Hi,
Did something really dumb today: drove w/ my parking brake engaged for about 15 miles. It must not have been engaged all the way, as I was able to drive. The sun was behind me on my way home and I didn't see the dash light until I got home. Could I have caused any damage? I have a auto trans. Thanks.
--
Patrick McHugh, Cincinnati, OH, 1993 244 'classic' model (daily driver)

That is a classic no no. All I know is I would check all pads..rotors and braking stuff. Did you notice like a lag or dragging?

Yes, I did notice some dragging and sluggishness, but didn't realize what it was until I learned the brake was on! Drove it today and everything seems to be OK. I learned a lesson at least.
--
Patrick McHugh, Cincinnati, OH, 1993 244 'classic' model (daily driver)

My daugheter's boyfriend drove my wife's car with the parking brake on last year.

The next day, the linings crumbled off the brake shoes and made all kinds of grinding and squeeling noises as the chunks of lining worked their way out of the drum past the brake rotor splash shield.

The shoes were inexpensive, and no other damage was done.

The HARD part is getting these rusty rear brake rotors off. It took several days of removing the wheels, soaking the hub area with penetrating oil, and putting the wheels back on, and then half a bottle of propane on my little torch until I was finally able to break them loose.

Hello Patrick:

Chances are your parking brake linings are a little thinner now! Is the car making noises when you drive at slow speeds? The one thing to be concerned about is having shucked a lining on the parking brake shoes. If it still seems to work (they are never great), I'd adjust it up to take care of the new slack in the system due to wear and breathe easy.

Good luck!
--
Herb Goltz, Aurora, Ontario, Canada '92 245 w/124K mi, '92 945T w/200K mi

The parking brake activates a set of shoes inside the rear rotor on each side. It probably generated a lot of heat and addtional wear on the shoes but more than likely it didn't do any permanent damage.

Randy (up the road in Hamilton)