Electronic Parking Brake in Golf 7

[brad]

In oz we call it a park brake or hand brake.
Lots of our cars do not allow you to use it while driving...it is a dog or latch and not a friction brake.

Hand brake / parking brake is a dog? name the car(s). I can't think of any.

The dog latch is when you put the automatic into park

[DV52]

Did your car come to a full stop from running at 60 k/hr?

lem2808: I had the very same experience as Zman just after I got my car. Fidgety passenger flicked on the Ebrake when the car was travelling at city speed. Fortunately he didn't fully engage the Ebrake (just flicked-it). The car didn't come to a stop, but it did not like-it at all. Loud noises from all sorts of places and strange messages from the dash-just as Zman has said. I did an auto-scan on the car after the incident (with VCDS cable). Found no errors, or faults.

I reckon that the Ebrake button on the center console should have a hood over the switch so that it requires two deliberate actions to engage the park brake. This same kind of thing happens on the normal lever-type hand brake (i.e the two deliberate actions are: press the button on the lever, then lift the lever).

[Mountainman]

My wife accidently pulled the lever up when meaning to pull the cup holder slide back - she did it without looking while I was driving at 100. The rear wheels instantly totally locked in a way no conventional handbrake could make it.

[ZMan]

Did your car come to a full stop from running at 60 k/hr?

Nope. It was just engaged for a moment. Maybe 1 - 2 seconds. Prob dropped from 60 to 50 by my estimate.

[ZMan]

I reckon that the Ebrake button on the center console should have a hood over the switch so that it requires two deliberate actions to engage the park brake.

This!

But I will also be warning all future passengers to stay away from that passenger eject switch.

[ajay1940]

Messrs. Sue, Grabbit and Run and similar ambulance chasers, will note this thread with interest.

[DV52]

This!

But I will also be warning all future passengers to stay away from that passenger eject switch.

Zman: I suspect that you are joking, but did you know that the MkVII golf already has a "seat ejection system"? It's an option that will probably cost you the annual budget of a small African nation! If you doubt my words, take a look at the thread that I started a couple of months ago:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f197/does-q-branch-work-vw-mk7's-secret-weapon-95344.html

[ZMan]

Haha DV52 I had no idea about your thread.

[rpps]

There is a Software update for the Electronic brake system, my car goes in on Friday for this update.

[adam298]

There is a Software update for the Electronic brake system, my car goes in on Friday for this update.

Do we know what the update will change?

[wai]

In the DW TV Drive It! show on TVS (Sydney), they demonstrated its application when moving in a Golf Mk 7, and it could be applied while moving, and it brought it to a standstill.

[Moonee]

What I'd like to know is why the US version of the Mk 7 Golf has a conventional hand/park brake ?

Somebody suggested to me it was a cost saving thing for the yanks but I doubt that seeing how they'd be a special manufacture for them.

[Diesel_vert]

Given that the Puebla plant in Mexico is intended to serve North, Central and South America, my guess is that a different (i.e. manual) handbrake system is more easily justified on their new Golf (and its derivatives) for those markets.

A different handbrake system for Australian models would be much harder to justify for such a small market, given that our Golfs are produced and assembled in same plant as those destined for the European market.

I am sure there are a number of other significant differences (that are not easily perceivable) for models built at the Puebla plant, compared to those built in Europe.

[flight]

Given that the Puebla plant in Mexico is intended to serve North, Central and South America, my guess is that a different (i.e. manual) handbrake system is more easily justified on their new Golf (and its derivatives) for those markets.

A different handbrake system for Australian models would be much harder to justify for such a small market, given that our Golfs are produced and assembled in same plant as those destined for the European market.

I am sure there are a number of other significant differences (that are not easily perceivable) for models built at the Puebla plant, compared to those built in Europe.

Maybe the South American roads are that bad that they need a real handbrake to hang on to?

[SonicAaron]

I would suggest you try these two tests on your test drive.

1. Stop on a steel hill facing up and then do a start with the electronic brake.

2. Do a reverse park when facing downhill, and then drive out with first having to reverse a bit before driving out.

No point in finding an easy place to do it. After all, when you buy the car, you are going to be faced with a variety of situations, and not all will be easy.

If you are happy with how the car handles it, then go for it.

I was faced with something like this last night. . .

Don't you just hold the Parking Brake button up as if it's a handbrake. . .then reverse WITH IT STILL HELD UP. . .until you feel you're past biting one, and you know that once you push the park brake button down - your car will have enough bite to start reversing immediately?