So my 2003 X-Type Manual Transmission has an issue with the emergency brake. I pull it back and it seems very loose I guess. You can pull it all the way back very easily. On steep hills it will not hold, just rolls. My question is can you tighten this or is it something different?

 

You can tighten it under the car, but you should also check for broken/disconnected cables. If it happened suddenly it probably is a broken cable.

 

Jonzy, I had this issue with my X. What I would tell you to do is to block the passenger side tires and then jack up the driver's side so you can slide under the car a little bit. You want to be able to see the underside of the car under where the E-brake is. What you are looking for is the cross bar on the outlet of the E-brake that splits the single cable from the E-brake to 2 braided lines (1 running to each rear wheel). I bet you will find that this bar is not straight across side to side but is pointing more to one of the rear wheels than the other. The rear wheel that the bar is pointing towards is your problem side. I will venture to guess that you will find that the E-brake lever on the side with the issue is bound up and is not moving. THis can be confirmed by engaging and disengaging the e-brake and seeing if the lever moves. If the lever does not, then you can try pulling off the exterior lever to grease it up a little bit and see if you can get it to move. That works some times. Otherwise the caliper is frozen on the inside and a new caliper is needed. But, before replacing the caliper, also check that the e-brake cable is not frozen/rusted in place.

The E-brake lever sticking is a semi common problem with our cars.

 

There are several TSBs and a recall.


bob gauff

 

Thanks for the info!