What is wrong with my ebrake....?
 

So I parked my car today and pulled the ebrake up and went to the gym for about 1 1/2 hours and when I left the parking garage I noticed that my "BRAKE" light was on in the dash so I thought to myself "crap...I left the ebrake on?" and I checked my handle only to find it released already and the lights were still on, so I parked my car real quick on the side and pulled the ebrake up and released it again to see if that takes care of the problem, DING the lights went out and than as soon as I started driving for about 2 min the lights came back up but the warning message on the little screen didn't come on. So....is there something wrong with my ebrake mechanism?

Check your brake fluid level. May just need to be topped off.

most of the time when that issue comes up, its low brake fluid in the fluid reservoir . check it.

ok I'm going to check now. Funny thing is that I just checked it like 2 days ago and it was at the top off line.

Okay so I'm sort of confused. When I popped the brake fluid cover off I see two containers, one with almost clear fluid in there and it's topped off at -MAX and the other small container (almost dark brown / yellow) fluid and it sits between -MAX and -MIN. So....is the second container for the ebrake? Sorry I'm a noob.

That means you need to top off that reservoir, and this will stop the light from coming back on again. like shrute said

It seems odd that a new car would need brake fluid so soon. You might want to get your brakes checked for leaks, just to be on the safe side. They are kind of important.

If the initial fluid level was a bit low, not unheard of. Pad wear varies a lot between drivers. If he is hard on brakes and had a lower initial fill, I am not surprised. The fluid may not be leaking, it may just be that the pads are heavily worn and that is where the fluid is (in the calipers).

If the brake light is coming on from low fluid, that means there's air in the system and it should be purged.

It's very well likely that the OP has air in their brakes that need to be bled out (given that the reservoir is full & between add/full), or that there is something else amiss - ie, an ABS sensor.

:icon14: at folks who won't just take their car to have it checked! As someone else said, the brakes are kind of important.

I thought the ebrake worked on a cable. It is an emergency brake, after all. i.e., if you were to suffer a complete loss of fluid somehow, you'd still have a backup braking mechanism that isn't reliant on the fluid system.

Just as I suspected, it's a cable system, there is no fluid involved. (Which is why you never have to bleed the e-brake system, and it's also why you can yank the handle up and down with the car turned off as many times as you want without the handle stiffening up, unlike what happens if you pump the brake pedal with the car turned off.)

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/t...09-91728AM.jpg

It does, the brake warning light is an idiot light for anything wrong with the braking system, including the ebrake.

:)

could just as well be a faulty switch at the ebrake.

where is the switch located that turns on the "brake" light for the ebrake? possibly take a look at that, and if your brake needs adjustment. (i.e. - possibly very close to engaged when all the way down thus the car things its on).

In semtex's diagram that's item #3 :tiphat:

what is very confusing to me is that I just bought the car about 3 weeks ago and I have been following all the break-in rules and including brake bed in rules as well. Never pushed pass 4K RPM and never have really been slamming on the brakes or heavy braking it. It's got about 700mi on the car and I'm just sort of mad at things like this happening to a brand new car lol

Maybe you should have driven it like you stole it, like I did?

;)

:icon17: please post your VIN for all future used-car purchases. TY! :tup:

Jake, just take you car to the dealership and have them take a look at it, adjust, etc. There have been a few other people on this board who have needed their e-brake adjusted because even when yanked all the way up, their ebrake wouldn't hold the car on an incline. Like the brake shoes weren't engaging with enough force. I know that's a different issue than what you're experiencing, but I wouldn't panic over it.

Sure, but what good would that do?

Alright, the stealership it is!!!
I'll keep you guys posted on what the problem is

low brake fluid would actually be indicated by the brake light, slip light and vdc off light. Also, the fluid likes to be much more near the max side than the min side. I got the above indications with it just over the mold line in the resorvoir between the top and bottom halves.

Brake light doesn't always mean it's your e-brake...in my G35c, my brake light, SLIP, VDC (i think something like all 3) came on, and one or two would go off once in awhlie, but when I refilled my brake fluid, it was all peachy after that...


hahaha..I said peachy...gay...

i say the ebrake switch got stuck momentarily. i would cycle the e-brake handle on/off 10-20 times and see if that takes care of it.

on a side note, my brake fluid was low when i got the car and added some. no issues though, no leaks or anything, pedal feels solid.

I've never pulled the e-brake on any of my cars, except when parked. I'd be scared to do it for any purpose other than emergency stops.

"E" stands for Extra, Not Emergency.....:tup:

if i'm not mistaken, the second smaller container is the fluid used for the slave cylinder which is what opperates your clutch pedal much like the master cylinder does the brakes. i have no idea if a slightly low level would cause the light to come on in the salve reservoir but it may be nothing at all and never happen again. if it does keep happening, i would take note of as many things as i could such as: how long as the car been sitting before you drive it and the light stays on, how long had it been driven before the last time you stopped, does the BRAKE light clear every time you stop and pull the handle and put it back down, etc. then call a nissan dealer and ask them about it, chances are they will just tell you to bring the car in so they can check it out but at least you will have some info to give them. otherwise they'll just go out to the parking lot, turn the car on, see the light go away and say "cannot duplicate" and be done with it

doh!

I have yet to yank the hand brake, no idea how hard it grips.

Don't worry....it doesn't......;)

I do mildly remember using it at a stop light, and it was having trouble holding the car, so it can't be too awesome.

In the case of how our brakes are set up, that's actually true.

You may also want to take it in to the dealer and have them check the e-brake mount. My e-brake light started staying on after startup even though the brake handle was all the way down. Sometimes the light would go off after doing a restart and sometimes it wouldn't. After a week I started to hear a very slight tin-sounding clang. Eventually over time it started to get louder particularly when turning the wheel. When I took it in to the service dealer it turned out that the e-brake mount had partially broke one of its mounting points. They replaced the mount under warranty and never had the e-brake light problem since.

Just another possibility other than low brake fluid .....