Because cable actuated parking brakes and/or the cam/actuator at the drum were never known for getting stuck? Just look at the Ranger recall ( already ) "The Problem: The shifter's bezel wiring may interfere with the shifter interlock override, preventing the shifter from locking in Park and allowing the driver to shift the transmission out of Park with the truck off and without a foot on the brake pedal, increasing the risk of a crash." completely reiterates what I said in my previous post.

 

Sounds crazy but can an E-Brake be used in an "emergency" like the old pull handle (like my 56) or foot peddle of trucks in the past? Or is it just a parking brake now... As a point my trailer can stop my truck/trailer by just using the slider on the dash..

 

One drawback to the electronic e-brake is retracting the brakes when you go to replace your brake pads / rotors. Recently, I was watching a Ram 1500 review on YouTube and they actually pointed out how there is an option in the menu system (the 12 inch display version, not sure if its all display versions or not) to retract brakes. Does anyone know if Ford provides a similar feature to retract?

My wife's Audi A4 has the e-brake, but no option to retract it. Some of the aftermarket diagnostic tools have options to do this.

Its all just one more thing that gets in the way of a shade-tree mechanic....not a huge deal in the long run, I suppose. I think anyone working on their own vehicle these days has to come to grips with the fact they need to expand the toolbox to include electronic "tools."

 

What I was getting at is that if you do have problems it's easier to figure out a workaround if the system is fully mechanical and gets harder the more electronic stuff is added.
Sounds like the problem with the ranger is due to poor planning on the engineers and not a fault of the mechanical shift interlock. I also remember back in the day when you could shift a trans out of park with the engine off and no foot on the brake. People just learned to respect the vehicle or pay the price.

​​​I'm still sticking by my thoughts that even though this new technology is nice it's dumbing people down to the point that common sense is fading away.

 

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Very cool - thanks, A.L.in BC. I'm happy to see they included this in the instructions.

 

Recently did the rear brakes on a 17' Fusion. New rotors and pads. Did a quick youtube search and found the way to put the parking brake into service mode. Very similar, if not the same, as last post. Took about 20 seconds. Then it was a normal r&r of the rotors and pads. Basic hand tools, calipers pushed in, although some misinformed videos said they had to be turned in.

 

Interesting...good to hear there are provisions for this from Ford. I couldn't find any such method to do it for the wife's A4...everything I found needed an electronic diagnostic tool of some sort which had the functionality built-in to set them in maintenance mode.

 

Since I started this thread earlier this year, instead of creating a new thread I decided to continue a further Electronic Brake discussion.

I'm now using the EBrake every time I park my truck in my garage. I have a reason why, for the truck to clear the the overhead garage door and provide enough space behind it as to allow access there is a 2" window of where it needs to be parked. Between this the F150 & the previous F250, I have done this at least 3000 times over the years. But every now and then, when getting the truck in position, placing it in Park and then removing your foot from the brake, sometimes it will roll 1-2" forward. For A long time, I have used the parking brake to keep the truck in that 2" window. Over the last month or so, the EBrake sometimes won't engage.

I have searched and re-read the users manual, there is nothing in there that alludes to an issue (Other than using it while traveling at speed !). So, does anybody have an idea why it won't engage ?

Thanks