Emergency brake loose???

[Joel930]

Whenever I set my e-brake on an incline, if I simply shake the car, I can hear a grinding noise which means that the car is "slipping" from the "hold" of the e-brake. What needs to be done in this case?
Thanks

[Gavin96V6LE]

Cables not pulling strong enough..

[mspringer]

You should stop shaking your car on an incline, really, people will talk.
But seriously, it could be a lot of things - do you have an automatic? Since that is in park, it shoudl not move, much, and you could be hearing noise from that.
However, if you think it is the e-brake, I doubt very seriously that the cables are "not pulling strong enough" - likelihood of cable failure is practically zero.
I would check the brakes - all the cable does is engage the rear brakes, and if your car has worn rear brakes (do you have drums in the rear, what year car, what milage? - next time list more info), then it is much more likely that you are hearing the brake pads move against the drum surface.

[touringcamry]

Do you have rear drums or discs?

How many clicks do you have to pull the lever until the ebrake engages to hold the car in place? It should be around 3-5 clicks and you have drums, the drums may need adjusting.

[Eye8Pussies]

^ what he said

yes, the cable CAN loosen, but it hardly ever does- it's usually either you need new shoes, or the drums need to be adjusted

[Joel930]

Its an '03 LE. I pull it about 5 clicks or so. Whenever I apply the brakes from slowing down at a freeway exit, I notice that the steering wheel shakes so one set definitely needs to be changed, not sure which though.

[project92camry]

if your steering wheel is shaking while braking then it has nothing to do with ur e brake.. steering wheel shaking is from front rotors being warped.

[touringcamry]

So you have a 4 cylinder correct? That means you have drums in the rear which probably need to be adjusted if your parking brake is slipping.

The shaking from the steering wheel is a result of a warped rotor which either needs to be machined or replaced depending on the condition of the rotor.

[Joel930]

Thanks guys. I will take care of the rotor problem. I will also mention the rear drums when I take it in.

[BakaWill]

if you doubt that parking brake cables can break(no pun intended) i just broke mine a couple of weeks ago just pulling up on the handbrake. granted i did use the gunshow and pull rather hard but it did break.