MoT success

[Baxlin]

Just collected my C70 after a successful MoT test. Not without a couple of advisories, including one I don’t really understand (nor their explanation, tbh!)

It’s
“Near side rear (handbrake on nsr lower force than osr by 100kgf)”

Anyone explain what it means in layman’s terms?

Thanks

[Welton]

It means there's an imbalance between the left and right rear handbrake effort.

A strip, clean and lubrication of the slide pins and caliper clips etc should see that imbalance addressed.

Worst case is that the calipers might need replacing as they are sticking on - although if there are sticking you'd feel the brakes binding at low speed manouvres (and the discs would be hotter than normal after driving).

[Auto Addict]

Originally Posted by Baxlin

Just collected my C70 after a successful MoT test. Not without a couple of advisories, including one I don’t really understand (nor their explanation, tbh!)

It’s
“Near side rear (handbrake on nsr lower force than osr by 100kgf)”

Anyone explain what it means in layman’s terms?

Thanks

Yes it seems quite strange to put that down as an advisory however to put it simply... it appears your nearside rear handbrake grips less then your offside rear.
It seems like they have both passed so to me it suggests either your offside rear handbrake may be a bit over adjusted requiring backing off ... or the nearside just passed and need adjusting up.
Brakes (including hand brake) are usually tested on mechanically driven rollers simulating driving conditions and the (kgs) number represents the force required to stop the vehicle.
I hope this help.

[iainmd]

Worthwhile getting the handbrake cables checked. On my S40 they were in a shocking condition inside the outer sheath.

The handbrake mechanism on these cars is abysmal and, for Volvo, should be a complete embarrassment. The earlier 2004-2006 models were completely unsafe. Mine trundled down a hill on its own and only by the grace of God avoided other cars and didn't disappear down a 6ft drop at the end of the car park!

What was Volvo's solution to the problem, a recall. Good, you might think. But no, it was a printed addendum in for the manual to guide you as to how to best mitigate the cr@p design by applying the footbrake before pulling on the handbrake! Lesson, never leave the car parked when not in gear and don't assume that Volvo are as safety conscious as they used to be.

That's a bit of an aside but when it came to my MOT failing handbrake on imbalance such as yours it transpired that the cable on one side was sticking due to corrosion and the other side had more broken cables than the Forth Road Bridge. None of this was visible to the eye as the cable is encased within an outer sheath.

Iain

[Welton]

Good point there about checking the cable-in-sheath set up at the rear.

I use my handbrake a lot, I don't think its nice to sit with your foot on the brake pedal (pad material contamination of disks and bright red light in the face of the car behind) so I reckon my handbrake gets a really good workout - has probably kept it going all these years.