Parking Brake Not Working

[jayhoogs]

I have been having an issue with my parking brake for a long time - several months. I am aware of the common necessity of adjustment of the cable near the transmission, and I have done this, but it does not fix the issue. The handle itself is fine, it pulls tight after a few clicks and feels relatively normal. The problem is that the brake does not hold whatsoever; it is as if absolutely no brake at all is being applied. I have been relying on parking in gear to hold the car, but I really would obviously prefer having the parking brake working as well. Today I took a closer look at the calipers but could not figure out what was wrong. One thing I noticed was that the lever that the cable is attached to was all the way forward, not around the 1-2 mm from the stop that it is supposed to be. I tried moving it back using the nut inside that tension spring, but once the brake handle was engaged and released, that lever would not return towards the stop but would rather stay towards the front. It seems to me like the spring is not working to return the lever to the correct position, but not sure what this means or if that is part of what is affecting the operation. Also, even with these adjustments it still did not seem like the brake was holding. Originally, I thought it would be fixed with new brake pads and rotors, but after changing those a couple weeks ago it did not fix the problem. Does anyone have any ideas or experience with this issue?

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[sonicblue2004]

I‘m having the same issue and was also looking for help. However, my issue started after i swapped the pads and rotors to a set from Hawk. Even with adjust the bolt under the chassis, where the parking cable splits the parking brake will not engage.

 

[Rapid Red]

Today I took a closer look at the calipers but could not figure out what was wrong. One thing I noticed was that the lever that the cable is attached to was all the way forward, not around the 1-2 mm from the stop that it is supposed to

If it is way forward something is installed wrong there is a left and right? V
"One thing I noticed was that the lever that the cable is attached to was all the way forward, not around the 1-2 mm from the stop that it is supposed to be."

^^^^^^^^^^^VV
is really sort of pointing to the left & right sides being swapped

To adjust after the installation is verified.

1. Using the adjustment nut, measure 2mm on both sides.
2. Fully apply and release the brakes 5 times. Recheck the 2mm, it should be 1mm

Don't know about you but don't have a metric feeler gauge in my toolbox.

using a web calculator & a Starrett wall chart the measurements are V

2mm > .700 1mm > .300

The pad thickness is in play should be equal to the OEM set

 

[sonicblue2004]

Adjusting the nut inside the parking spring did work and now it engages.

 

[GTowner-ma]

I had the exact problem with my 2020 Mustang GT. At the beginning, with only 12k mikes, I thought it was just a cable adjustment solution. Turns out the calipers went bad by just not using the car too much, rust and such. I replaced the calipers, shoes and rotors, worked better than when the car was brand new. Easy DIY job. Genuine calipers were just $129 each, totally worth just changing them.

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