Parking brake won't release
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2016
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From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
Parking brake won't release
This is really starting to get dangerous. If my 2024 GLC300 sits for a few days, it seems the pads bond to the calipers. When I put it in reverse the car doesn't move. I step on the throttle and the car makes a loud bang and starts to move. 3k on the clock since purchasing in July. Anyone else experience this? Thanks.
Member
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 197
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From: Vermont
2023 GLC 300, 2021 VW ID4
Yes, this is normal and there are several other threads on this topic. Especially if the brakes are wet the rusty caliper will cause the pads to stick to them. To avoid this happening after driving in rain or washing the car, you can release the parking brakes (that go on automatically when you park) by pulling the release (lower left next to your knee) when you park the car. Common sense says you should only do this if you are parking on a level surface, then it is perfectly safe.
Last edited by Gitzer; Jan 2, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2022
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From: Canonsburg, PA
2022 A220 4Matic
Mine did that just yesterday. In my case, it was freezing temperature that locked up the rotors until I broke them free with engine torque. It's happened on other vehicle, not unique to this one.
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From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
Cold comfort (pun intended) to know I'm not alone. I tried the brake release method but it keeps going into Park. I probably have the sequence wrong. I'll try again. 2 months ago the car sat for 10 days while I recovered from (successful) back surgery. When I was allowed to drive after 10 days, I could not get the brakes to release. I tried in reverse, then drive, then reverse again. Probably got the the revs up to 2k in reverse when they released with a loud bang. I'm afraid I'm going to rip the pads off. Going out shortly after the car has been sitting for 48 hours. BTW, the moisture here in Galveston is constant. I live in a townhome. The building code in 2005 required 4 vents in the bottom section of the garage door. Why? So if I decide to off myself by CO, I won't take my common wall neighbors with me. So nice, moist, salt-laden air comes into the garage 90 pct of the time as my garage faces S into the prevailing wind. BTW my wife's 2023 GLE sits right next to the GLC. Doesn't move for days at a time and doesn't have this problem
Member
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 197
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From: Vermont
2023 GLC 300, 2021 VW ID4
- drive into garage
- put transmission into PARK
- turn off engine
- put ignition into “accessory”
- pull emergency (park) switch to release parking brake
- you should hear a short whirring sound coming from the rear of the car as parking brake is released
- turn off
BTW - my 2016 GLA did the same thing.
- put transmission into PARK
- turn off engine
- put ignition into “accessory”
- pull emergency (park) switch to release parking brake
- you should hear a short whirring sound coming from the rear of the car as parking brake is released
- turn off
BTW - my 2016 GLA did the same thing.
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 436
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From: Barrington IL
2015 E 250, 1999 BMW M Roadster, 1939 International Harvester, 2023 GLC
One would think with all the tech on these machines they could put a level on it to know if you are parked on level ground where there would not be a need to set the parking brake, LOL,
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- drive into garage
- put transmission into PARK
- turn off engine
- put ignition into “accessory”
- pull emergency (park) switch to release parking brake
- you should hear a short whirring sound coming from the rear of the car as parking brake is released
- turn off
BTW - my 2016 GLA did the same thing.
- put transmission into PARK
- turn off engine
- put ignition into “accessory”
- pull emergency (park) switch to release parking brake
- you should hear a short whirring sound coming from the rear of the car as parking brake is released
- turn off
BTW - my 2016 GLA did the same thing.
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Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2016
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From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
Thanks for your responses. I am going to research this issue. And I will talk to the dealer's service dept. I can't accept the idea that a $55k car has this unsolvable problem. Here's a little vid that has the bang in it. A lot less dramatic than in person.
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MBWorld God!
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Thanks for your responses. I am going to research this issue. And I will talk to the dealer's service dept. I can't accept the idea that a $55k car has this unsolvable problem. Here's a little vid that has the bang in it. A lot less dramatic than in person. https://youtube.com/shorts/Uno4nwz1v78?feature=shared
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,189
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From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
I now know more about brake pads than I ever wanted to. I still have to triple check, but it seems that the OEM part numbers are the same for 2023 and 2024. If so, then there are a few ceramic choices. The OEM's are semi metallic which is where the problem lies. I can just see paying out of pocket for ceramic pads and then MB denies a warranty claim in the future. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you. To be continued and thanks again.
MBWorld God!
Joined: Dec 2019
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I now know more about brake pads than I ever wanted to. I still have to triple check, but it seems that the OEM part numbers are the same for 2023 and 2024. If so, then there are a few ceramic choices. The OEM's are semi metallic which is where the problem lies. I can just see paying out of pocket for ceramic pads and then MB denies a warranty claim in the future. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you. To be continued and thanks again.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,189
Likes: 187
From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
The trick of holding the parking brake release out and then turning off the ignition worked. After exiting I used the door handle to rock the car. It did move a bit but encountered resistance. So I would imagine there is a driveline lock as well. Still going to ask the dealer for help.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2021
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2021 Glb35 AMG (2013 GLK 350)
My GLB35 had a transmission error in first week due to parking brakes not released from parking position. MB had a transmission software update to solve the problem after 10 months of the error... Still parking brakes sticks when it is wet, but at least there is no transmission error...
I now know more about brake pads than I ever wanted to. I still have to triple check, but it seems that the OEM part numbers are the same for 2023 and 2024. If so, then there are a few ceramic choices. The OEM's are semi metallic which is where the problem lies. I can just see paying out of pocket for ceramic pads and then MB denies a warranty claim in the future. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you. To be continued and thanks again.
MBWorld God!
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 32,222
Likes: 6,279
The trick of holding the parking brake release out and then turning off the ignition worked. After exiting I used the door handle to rock the car. It did move a bit but encountered resistance. So I would imagine there is a driveline lock as well. Still going to ask the dealer for help.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 257
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From: Vancouver Island
I parked my B200 outside for 6 weeks in Coquitlam BC on a friend's concrete driveway (late September-November) and when I got back from Europe, the pads were rusted to the rotors. Which is odd, because it's outside at home too.
Anyway, the upshot is that after dumping the clutch pedal to unlock the pads, I checked the front pads and all 4 had come loose from their steel backing plates. Rears were fine.Had to change them right away. The front pads were older and salt had affected the glue a bit, I suspect, but that was the first time in 50 years of driving that it's ever happened to me.
Looking forward to the arrival of the GLC in a few months' time....
Anyway, the upshot is that after dumping the clutch pedal to unlock the pads, I checked the front pads and all 4 had come loose from their steel backing plates. Rears were fine.Had to change them right away. The front pads were older and salt had affected the glue a bit, I suspect, but that was the first time in 50 years of driving that it's ever happened to me.
Looking forward to the arrival of the GLC in a few months' time....
Last edited by 404CPE; Jan 4, 2025 at 07:37 PM.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,189
Likes: 187
From: TX
2023 GLE3502W, 2024 GLC3002W, 1967 Pontiac GTO 4 sp (sold...sniff)
UPDATE...sent an email to the dealer service mgr with a link to the vid and an explanation. She called to say it's normal. Which of course it isn't. Rather than argue on the phone, I agreed to stop by and she would arrange for me to talk with the shop foreman. To be continued....
