[AnthonyT]

I drove about 1/4 a mile with my parking brake slightly up, like the first knotch up. I'm somewhat paranoid, anyone know if I could of caused any damage or anything of the sort.

[RoamPT]

You're fine don't worry. There's no damage.

[bomorgan123]

Worn out brake pads? :O

[amullo]

Slightly worn brakepad, abit higher fuelbill.
Your good.

[AnthonyT]

Thanks guys, I didn't even realize. I pulled out of a parking lot after I thought I put it gully down. Went down a few entrances thrn parked and saw the light. Ooof

[kiel_dafo_kenyg_as]

IMO first notch just tensiones the wire cable and doesn't engage brake pads.
OTOH what you did is similar to what is recomended by BMW in order to keep the parking brake in good working condition (once a year a little grinding removes rust from the brake drum which is part of the rear rotors)

[Austin 1439]

Did the car illuminate the red brake light? If not you did no damage but if you said it was one notch it still would not do much of anything, basically would've been the same as light braking.

[udm328i]

What white blue said, BMW actually recommends this in the owners manual.

[BMRSEB]

Not true!! You'll need new rear rotors, pads, new drum, brake cable, parking brake fluid, different from "normal" brake fluid!

[drewnel22]

Originally Posted by Austin 1439

Did the car illuminate the red brake light? If not you did no damage but if you said it was one notch it still would not do much of anything, basically would've been the same as light braking.

I bet it wasn't even doing anything. Don't worry about it.

[silver28]

My brother drove with his parking brake half way up 20 years ago in his 1989 Maxima. His rear discs were glowing red according to a driver beside him, who notified him.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by AnthonyT

I drove about 1/4 a mile with my parking brake slightly up, like the first knotch up. I'm somewhat paranoid, anyone know if I could of caused any damage or anything of the sort.

Although I don't know it for sure, I presume BMW's parking brake works like most others and applies tension to only the rear brake pads. Odds are you wore the brakes down a bit more than they otherwise would have been had the parking brake been fully released, but otherwise you will be fine.

FWIW, when I was nearing (about 6 months away) the end of my free maintenance period, I drove around with the parking brake slightly on for a while to make my brakes wear down before the expiration of my free maintenance. I was almost certainly going to miss the free brake change by about a week or two if I didn't. I had no issues then and have had none since.

All the best.

[hockeyplayer]

Originally Posted by tony20009

Although I don't know it for sure, I presume BMW's parking brake works like most others and applies tension to only the rear brake pads. Odds are you wore the brakes down a bit more than they otherwise would have been had the parking brake been fully released, but otherwise you will be fine.

FWIW, when I was nearing (about 6 months away) the end of my free maintenance period, I drove around with the parking brake slightly on for a while to make my brakes wear down before the expiration of my free maintenance. I was almost certainly going to miss the free brake change by about a week or two if I didn't. I had no issues then and have had none since.

All the best.

The parking brake works like a drum brake on the inside of one of the rear brakes. They are totally different than the rear brake pads that stop the vehicle.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by hockeyplayer

The parking brake works like a drum brake on the inside of one of the rear brakes. They are totally different than the rear brake pads that stop the vehicle.

That doesn't align with my general understanding of how parking brakes work (http://www.directtire.com/auto-repai...emid/1829.aspx), but I can't say you are wrong either as I don't know if BMW implements a different approach to parking brakes than is common among other cars.

All the best.

[hockeyplayer]

Originally Posted by tony20009

That doesn't align with my general understanding of how parking brakes work (http://www.directtire.com/auto-repai...emid/1829.aspx), but I can't say you are wrong either as I don't know if BMW implements a different approach to parking brakes than is common among other cars.

All the best.

Just for clarifications sake: starts with picture 7 here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by hockeyplayer

Just for clarifications sake: starts with picture 7 here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm

My read of that information doesn't make it clear to me that the parking brakes are entirely independent of the brakes that stop the car when it's in motion. Maybe that's because of my reading skills; maybe it's because of Pelican's writing skills; maybe it's because establishing that distinction isn't what Pelican sought to do with passage they wrote and thus that aspect remains ambiguous.

In any case, I don't really want to debate the matter because I don't think there's much point to it or much to be gained by you, me or other readers. TY all the same for providing the link. Regardless of its impact on my thinking about the design of the BMW parking brake system, it provided information that is good to know.

All the best.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by tony20009

That doesn't align with my general understanding of how parking brakes work (http://www.directtire.com/auto-repai...emid/1829.aspx), but I can't say you are wrong either as I don't know if BMW implements a different approach to parking brakes than is common among other cars.

All the best.

BMW uses separate drums for the parking brake. This is actually the more common method for cars with disk brakes. Some do use a mechanism that applies the service brake pads to the rotors (VWs, Saabs), but that is not as common as the separate drum arrangement, at least for European cars. Also tends to be more problematical and less effective - it takes more pressure to actuate a disk brake than a drum brake. And these are certainly not the only methods - my Range Rover uses a separate drum on the back of the transmission for the parking brake. Old Saabs and Subarus had the handbrake on the front wheels.

[hockeyplayer]

Originally Posted by tony20009

My read of that information doesn't make it clear to me that the parking brakes are entirely independent of the brakes that stop the car when it's in motion. Maybe that's because of my reading skills; maybe it's because of Pelican's writing skills; maybe it's because establishing that distinction isn't what Pelican sought to do with passage they wrote and thus that aspect remains ambiguous.

In any case, I don't really want to debate the matter because I don't think there's much point to it or much to be gained by you, me or other readers. TY all the same for providing the link. Regardless of its impact on my thinking about the design of the BMW parking brake system, it provided information that is good to know.

All the best.

Thanks I wasn't trying to start a debate. All good!

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

BMW uses separate drums for the parking brake. This is actually the more common method for cars with disk brakes. Some do use a mechanism that applies the service brake pads to the rotors (VWs, Saabs), but that is not as common as the separate drum arrangement, at least for European cars. Also tends to be more problematical and less effective - it takes more pressure to actuate a disk brake than a drum brake. And these are certainly not the only methods - my Range Rover uses a separate drum on the back of the transmission for the parking brake. Old Saabs and Subarus had the handbrake on the front wheels.

TY for the clarification. It's far more clear/comprehensive (relative to the discussion) than the other stuff I read at various web links.

All the best.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by hockeyplayer

Thanks I wasn't trying to start a debate. All good!

+1

[DOMs335D]

nothing to worry about