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Is the JK Parking brake self adjusting?

33K views 24 replies 20 participants last post by  ekuryluk 
#1 ·
I searched and found how to manually adjust it, but I ask if it is self adjusting like old drums are.... because if I pull the brake up sometimes it will go up (for ex:) 75% and other times 25% of the way up. meaning everytime I pull it up the tension is either at those two spots consistently. I can get it to catch at the 25% up if I raise it slowly....
 
#2 ·
No, it is not self adjusting....being an independent system in it's own drum. Self adjusters were designed as you apply regular braking on a combination system, brake shoes and drums. Some design used the caliper itself for braking and parking brake , but not jeep wranglers. The lever on the brake mechanics inside the drum turned the star wheel slightly to spread shoes, on different vehicles.
 
#3 ·
Yeah I used that (brake drums) to explain what I meant by self adjusting. I guess its a bad example as most younger people these days may or may not even know how drums work....

so next question is any idea why its behaving that way?
 
#4 ·
The parking brake sucks. Well, not in all Jeeps but has not worked since day 1 in mine. Over 5.5 years later, I still have yet to adjust.

The parking brake in my wife's previous 2010, and now 2017 work fine.
 
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#7 ·
found this in a video and i now do it, it works. grab handle and depress button, pull up till you feel decent resistance (about 3/4) handle back down, repeat 2 more times then release button with handle in down position, pull up till you feel good resistance. should lock in good. no stopping in between pulls on the handle, one set of repeated motions.
 
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#18 ·
Well, how 'bout that! I had noticed mine getting to the full throw/pull too so.... and your suggestion worked like a champ!:)
 
#9 ·
Yeah, the handle is connected to the spring that wraps around the drum, and the drum is attached to the cables. In trying to get the thing to work, I went as far as spraying the spring and drum down with some brake cleaner had the parking brake pads adjusted. Still would not work and what happened is that the cable fell off the actuator at the backing plate. After I had the pads and rotors replaced, and re-attached the cable, I had to pull the handle up and reset it by holding the tab back with a box end wrench and now my parking brake finally works.
 
#15 ·
Mine's been acting up for like a year now and it's doing the same thing basically. I think I'm gonna have the dealer fix it. Hopefully my max care warranty will cover this since it's such a crap design. Man I wish I grabbed the parking brake mechanism out of my Pontiac before it went to the crushed 3 years ago.
 
#19 ·
We're sorry to hear about this. When you have the opportunity to have your dealer take a look, feel free to send us a PM if additional assistance is needed.
Alex
JeepCares
 
#20 ·
I checked in the Owners Manual and the term, "Parking Brake" appeared about 56 times. But never once was there a description on how to keep adjusted for an automatic or manual setup...
 
#21 ·
Even though it is a 3 year old thread, others have posted on it this week. For others who have run into the parking brake locking up at 25% then other times at 75% of the way, in all likelihood the steel cord anchor, where it attaches to the level/drum has broken apart, thus sometimes it will get lodged further from the stop level, other times stops at that level, until one day is the steel anchor pops out after having bent the stop level enough, then the parking brake no longer works...

 
#23 ·
@JeepCares Does FCA have a fix for this?

My wife and I have been living with this Jeckyl and Hyde parking brake situation in our two JKs - a 2012 two-door and a 2017 JKU. Both have manual transmissions, and both were bought brand new. We've reported this issue to the dealer several times, including the 2012's first service. The service people say there is nothing wrong with the parking brake.

It hasn't been a serious issue until yesterday. I'm teaching my daughter how to drive, using my wife's 2012 (we don't have an automatic transmission vehicle available to us). Going up a hill my daughter mis-shifted and stalled the engine. No big deal, we all do it. She tried and tried, but was struggling getting the car moving again. It was just too steep for her, she was really frustrated, so I needed to take over. She "set" the parking brake which was about halfway. As we started to switch seats, she took her foot off of the brake and we started rolling quickly backwards down hill. I had to pull the parking brake up to it's most vertical position to stop it from rolling backwards. Clearly, we avoided a much bigger problem. Is there a fix for this?
 
#24 ·
@JeepCares Does FCA have a fix for this?

My wife and I have been living with this Jeckyl and Hyde parking brake situation in our two JKs - a 2012 two-door and a 2017 JKU. Both have manual transmissions, and both were bought brand new. We've reported this issue to the dealer several times, including the 2012's first service. The service people say there is nothing wrong with the parking brake.

It hasn't been a serious issue until yesterday. I'm teaching my daughter how to drive, using my wife's 2012 (we don't have an automatic transmission vehicle available to us). Going up a hill my daughter mis-shifted and stalled the engine. No big deal, we all do it. She tried and tried, but was struggling getting the car moving again. It was just too steep for her, she was really frustrated, so I needed to take over. She "set" the parking brake which was about halfway. As we started to switch seats, she took her foot off of the brake and we started rolling quickly backwards down hill. I had to pull the parking brake up to it's most vertical position to stop it from rolling backwards. Clearly, we avoided a much bigger problem. Is there a fix for this?
Currie offers an upgrade kit for this very issue. its a bit pricy it can be found here. If you want a cheaper fix I would suggest replacing the hand brake cables that go to the drum itself they have springs that go soft overtime with rust. you can find them here.
 
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