A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Okay, so I get my car today... it was my dad's old car. And to be honest I only drove it twice in my life; I always drove my moms. Anyway, I had to park on a hill today so I put the parking break on. Well, I had a bad night and I was talking to my friend about it and we got in the car and I didn't even think to take the parking break off because I was too caught up in what I was doing. So basically, I drove off; the car didn't do anything at all... it didn't feel weird, so I had no clue. (I never had to use the PB w/my mom's car) We get to where we were going and when we got out I started to smell this stench coming from the exhaust. It was horrible... it was sort of like a burning smell but not really. Kinda just stinky. I get back in the car, and realize that the parking break lever was up. I had a heart attack... we didn't drive THAT far, but it was far enough; maybe about a 15 minute drive w/it on. After I put it off and parked and got our coffee and came back out an hour later, I started up the car, drove across the street and into another parking lot, got out and smelled the car. It still smelled a TINY BIT but not really that much. I went home, and smelled it again and it was BARELY noticeable, but still there. And now I'm here. Did I ruin my car? My car that I JUST got today, UGHHH. I'm really scared, does anybody know if something could be wrong? The car ran fine the whole way home, though. So I'm just wondering... Thanks.
A:
No harm. The smell will go away fairly soon. The worst possible damage would be glazed brake shoes. Cost about $20 at any parts store. Under $100 to have a shop do the job for you. I hope this puts your mind at ease.
A:
Ah man, thank you so much. I drove today for a while; the smell was still there a tiny bit, again not bad. What is that smell from - that burning-ish smell? And could my regular breaks be damaged at all? It seems I have to press a little harder or something; it could just be my paranoia about the car. And could I have blown the engine or the transmission at all? Ugh, I'm just so worried about it. Let me know if it could be anything else, but eventually I'll get the brake shoes.
A:
it did nothing to your normal brakes, the hand brake or parking brake is probably ruined and you need to buy some parts to fix it, nothing to serious. Driving with it on will put extra load on the engine and decrease acceleration and fuel economy but nothing to serious. If you don't need a parking brake and the law doesn't say you need one i wouldn't bother getting it fixed, it's something good to have and it serves as a bit of a backup if your normal brakes fail but if you're tight for cash don't bother untill you have the money
A:
Ohhh alrighty, so the normal brakes are fine then; I'm sure it's my paranoia; I didn't check to see how the parking brake works yet; I'm too scared, hahaha (I'll check later though). And so it probably put a strain on the engine last night while I did it, and I noticed the acceleration was a tad off today, but is it gonna stay that way until I get something fixed? Or will that go back to normal after a while as the smell depletes? The person before you said the smell would go away, and gradually I think it is, because it definitely smelled less today than it did last night. It was just lightly there. Anyway, thanks for all your help, guys. I'm definitely MUCH less worried than before.
A:
the strain on the engine wasn't enough to do serious harm, it's probably the equivalent to towing a trailer, what i meant was it put more of a resistance on the engine. the strain would be negligeable unless you drove with it on for a long time (maybe a year or more, I dunno but not 15 minutes) then it might put some extra wear but nothing serious. the decrease could be the paranoia, maybe get some pills for that or start doing drugs (just kiding, drugs are bad and you dont need pills) lol the worst thing that could have happened is the very used and weak parking brake and the smell is like someone smoking in your car for a couple of minutes, it just has to get out of the fabric and stuff and should be gone within days. something that might help would be to vacuum your carpet, seats, etc and leave the doors open when you're not driving, and maybe have a fan running inside your car to stir up the air (not your car fan, that will kill your battery if your car isn't running) hope this helps
A:
hey, thanks, it does. cept the smell isnt inside the car, it was when i got out of the car and it was coming from the back of the car - like the back tires or the exhaust, i'm not sure. but tonight, i drove quite a bit and every time i got out of the car to check, the smell was completely gone. everything seems to be a-ok now; i think it just had to cool down or something, who knows. i was just really scared cause my dad had JUST put 500 bucks into the car to fix it all up for me and on the first day i get it - i do this. very, very stupid of me, but oh well, we all do stupid things sometimes. i learned from my mistake though and will ALWAYS double check before i take off. it was just weird that i didn't feel any sluggishness while driving it, especially down a busy highway, but okay, whatever. hahaha... anyway, thanks again!
