Automatic Parking Brake?

[adam1991]

The parking brake can be improved.

Took me a while to remember which way was on and which way is off.

Life is hard. It’s harder when you’re stupid.

we live in a world where people can't figure out the Bronco window switches, so...

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[adam1991]

You must be tons of fun at a party.

...and at the Bronco Offroadeo.

 

[Figmo]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Yelchin#Death

I’m a Trekkie so ya - know all about that. There are a million ways to die in this world. We all walk that fine line between absolute safety and practicality every day when we get out of bed. Sadly, sometimes we cross that line.

Thankfully, experience and common sense ensure these sorts of tragedies are rare. And when they do happen, can serve as a reminder to the rest of us to be a little more cautious.

Had a buddy that was crushed by the bucket on his tractor when he was working on it and the hydraulics failed. Horrible. I’m a lot more careful to put safeties in place before getting under my equipment since then.

I prefer to live (and hopefully, someday die) on my own terms. And extend the same courtesy to others. Hence my comment about people adamant about always setting the brake probably not needing the car to do it for them. If it’s important to them, it’s probably already muscle memory.

 

[SierraBronco]

I’m a Trekkie so ya - know all about that. There are a million ways to die in this world. We all walk that fine line between absolute safety and practicality every day when we get out of bed. Sadly, sometimes we cross that line.

Thankfully, experience and common sense ensure these sorts of tragedies are rare. And when they do happen, can serve as a reminder to the rest of us to be a little more cautious.

Had a buddy that was crushed by the bucket on his tractor when he was working on it and the hydraulics failed. Horrible. I’m a lot more careful to put safeties in place before getting under my equipment since then.

I prefer to live (and hopefully, someday die) on my own terms. And extend the same courtesy to others. Hence my comment about people adamant about always setting the brake probably not needing the car to do it for them. If it’s important to them, it’s probably already muscle memory.

It’s one of those things where it’s common to look at a safety feature with disdain, especially when that feature gets in the way of something that’s being done with purpose. That said, I’ve seen unoccupied pickups drive into live wellheads. Long hours, tired humans, and distractions can lead up to a bad time. It’s easy to pass it off as “dumbasses being dumbasses” but sometimes being awake for 37 hours can turn even the most diligent of us into a dumbass. Autopark/brake might have saved many incidents from occurring, but…are we tracking that?

 

[orion]

Personally I've never used a parking brake religiously till this Bronco.

My first car was a manual 1986 F-150. If you used the parking brake in winter, sometimes it would freeze and not disengage. Quit using it and just parked with it in granny gear or reverse. Obviously if parked on a decent incline I would set the parking brake. All cars after that the same way. A frozen parking brake in the morning when your headed out sucks.

This 4 cylinder bronco has low compression and even in 4L crawler can't hold on my driveway thus e-brake all the time in it...

 

[V1Rotate]

This 4 cylinder bronco has low compression and even in 4L crawler can't hold on my driveway thus e-brake all the time in it...

I was thinking about that earlier.. difference these days with the tiny displacement turbo engines is you can darn near turn the things over by hand in comparison to similar vehicles of the past

 

[Red Dawn]

LOL, never used it and probably won't, don't know where it is anyway. I did however use a manual parking brake, you know the handle with the cables that you pulled up in the center console.

 

[Rydfree]

My wife's Mazda CX-50 applies and releases the parking brake automatically and we like that feature. One less thing to worry about. I always put the parking brake on and the Bronco auto releases it but I wish it auto engaged as well. If you tow a lot and hate the slight roll you get after putting in park when you're lining up the hitch, applying the parking brake before putting in park eliminates that slight roll back.

 

[BluebroncoNC]

I live in the mountains of WNC, parking break use is so ingrained in me, when I'm at the beach, out of habit, I still engage it.

Always figured, it is there for a reason.

 

[Sparkie]

I just wish they would have put the switch by the window buttons on the console. I supppose all the designers drive automatics and are used to never having to grab the Tee handle next to the hood release! Us manual drivers are used to it being behind the shifter. I know the older cars with bench seats had them under the dash as well but I find it a pain to use and only use it if parked on a hill.

I agree.
I understand why Ford made it an electric brake, but it definitely should have been on the center console -- even for the auto trans Bronco. Like they say in real estate -- "location, location, location".

 

[Sparkie]

Been there, done that. Having mostly owned MT cars, every time I park my AT Bronco I engage the park brake out of habit. It’s so routine, it is essentially “automatic”.

I had a 2013 manual Ford Focus hatchback. In the center console, it had the classic pull lever brake with the thumb button release. My son bought a 2015 Focus automatic (DCT) and it had that exact same brake lever. Every time I had to rearrange cars in the driveway, I would still pull that brake. Now he uses it too.

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