carhunter

I test drove a C230K sport sedan and was impressed but I was amazed to see a foot actuated emergency brake in it. What the heck was M-B thinking when it did this? It doesn't belong in any car with a stick. I wouldn't consider an auto and I live where there are steep hills. There's no way I'd want to be creeping uphill in traffic with this car. I'm curious about what people do.

Faint hope #1: Does anyone make an aftermarket kit to convert it to a hand controlled brake?

Faint hope #2: Any rumours M-B will see the light and fix it?

tifosiv122

The car really wasn't designed with Stick in mind. The SLK has a handbrake in both stick and auto. I have the car is stick and have never needed to use the handbrake, even uphills, where, if you use it all the time you will eventually wear your rear rotors. There isn't going to be an aftermarket kit because that would require an entire new console among other things, and MB won't change their design so quickly.

I am sorry, but if you can't drive stick without the aid of a handbrake, I would stick to an auto.

Erik

Matt_NH

I had the same concern about the lack of a handbrake. I found a light on a hill and tried using the foot brake. I works fine just, release it and go. The car is also easy to heel and toe so I that don’t think that I will use the handbrake to ever start unless I end up on something really steep.
Matt

oggle

The foot brake is one of the most annoying features of MB. Every time I engage it I end up scratching the side of the door with my foot, not to mention I feel damn ridiculous using it.

Looks like MB was purposely designed for really really really old people or something. Hate that damn feature.

Matt230K

You shouldn't need to heel and toe either. Just start letting out the clutch before you let off the brake and the clutch will hold you and then you hit the gas.

KWiK

I like the foot brake

schwarz c230

I thought the foot brake was very strange when I bought my car, I am now used to it I think I like it.

mdp c230k

It's traditional MB. Most all MBs in the past have had foot brakes.

AndrewK

I dont know see why everyone likes the handbrake so much. Unless you have to use it to drive stick, its no less convenient to use the foot brake, and it eliminates clutter from the console area.

Iceman's C230

I also like hand brakes. When i first test drove the MB C230 i was looking for a hand brake. Then the sales rep told me no hand brakes. Ohh well you get use to it. No big deal i guess.

M-B-Michael

Simple,

Mercedes knows that a foot activated e-brake allows the driver to exert more force easier and therefore have a better working (or easier to activate) e-brake application.

Just this week there was a thread right here saying "does anyone's hand brake work?"
Click here for that thread-whatever it was called

Seems like Mercedes answered with a solution (for some).

Your joking that you need an e-brake so that you can drive stick right?

Lynn

The title of that thread does not refer to a hand brake.

moomeh

foot brake? wtf, i thought we all brake with our foot. this is the first time i heard people braking with their hand brake.

AndrewK

???

The discussion here is about the foot-activated emergency (parking) brake, not the regular brakes. Maybe I am just misreading your post.

Matt230K

I don't see any reason for having a handbrake either, except for those times that you want to put yourself into a tail slide. That's kinda tough with a foot brake. I've never used a handbrake for driving a stick, not even when I was first learning. You should be able to drive without it.

Robert Schrader

If you stop on a real steep hill, then try to start, the engine will die if you try to hang it on the throttle at idle while you move a foot from the brake to the gas. Or you can let it roll back a bunch, but that is hard on the clutch - and the poor sob behind you.
However if you have a handbrake, you can have 1 hand on the wheel, 1 hand on the brake, 1 foot on the gas, and 1 foot on the clutch.

I live at the top of a hill that is so steep that the street has dribbles of dried cement on it from cement mixers that tried to come up with a full load for the new condos down the block - and lost part of the load.
A handbrake is neccesary there.

FrankW

the foot brake has been there since I can remember about my dad's old 86 300SEL probably existed even earlier.

Matt230K

It doesn't have to be one way or the other. You can ease out the clutch enough that you don't roll back quite as much, but still keep it in far enough that you don't stall. Unless the car behind you is right on you, it's okay to let it roll a little. Since the clutch is partially engaged, it should slow down your rolling long enough to get on the gas and go.

mdp c230k

It's called knowing how to drive. Using the brake as an aid is akin to using training wheels on a bike. Once you start using it you never need to learn the proper way of driving on hills.

mctwin2kman

I agree with mdp c230k, if you need the emergency parking brake to drive up a hill or anywhere else you should have gotten an automatic. I have never once in my life of driving needed the parking brake to help me at all.

mike82y

BTW the 2003 foot brake doesnt make any noise!!!



Mike

electromethod

and the foot brake doesn't get in her way like the hand brake

My97C280Benz

I my self have a 4 door sedan, and HATE the foot break. I came from a Z28, where I would do routine 360s in the middle of the parking lot (Just to test the brakes of course!) I think cars should have a option, lol.... for people like me who just want to see how the body feels at 1.5 g spinning in circles! =)~

amiras

I don't like the foot brake but I can also say that you don't need a manual one in order to drive on a hill. If you do it right your car would never stall !!
I agree that once you do something wrong from the beginning you keep doing it wrong the rest of your life.
"Practice" is the key word here.

truelove

i actually like it. no hand brake to clutter up the center console. makes more room for other things.