Can I leave the parking brake cables disconnected?

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Oct 27, 2011 | 09:38 PM
  #1  
Hey gang,

Has anyone disconnected the parking brake cables from the rear calipers (ones with integrated park brake) permanently? I was wondering if one can do this w/o having annoying park brake fault messages continually barking at you.

I know the EPB calibration procedure and also know how to make it not engage automatically when turning off the car... I just really hate the automatic EPB and want a way to permanently disable it.

Thought I'd ask before just trying it and seeing if the car complains via continual fault messages.

Thanks,

Bob
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Oct 28, 2011 | 03:10 AM
  #2  
It's also the Emergency brake.........

Yes, really. You can engage it at any speed and it does so in ways that depend on the speed - see JTIS.

It's tested over here annually, at slow speed, as part of mandated test (MOT).
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Oct 28, 2011 | 08:21 AM
  #3  
One thought- how does the caliper assembly accommodate pad wear? Does the application of the EPB cause the piston to ratchet outwards, hence the need to screw it back in when replacing pads. Or is the application of the foot brake that does that. Dunno.
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Oct 28, 2011 | 10:57 AM
  #4  
Point well taken Jagv8... if indeed I ever needed it in an emergency, I would be out of luck. In the state that I live in here, they don't test E-brake functionality... but indeed it might be a legal requirement to have a working one if going by the book!

Bob
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