I loaned my sister my tC and she drove about 10 miles with the e-brake on. Somehow she didn't realize it. What a freakin' idiot, I know. Anyways, it still seems to work but, I can tell that's it's significantly easier to pull the handle back than it has been in the past.

What am I looking at in repair costs? I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I park on an incline so if it fails I'm effed.

 

Well what you can do for now is leave it in 1st gear, turn your wheels away from the curb, and put the e-break on until you get it fixed. As for as the price, im not sure. One of my sgts wifes did a similar thing in his honda civic, and it cost him 300$ to get it fixed, but she also broke the line =[.

 

u cant "tighten" the line with a bolt under the ebrake that will reduce the slack u now feel.
there is a diy for this some where u might have to search but people use it to have 3 clicks be full brake. im sure this will fix your problem

 

what is needed is the clearance of the parking brake shoes to the drum hat of the rear discs needs to be decreased. The shoes have been worn away and that's why it takes more "clicks" to make the parking brake work. There is a star adjuster wheel that is for this in the rear brake disc. There is a rubber plug that you remove, move the hole to the 530ish-oclock position and adjust the clearance. so that the shoes get closer to the braking surface to work better.

 

10 miles eh? Typical. Well there are two adjustment points to the e-brake. One is right underneath the handle which is simple.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...hlight=e-brake

But no one (including myself bc I've done this) recommends doing it without also adjusting the e-brake inside both rear rotor hubs FIRST(much more critical).
That silver cylinder with teeth at the bottom is what you need to adjust. You don't have to take the hubs off to adjust it. With the wheels off you can see there's a little rubber grommet that, when removed, will give you access with a flathead screwdriver or something. I'd recommend a flashlight or something just to point inside the hole to give you an idea what your looking at.

With the wheels off and the little rubber grommet removed.
1.) Make sure the parking brake is not engaged.
2.) Tighten it by clicking the teeth UP until you can't spin the hub freely.
3.) When it sticks, back it off a bit by giving it about 5 clicks DOWN.
4.) Repeat for the other wheel.
5.) Put everything back and test the e-brake tightness.

 

Thanks for your replies!! I appreciate it.

 

thanks PRODIGY3000, i need to this soon. I have to pull the handle 12 clicks.

 

thanks for this mine you have to pull it up pretty far althought when its pulled all the way up its very snug i just dont like pulling it so far im going to have to try this adjustment when theres not snow on the ground

 

Sorry, one thing I forgot. Kind of a no brainer but its a safety issue. For the guys with 5-speeds, leave the car in gear since you won't have the ebrake engaged. Obvious but we can't have anyone snapping limbs off or killing themselves.

 

Yeah do what PRODIGY3000 said to do. My Girlfriend did the same thing and i tightened it up and it works perfect. what happen was the brake was on and it took a lot out off the brake thats why it doesn't want to hold so if you adjust them you will be good. I wouldn't mess with anything inside leave that stuff only just take your tires off and get to work lol. If you dont want to do it your self you should be able to take it to a brake shop or a tire shop and they should to it for you for about 30 dollars or so.