A:
you might not have felt the sluggishness because the parking brake may have been really old and unused. if you dont use the brake you lose it, i never do, just a little tidbit
A:
Beef always has had excellent answers in the past, but respectfully, I do not agree.
Your 'parking brake' is your normal brake. The parking brake linkage just mechanically actuates the normal brake shoes (or pads in a rear wheel disc brake car) and holds them against the drum or rotor. Therefore, there is NO separate 'parking brake'.
In this case it is important to get the rear wheel brakes looked at. You have hugely overheated the rear pads or shoes. The smoke is from the pad material being overheated to the extent that it is burning and being destroyed.
Overheated shoes or pads will become exhibit many small cracks or heat checks in the friction material. This material will be much weaker and less effective at braking. In extreme cases the steel drums or disc rotors become cracked as well.
Furthermore, all the brake hardware (drum brakes only) like the return springs have been overheated and are now much weaker. If they fail, the rear wheel brakes will apply themselves and bring your car to an uncontrolled stop (not so good in the fast lane during rush hour!)
Your rear wheel brakes may be working now but their life is almost certainly reduced, and likely may fail at any time in the future. (Your front wheel brakes are unafected and can still stop the car)
This is why an inspection now is important. If the heat damage is minor, then you are likely okay. But do not guess on this. Have a mechanic inspect this just to be sure.
Also driving without a working parking brake is a safety hazard. I would never do so, and neither should you. With all due respect, if you cannot afford to have proper working brakes then do not drive, for your own safety and that of others (including me)
A:
On the cars I've seen they've always had a separate brake but then again i haven't seen many cars underworkings so I wont argue. If your parking brake uses the same brake as your normal brake (which i guess it probably does) you should replace it, if not dont bother but have a mechanic inspect your car.
A:
Alrighty, a) I believe the parking brake still works - I used it the other day. b) Now I'm having acceleration problems. Like when I get to about 20 mph there's a slight jerk and then it gets faster, and going up hills are a bit harder. Could I have blown the transmission from driving with the parking brake engaged like that for 15 minutes? My dad is absolutely going to kill me, as he JUST gave me this car, and two days before he had spent 500 bucks on fixing it up for me. This is ridiculous, sometimes I really am so dumb.
Now, if the transmission is messed up or whatever, is that really, really bad? Like is it a risk to drive? I'll take it somewhere hopefully in the next couple days and see what they say anyway, but what do you guys think?
A:
Actualy both Beef and MagicRat are right. Some car with rearwheel disc brakes use a different brake for the parking brake.
For example my Dodge Ram 2500 has a small drum style brake inside of the rotor that serves as the e-brake.
So we really need to know what Make, Modle, Ect. the car is to be sure.
A:
It's a 2001 Toyota Camry LE I believe... the LE i'd have to check on, but yeah, it's a Camry.
A:
Quick update: I took the car out before for a bit and did this diagnostic test thing for the transmission where you see if there's a delay in the switching from Drive to Neutral (It's an Automatic car) and there was no delay... but the whole jerking thing is still slightly there. *sigh* I'll just take it in I guess in a few days. I don't really use the car that much anyway - just really to get me to work and back.
A:
15 minutes with the parking brake on lightly enough that the car did not drive differently.
Reduced spring life-maybe, probably but the shoes wont fall out. I have pulled many brakes apart that worked fine only to find BROKEN hold down springs inside. Once the drum is on they really cannot move except aginst the drum via the wheel cylinder.
Reduced strength in the hardware-not likely since it is not heat treated to begin with. It gets very hot in there under normal use. Not usually this hot though.
Reduced life of shoes/pads-yes, I would look to inspect for cracking, or just replace since they are cheap.
If the drum is not now warped or cracked it will be fine. Again it is not heat treated to begin with so there is no strength to lose.
Lose any sleep over this-no. I have seen much worse abuse last a long time.