XC60 Electronic Handbrake

[Peternb]

I suspect this is a rather stupid question! I am due to take delivery in October (hopefully!) of a manual XC60 D4 AWD MY2014. If you are stopped on a steep hill in a queue of traffic, how does the handbrake work? With a manual handbrake if you were in that situation, once the traffic starts moving you would gradually ease off on the handbrake as you move away, but obviously you can't do that with an electronic one? Thanks for your advice. Peternb

[wimorrison]

Originally Posted by Peternb

I suspect this is a rather stupid question! I am due to take delivery in October (hopefully!) of a manual XC60 D4 AWD MY2014. If you are stopped on a steep hill in a queue of traffic, how does the handbrake work? With a manual handbrake if you were in that situation, once the traffic starts moving you would gradually ease off on the handbrake as you move away, but obviously you can't do that with an electronic one? Thanks for your advice. Peternb

You just press the accelerator and it releases automatically you only ever need to apply the EPB, as LNG as you have the seatbelt done up it will release when you start to move.

Really useful, and it means you cannot drive away with the brake partly on, unlike the traditional ratchet lever.

[mfresh]

You just start driving and the brake comes off automagically. At least, that's what happens in an automatic.

[mfresh]

Ah, Wimorrison, you beat me to it, you grumpy old sod....

[madman1]

Originally Posted by mfresh

You just start driving and the brake comes off automagically. At least, that's what happens in an automatic.

Does in a manual too!

[tangey]

Originally Posted by Peternb

I suspect this is a rather stupid question! I am due to take delivery in October (hopefully!) of a manual XC60 D4 AWD MY2014. If you are stopped on a steep hill in a queue of traffic, how does the handbrake work? With a manual handbrake if you were in that situation, once the traffic starts moving you would gradually ease off on the handbrake as you move away, but obviously you can't do that with an electronic one? Thanks for your advice. Peternb

As others have said it dis-engages automatically. However its not as useful/flexible as a handbrake, in situations where you are in an uphill queue, or waiting to exit an uphill side road, where you can hold the car on the handbrake, as you inch forward a bit at a time, and reengage etc. The EPB is all on or all off.

[watchboy]

You can however 'hold it on' when towing for example. If you apply the handbrake and are then ready to pull away but are worried about rolling back you can press and hold the handbrake button until you are confident that you have sufficient momentum / traction to pull away!

Or at least it was like that in the V70 and as described in the hand book :-)

So you still have a level of manual intervention. Once you are used to it, it really is a piece of cake...... you can hardly have a moan about the fact that you have to press a button to apply it v's a manual handbrake where you have to manually pull a lever up and then press a button to release it ;-)

Once you are used to it you forget all about it except having to push the button to apply it hopefully.

I'm in a hire car until mine arrives which has a manual handbrake and the number of times I have gone to set off with the hand brake still applied is nobodies business!!

Paul

[Westyman]

I have to be so careful in the MX5, the boot release is in a very similar place to the park brake button!!

[Harvey1512]

I've had my V60 for 14 months now. I have never liked the electronic handbrake, my wife HATES it. Push to engage, lift and depress the brake pedal to release. On a hill start I had to be quick to go from the brake to the accelerator to avoid rolling back. I thought I had read the handbook relating to this but clearly not closely enough. I don't normally bother reading XC60 threads but the electronic handbrake heading caught my eye. After reading the above posts I very excitedly got into my car last night, drove 10m, engaged the brake and then pressed the accelerator. It worked as described on here. I then found a hill, no traffic around, and did the same just to test that it worked on a slope (illogical but just run with it). Of course it worked perfectly. 14 months of hating the electronic handbrake when there was actually no need. Ah well, thank you forum! (slopes off sheepishly)

[logiejames]

Originally Posted by Harvey1512

...Push to engage, lift and depress the brake pedal to release. On a hill start I had to be quick to go from the brake to the accelerator to avoid rolling back...

When I ordered my XC60 (which I should pickup tomorrow!). I didn't know about the handbrake situation (cos paying attention during a test drive is for squares it seems! Plus I never needed to use it). After I later realised, from a picture, the hand brake wasn't in the usual place I went to ask the dealer and they explained it was a button down on the right. I then went into crazy RTFM mode over fear of how to start on hills and what not cos I imagined it being just like you say it was with your V60 before you knew.

The manual and this thread have very much put me at ease though .