Would you know what to do if your brakes failed?

[gingersmom]

Would you know what to do if your brakes failed?

 

A student at my daughters college died after being in a car where the driver thought the brakes failed. She told everyone to jump out of the car and they did.

 

I immediately thought of what I would do if in that situation. Thankfully after 35+ years of driving my instincts of what to do are correct.

 

My kids are not driving yet but this is definitely going to be an ongoing conversation.

[frogger]

Especially since few children drive manuals now days they probably know less about down shifting, parking brakes, etc. It also depends on terrain, hills, etc. I learned to drive on a vehicle that needed the brakes fixed, not on a public road btw.

 

I'm confused about the driver thinking the brakes failed. I am not sure I understand the situation. It sounds very strange to me.

Edited July 5, 2016 by frogger

[Carol in Cal.]

Did the engine kill?  Is that why?  Because if so, you switch your automatic transmission into neutral and restart the car.

Some cars are so quiet that you don't hear them kill.  And then when you hit the brakes, they are no longer power brakes, which is extremely disconcerting.

 

If the car is still on, you downshift. 

 

If you're heading downhill and picking up speed, you try to swerve gently to one side to sideswipe something to slow you down, or stop you, avoiding a head on collision if possible.  If you're on the flat, you can probably afford to let the downshifting take your momentum and bring yourself to a stop.  If you're headed uphill, you try to set your parking brake at the apogee of your upward progress, and additionally you turn sideways when you're going very slowly, to get yourself oriented sideways to the hill so that your trajectory is flat.

 

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

My brakes have failed. My son was even in the car. It was one of those wierd clarity moments where the mom lifts the car off her kid. I was creepy calm, downshifted, and we pulled over to a stop using the doors to create drag. The brake cable snapped clean through.

 

Normally, I am a basket case with anxiety issues. Going away for the weekend induces a panic. I don't exactly know what that says about me, but it was definitely Providence helping.

 

You know when the brakes fail. There is NO doubt. You cannot "think" they fail.

[Carol in Cal.]

 

You know when the brakes fail. There is NO doubt. You cannot "think" they fail.

Yes, you can.

If the car kills,  you think you have run out of power brake fluid because when you push the brake pedal it resists, and nothing happens.

[Guest]

Yeah. Downshift if it is still going. If not, kill the engine, try starting it again, and then attempt to use the head of to slow it down. Parking brake too, if it is still working. I would jump out of a vehicle only as a last resort since I'd likely have passengers in there as well. Even in an automatic like mine there are several things to try before bailing out of a vehicle, which is so unsafe!

Edited July 5, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[umsami]

I always thought you put it in neutral and put on the parking brake.  If possible steer the car to an uphill type area....or gravel or whatever to slow you down.

 

 

But am I right? I really don't know and hope I never find out.

[frogger]

I always thought you put it in neutral and put on the parking brake. If possible steer the car to an uphill type area....or gravel or whatever to slow you down.

 

 

But am I right? I really don't know and hope I never find out.

Downshifting is better than neutral. The engine acts as a brake.

 

Jumping from a car negates the millions spent in making vehicles safer in case of a collision. You have no protection. It's like throwing away your helmet before you crash.

[TranquilMind]

I always thought you put it in neutral and put on the parking brake.  If possible steer the car to an uphill type area....or gravel or whatever to slow you down.

 

 

But am I right? I really don't know and hope I never find out.

 

I thought this too.  Someone please clarify.

 

My car shut off when I was on the highway with my babies once. The electrical system just stopped, which is different than brakes failing I guess, but it was terrifying. 

[umsami]

Downshifting is better than neutral. The engine acts as a brake.

 

Jumping from a car negates the millions spent in making vehicles safer in case of a collision. You have no protection. It's like throwing away your helmet before you crash.

 

OK....please excuse my ignorance here.... back when I drove a stick shift, sure downshifting easy peasy.  Now that I have an automatic, if it's in D....is that like 4th or 5th gear? So I want to go down to 1st or Low? (Depending on the vehicle.)

 

[regentrude]

pull parking brake, shift in lower gear

[AmandaVT]

This happened to me a few years ago and yes, I did know what do to. Drove home with no brakes (no hills and I had a manual). Lots of shifting and using my emergency brake, but I never felt like I was in danger. Quite scary to press that pedal and have it go to the floor and not do anything though.

