[Lindsey]

Had a scary experience last summer. I was in a parking lot at a mall and when I put the brakes on, there was this horrible scraping noise. I thought I'd run over something but that wasn't it. I moved ahead a bit and applied the brakes and again the same problem. There happened to be an auto repair shop at the mall so I immediately drove there. They put it on the hoist and told me my emergency brakes had broken off and that was what caused the problem. Of course it was Sunday so I had to leave the car until Monday before they could get parts to repair it. I was so glad it wasn't something more serious.

[RoadWarrior]

I've never heard of that happening to anyone, though it's easy to see that the brake cable could have rusted through over the years and miles. I'm glad you were near a shop so that it could be fixed without having to be towed.

[FenderBender]

I have never heard of the emergency brake breaking either, but at least it didn't happen when you needed to use them! We don't have much cause to use the emergency brakes where I live since there are no big hills or anything.

[Flipit]

This is a first for me. I always have that little hint of doubt in my head when I use them, especially on an incline. I'll be even more careful now that I know that they do fail on occasion.

[Lindsey]

My car has a standard transmission, so I use my emergency brakes quite often. It wasn't the cable though. The mechanic showed me the actual brake part which had broken in two pieces. I didn't realize that the emergency brake was like this at all either.

[Hotrod25]

I don't think I've ever used the emergency brake (besides with my standard car) and it's been years since I did. I can imagine it would break if you don't use the brake often.

[sandis]

I have never had to use one either but wow that is kind of scary. I always worry about the brakes and get them checked a little more than most people do. I would much rather catch an early issue to fix than never know about it when I really need to know about it.