Parking brake

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pastyboy

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2014
Messages
56
Location
South west UK
I thought the parking brake is supposed to be automatic. Most times I can get in, switch on and drive away, but other times the car asks me to release the parking brake. Am I doing something wrong, or are there circumstances when manual release is required?
 
DeJay58 said:
Without using the seatbelts it asks you for the break to release manually.
Ah, that was probably it - I was just moving it about on the drive and didn't have the belt on - thanks. Never had a car where I had to go back to school before, but it makes it interesting!
 
pastyboy said:
I thought the parking brake is supposed to be automatic. Most times I can get in, switch on and drive away, but other times the car asks me to release the parking brake. Am I doing something wrong, or are there circumstances when manual release is required?

Interesting - the car I took out for a test drive did release the parking break automatically but my one does not. I had assumed they had changed something but now I am doubting that assumption. I have the most recent s/w update.
 
The parking brake releases automatically as long as the driver's seat belt is fastened and the door is closed. All you do is select drive or reverse and hit the pedal. The car assumes that you want the parking brake to be released.
 
Lola said:
The parking brake releases automatically as long as the driver's seat belt is fastened and the door is closed. All you do is select drive or reverse and hit the pedal. The car assumes that you want the parking brake to be released.


Kewl... i didn't even realise this was a feature and did manual release ask the time just before moving off... ha now i know I will never manually release again yeah... This car gets better every day...
 
noakey said:
Lola said:
The parking brake releases automatically as long as the driver's seat belt is fastened and the door is closed. All you do is select drive or reverse and hit the pedal. The car assumes that you want the parking brake to be released.
Kewl... i didn't even realise this was a feature and did manual release ask the time just before moving off... ha now i know I will never manually release again yeah... This car gets better every day...
This will really confuse the people that do safety inspections (aside from at the dealership!). Be prepared to explain it to the tech.
 
Even though I've had my car over 6 months I only learnt this yesterday as it was mentioned in Robert Llewellyn's video of the i8. Feel a bit daft for not figuring it out myself but seems I'm not the only one :p
 
Early models didn't have automatic disengage or hill hold, it was added by the first SB update Feb/March this year.

It caught me out when I borrowed dealers i3 (pre-prod) whilst mine was in for the August Update.
 
jackt said:
Early models didn't have automatic disengage or hill hold, it was added by the first SB update Feb/March this year.

It caught me out when I borrowed dealers i3 (pre-prod) whilst mine was in for the August Update.
In my first i3 test drive last May, I asked the CA if the electronically controlled parking brake would release itself if I started driving. He said (rather emphatically!) no, that (nearly?) all BMWs have this electronic parking brake and none of them automate releasing the brake. I said, good, as I would like to see how effective the parking brake was with a slight forward drive before releasing it. When it released itself immediately upon touching the electron pedal, his jaw dropped.

I can't imagine why auto release of the electronic parking brake is not standard on all models. So long as it is not overridden when the brake is turned on while the car is already in gear (for emergency brake assist, or for getting ready to initiate park), this should be a no-brainer for BMW.
 
Some people use the emergency brake when they should really be using "Park". Nudge the pedal accidentally and it could get ugly quickly if you weren't really careful (like letting some passengers out). On my ICE BMW, it has an auto-hold button and functionality...it essentially locks all four brakes every time you come to a full stop when the button is on, then releases them when you hit the gas...but, it will NOT release the emergency brake automatically, regardless. I prefer that to what we have since there are times when the i3 will roll when I'd rather it just stay there without having to have my foot on the brake pedal.
 
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