When should I use the Emergency Brake?

[BillTheCat]

Ridiculous location of "switch".
First test drive at dealers I reached down to release parking brake and the hood popped! Didn't feel like an idiot at all!

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[RHeinz]

It's a Parking Brake, as there isn't IMHO an Emergency Brake on the Bronco.

Use it whenever you've parked your Bronco.

Get your Bronco in a big open area and go 45 to 50 MPH. Actuate the “Parking Brake”. It will quickly bring you to a very controlled stop.

 

[UncleBrad]

Only in Emergencies. (joke)

It's a parking brake. Use it when parking.

I have a 7 spd, I (we) set the brake EVERY time I (we) get out.

Possibly not as important with the auto trans unless you are parking on an incline.
Many folks from hilly areas will chime in about how weak the parking pawl is on any automatic. Don't trust it, set the parking brake.

The ideal set up is to set the brake and point the wheels towards a safe direction if it were to roll.
In town, point them towards the curb,
On the trail, away from the cliff ....

Exactly. On my old 2012 JK, parked on an incline in a suburban housing edition, the manual transmission popped out of gear (yes, by itself), rolled down the hill and hit a light pole across the street. It smashed in the rear tailgate, and I had not set the EB. I later found out I wasn't alone - other people had experienced the same problem. Fortunately, there were no cars or pedestrians in the path of the wayward Jeep at the time.

The emergency brake on the new Bronco is not a proper "rip-it" lever, and it is located in an absolutely ridiculous location. But regardless of the hassle, I will use it any time I park with the manual from now on. Lesson learned.

 

[Valhalla]

Is it different now that it's merely electronic? Or are there still cables like the old days, which are prone to degradation and corrosion used or not?

I don't trust all the electronic wizardry or lack thereof and this e-brake thing seems super prone to failure....

It uses a valve to keep fluid pressure on the brake mechanism when you apply it.

 

[Mako]

every time you park , period... turn your tires toward the curb

 

[BroncoChallenger]

I am one of the few who almost never uses the parking, or emergency, brake.

On flat surfaces, I don't bother with an automatic or a manual. Put a manual transmission in the lowest gear OPPOSITE the direction it may roll (1st if the rear is downhill, R if the front is). With an Automatic, the pawl should hold with zero issue. This has held for me for 25+ years. This is >95% of all my parking situations.

On slight inclines, I have used it on manual transmissions. Usually don't bother with automatics unless it feels like it wants to roll, which usually means the park pawl is worn excessively.

I have used it when parked on large inclines, in both manual and automatic transmissions.

 

[Brian_B]

I grew up in Indiana, where it was flat, and I always thought that it was an "Emergency Brake" to be pulled only in the event someone cut your brake line, like you always see the villians doing on those cheap spy movies. We didn't have hills anywhere.

Now I live in the mountains. I still have the bad habit of just leaving my manual in 1st/R when I park, but I have noticed it doesn't take much of an incline for the Bronco to be able roll through that.

I should use it every time, but in reality, I only use it if I'm on any sort of incline. Or I want to leave the truck running in N and get out.

 

[UncleBrad]

I am one of the few who almost never uses the parking, or emergency, brake.

On flat surfaces, I don't bother with an automatic or a manual. Put a manual transmission in the lowest gear OPPOSITE the direction it may roll (1st if the rear is downhill, R if the front is). With an Automatic, the pawl should hold with zero issue. This has held for me for 25+ years. This is >95% of all my parking situations.

On slight inclines, I have used it on manual transmissions. Usually don't bother with automatics unless it feels like it wants to roll, which usually means the park pawl is worn excessively.

I have used it when parked on large inclines, in both manual and automatic transmissions.

Driving manuals for 50 years, I did the same thing. Placing the transmission in a forward gear (especially a higher gear, like third) seemed to be the right thing to do. But 45 years later I did it with a vehicle that liked to pop out of third.

 

[Ride Em Bronco]

I have been driving manuals ever since my first car - a 1974 Z-28 - and in fact both my SO and I have never owned anything but manuals. And like others are saying, especially if you are driving a manual, you do need to use the parking brake ever time that you park - and we all have stories to tell when we forgot to do so. True - the electric parking brake is out of the way - but after remembering to use it each time it will eventually become a habit.

 

[Darren D]

At Off Roadeo, the instructor told us to use when parking on an incline. While still in gear, turn on the parking brake. Then put it in neutral to let it settle, then park. What that does is take the pressure off the gears when going from park to another gear, that big thump out of park. I do it every time on an incline and it works great. Some fantastic info given at BOR! Highly recommended!

 

[ZeoBandit]

I rarely use it with an automatic vehicle unless it is on an incline/decline. With a manual transmission, I use it every time.

 

[Fordified1]

Driving manuals for 50 years, I did the same thing. Placing the transmission in a forward gear (especially a higher gear, like third) seemed to be the right thing to do. But 45 years later I did it with a vehicle that liked to pop out of third.

Well, in the first place you were doing it wrong. You have to put it in the lowest gear.

 

[Broadcast Static]

Doesn't seem any less convenient than the old t-lever parking brake under the dash of old Toyota pickups and I didn't have any problem getting used to that

 

[UncleBrad]

Well, in the first place you were doing it wrong. You have to put it in the lowest gear.

If the nose is going downhill, you'd be correct. That's what we do to exploit engine breaking, for instance, going down steeply. But if the nose is on an incline, and the issue is the vehicle rolling backwards, it seems a higher gear is in order. The greater the ratio between the wheel rotation and the transmission gears introduces more resistance when rolling backwards, making it easier to hold. It's the same principle, but in reverse.

What's in the second place?

 

[Brian_B]

If the nose is going downhill, you'd be correct. That's what we do to exploit engine breaking, for instance, going down steeply. But if the nose is on an incline, and the issue is the vehicle rolling backwards, it seems a higher gear is in order. The greater the ratio between the wheel rotation and the transmission gears introduces more resistance when rolling backwards, making it easier to hold. It's the same principle, but in reverse.

What's in the second place?

I think you have that mixed up a bit

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