride the brakes, even when backing out of a parking space, which is why after about 2k miles my brake handle barely holds me on my driveway. Is that still a solution before I go to the dealer or do the adjustment myself?


Yes, but they have to be initially adjusted properly. From the factory they appear to be too wide for the brakes to grab in reverse.


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## CDNCRUZIN (Nov 24, 2015)

i literally just had mine adjusted as I was complaining about a soft brake pedal.. once adjusted (yes I had to pay for it..) my brakes felt sooo much better and the e brake handle only comes up a couple of inches now instead of looking like the OP's picture... GM as a manufacturer are complete idiots for not properly and promptly addressing this known issue...


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## RIXSTER (Apr 13, 2015)

As many have said on this thread, the rear drums are NOT specifically totally adjusted from the factory, there is a "break in period" and will need to be adjusted. To call GM idiots for this is insane. That's like me saying you bought the car with this issue, so who's the idiot ?? Some of you people need to understand that cars have problems at times, and it's not just GM. Rant over.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Sure a bunch of information, major cause of a high parking brake level is the fact that they decided to make it self adjusting, a dog catches the cable and it can stick and not slide back. I don't like it, typically over the life of a vehicle, only has to be adjusted once or twice, namely due to brake cable stretching. 

Was real easy on my Honda's could just lift off the cover from the center console, had a threaded rod with a double nut on it.

What you have to do with the Cruze is to replace the entire handbrake assembly, really cost wise not that bad compared to other parts of this vehicle.









#31 part number 95316789 for black, $41.71, 95492071 for cocoa $39.35.


 
Not so easy on the Cruze, that console is like a jigsaw puzzle. Had a Ford with a self adjusting MVAC blend door, that was a PITA, always going out of adjustment, finally pitched that POS, used a cable clamp the old fashion way and never was a problem again. Stupid idea, gather some engineer at Chevy likes to copy stupid ideas.

Drums are adjusted by hitting the brake pedal in reverse, calipers by working the hand brake lever, major effect when loose is a low service brake pedal, but can bring that up by pumping the brake pedal. Effect on the handbrake is minimal, entirely different setup. Mechanical and not hydraulic that also has ABS and a power booster to screw things up.

When I work on either drums or disc, always set them loose, with drums, coast back on my slanted driveway and tap on the pedal every three feet to make darn sure they are self adjusting, if not, back to the drawing board. With calipers, just work the parking brake, you can feel the brake pedal come up. Front calipers are easy, inherently self adjustable.

Another real simple test, is after the brakes are installed, hit the pedal and make sure all the wheels turn freely afterwards, if not, either a pad or a shoe is hanging up. But this never happens if the job is done right the first time.

Somebody here mentioned idiots, lot my doctor just told me with the stomach flu, plenty of that going around, idiocrazy in this case.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

CDNCRUZIN said:


> i literally just had mine adjusted as I was complaining about a soft brake pedal.. once adjusted (yes I had to pay for it..) my brakes felt sooo much better and the e brake handle only comes up a couple of inches now instead of looking like the OP's picture... GM as a manufacturer are complete idiots for not properly and promptly addressing this known issue...


If your car was in the first 12 months/12,000 miles this should have been free.

The sheer number of cars with this problem makes me wonder if there isn't a missing step during dealership vehicle prep - perform rear drum brake adjustment.


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## CDNCRUZIN (Nov 24, 2015)

obermd said:


> If your car was in the first 12 months/12,000 miles this should have been free.
> 
> The sheer number of cars with this problem makes me wonder if there isn't a missing step during dealership vehicle prep - perform rear drum brake adjustment.


I agree however they don't see it the same way.. They don't see it as requiring an adjustment but a request for service from a customer... I didn't even take it to the dealership in the end.. I get free synthetic oil changes for the first 2 years so I'm good with that!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

CDNCRUZIN said:


> I agree however they don't see it the same way.. They don't see it as requiring an adjustment but a request for service from a customer... I didn't even take it to the dealership in the end.. I get free synthetic oil changes for the first 2 years so I'm good with that!


The way to approach the handbrake issue is to park the car facing uphill and set the handbrake. Then put the car in neutral and let off the foot brake. If the car rolls, take it to the dealership and tell them the handbrake doesn't hold the car when parked on a hill. This is a FVMSS/NHTSA safety requirement.


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