Not a car guy. I had backed into a parking space and and when done I went to check and the back tires were just pressed up against the cement bumper. I got back into the car to move forward a bit and I drove forward a couple of inches with the parking brake on

I did feel some resistance but dismissed it since it was over and done with so quickly. Went out later and no issues with the parking brake. Can I assume I did little or no damage or will my idiocy come back to bite me in the ass in the future. TIA.

 

Two or three inches isn't enough to damage the brakes. Now if you had driven several feet and the brakes started smoking, yeah, that's a problem. I think you're OK.

 

>Two or three inches isn't enough to damage the brakes. Now if you had driven several feet and the brakes started smoking, yeah, that's a problem. I think you're OK.

Copy that. Thanks.

 

That's nothing. I once drove a mile home in my VW with the parking brake lightly on and never noticed it. No big deal although the brake job wasn't cheap. Never did that again.

 

No problem at all. Your parking brake is just the manual (instead of hydraulic) activation of your rear brakes. You don't hesitate to apply your brakes when you're moving, right? What you did was no different, just in the reverse order, and at much lower speed.

You either added a tiny, tiny (really, really tiny) bit of wear to your rear brakes, or if you are an aggressive e-brake tugger you might have drug your rear tires and put a tiny, tiny bit of wear on those. I can promise you that the wear on the rear brakes and/or tires was much less than what you do during your normal driving, so don't worry.

Just out of curiosity, did you hear the e-brake warning chime? I don't know what year Fit you have, but can confirm that a 2010 Fit definitely has an annoying warning chime to remind you if you leave the e-brake engaged while moving.

Don't be scared to investigate how your car works. It's really not that complicated, especially compared to other cars on the road. Ask questions, watch videos, read manuals, worry less, have fun.

 

>You don't hesitate to apply your brakes when you're moving, right? What you did was no different, just in the reverse order, and at much lower speed.

That's a really clear explanation of what the parking brake does that even I can understand : )

>You either added a tiny, tiny (really, really tiny)...so don't worry.

Copy that.

>Just out of curiosity, did you hear the e-brake warning chime?

No, I did not but then again I have the no frills Honda 2020 Fit LX CVT. Not even floor mats came with the car and I declined any and all extras the salesperson and two other's tried to upscale me on. I don't know if my model comes equipped with warning chimes or not. Perhaps I should have chosen the "for dummies" package. If my model does come with that chime I did not hear it.

>Don't be scared to investigate how your car works. It's really not that complicated, especially compared to other cars on the road. Ask questions, watch videos, read manuals, worry less, have fun.

I did due diligence prior to buying the car but not so much afterwards : (

 

>Never did that again

I'm hoping neither will I : )

 

I can verify with my 2018 Sport w/CVT, if you drive a few feet with the e-brake on, it will bark at you. A few inches isn't enough to trigger the warning though.

 

>I can verify with my 2018 Sport w/CVT...

Thanks. I don't suppose anyone can verify that my no frills 2020 Fit LX CVT has that same feature? Also if my car does have that feature would the car chime in if I only moved a couple of inches (instead of feet) with the parking brake on. TIA.

 

Hi again.
I'm about 99% sure you have a chime but agree with the previous response that you didn't travel far enough with the parking brake engaged to activate it.
But, you should prove it to yourself.
1) Pull your parking brake a small amount - one or two clicks. Just enough so that the parking brake light in your gauge cluster lights up. Don't worry, this won't fully engage your parking brake (e.g., if you are on a hill your car will roll with this level of parking brake engagement) and won't harm anything.
2) Drive forward and see if the warning chime sounds.
3) You just conducted your first experiment to better understand how your car works. Release your parking brake and continue on with your happy day.

 

Agree with this completely. Pull it only a couple of clicks, and drive forward 50 feet or so. You'll find with only a couple of clicks, your car will roll forward as if you don't even have the parking break set.

 

>3) You just conducted your first experiment to better understand how your car works. Release your parking brake and continue on with your happy day.

Thanks. I'll take your word on it : )

 

>Agree with this completely. Pull it only a couple of clicks, and drive forward 50 feet or so. You'll find with only a couple of clicks, your car will roll forward as if you don't even have the parking break set.

Thanks. I'll take your word on it : )

 

Only you can be sure you're having a happy day, but we'll take your word for it!

And yeah, don't worry about driving small distances with the parking brake on. You didn't ruin your car.

 

No big deal, you did not hurt your car.
Relax, and enjoy it.

 

I know that North-American Fits have different rear brakes than European Jazzes, but there are many quite normal situations where the parking brake is used and rear wheels are rotating.

In our country annual vehicle inspection includes parking brake testing in brake dyno tester. They slowly engage the parking brake to see that brake force increases evenly until wheels are blocked an full braking force is recorded. No damage. You can also happily use the parking brake to slow down the car from highway speed to standstill without any worry.

Parking brake can be used to manoeuvre the car in slow speed in low friction conditions like gravel or snow. I do it sometimes on paved areas too. I don't know how it is called in American English, but Finnish rally drivers call it "hand brake turn". Even though the intention is to stop the wheels, they will often do several rotations between the first move of the parking brake handle and the stop of the wheels.

 

I've driven like half a block with my ebrake on (lightly), you're good lol

 

Normally the brake linings on the rear shoes will last about 100,000 miles. Now that you've driven the car 3 inches with the parking brakes applied (the parking brake works on the rear shoes) you may need to replace your rear brake linings after less than 100,000 miles, closer to about 99,999.999953 miles