[Guest]

I had this happen about 9 months ago in our huge diesel Ram truck. It was a massive truck. I did not know at the time, but a single belt controlled the steering and something with the braking among other things. I was going about 45 miles per hour when I lost power steering and all braking. The transmission wouldn't downshift although I was able to put it into neutral. Let me just say that it is incredibly difficult to steer a 6800 lb truck without power steering down a curvy road. I mean it seriously took every once of effort I could muster. The speed actually helped me a little on the curve. i cannot tell you how long it took me to stop; it seemed like a mile. The emergency brake also did nothing- I'm not sure why- I suspect because a lot of things are electronic these days, but I have no idea. I didn't ask and I never saw saw the truck again after they towed it away- I was done with Ram and that it happened to a barely 2 year old truck with less than 40k miles on it.

 

Luckily there was no traffic when It happened and I finally coasted to a stop about 20 ft from a big intersection. I think it's safe to say God was watching over me and my kids and the other people at the intersection. I was very lucky no one got hurt. Two very nice police officers came to my assistance and stayed with me until the wrecker came. I actually don't know what I would've done had I not been able to come to a stop. Nothing worked and the truck was so big that bumping the curb wouldn't have helped. I would've just gone over the curb. it could've been really really bad. I don't know what the answer would've been in my situation.

 

Side note- always request a special wrecker if you drive a heavy duty vehicle with 4WD. It took me four phone calls and two trucks before they could tow it. I had a saint of a friend drive over with an igloo and pick up me, my kids, and saved my groceries.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'd try the emergency break and see what I could manage with the shift thing.  Yes I'm a bit clueless of the "shift thing" but I know other positions do other things so I'd think to try it.

[MinivanMom]

This happened to me when I was a newly licensed 16-yr-old driver, and I was driving the car home on the freeway in the wee hours of the morning. I had no clue what to do when I pressed on the brakes and nothing happened. Luckily I was trying to brake as I approached my exit and the freeway was deserted at that hour. There were only 2 miles (and 4 right turns) between me and home so I managed to coast around those 4 corners and then coast to a stop in front of my house without any brakes. I took the first turn off of the freeway scary-fast and had to coast through a couple red lights, but there was no one around so it all happened safely. I've never been so scared in my life. I was very, very lucky.

 

Teach your kids what to do if the brakes fail. Especially if they're going to be driving around in a beater.

[Caroline]

I would hit the parking brake, and then downshift.

[Guest]

OK....please excuse my ignorance here.... back when I drove a stick shift, sure downshifting easy peasy. Now that I have an automatic, if it's in D....is that like 4th or 5th gear? So I want to go down to 1st or Low? (Depending on the vehicle.)

 

Some automatics, like my Nissan NV, actually can be switched into manual for 1/2/3 gear for towing and engine braking. Those are becoming more common and I remember my mom's old BMW could run in either automatic or manual transmission mode, too. That was almost 15 years ago.

 

If you cannot downshift because of an automatic transmission then neutral and parking brake is he next best option :)

[EndOfOrdinary]

Yes, you can.

If the car kills, you think you have run out of power brake fluid because when you push the brake pedal it resists, and nothing happens.

You get an idiot light before you run out of brake fluid. If the brake resists, your brakes have not failed. They may not work exactly right, but they have not failed. Something else is going on.

 

This strikes me as yet another occurance of people not knowing how their car works. You cannot troubleshoot a situation if you have no idea how the basic motor workings function. As much as I really want an electric vehicle, it puts me in a place of just blindly following and these sorts of situations show just how dangerous that it.

[Laura Corin]

My automatic has optional gears (1, 2, 3 and 4) so I'd shift into manual, downshift and use the hand brake.  I use the manual gears regularly to slow me when going down hill, so I should be able to manage them.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Laura Corin

[TranquilMind]

This happened to me when I was a newly licensed 16-yr-old driver, and I was driving the car home on the freeway in the wee hours of the morning. I had no clue what to do when I pressed on the brakes and nothing happened. Luckily I was trying to brake as I approached my exit and the freeway was deserted at that hour. There were only 2 miles (and 4 right turns) between me and home so I managed to coast around those 4 corners and then coast to a stop in front of my house without any brakes. I took the first turn off of the freeway scary-fast and had to coast through a couple red lights, but there was no one around so it all happened safely. I've never been so scared in my life. I was very, very lucky.

 

Teach your kids what to do if the brakes fail. Especially if they're going to be driving around in a beater.

That was scary just to read! 

 

 

[KrissiK]

I would down shift. And you can down shift with automatic transmission. My Sienna has 3rd, 2nd and then 1st. I've driven down a lot of mountains, so I know the engine works as a good brake.

Edited July 5, 2016 by KrissiK

[frogger]

Texasmom33- Scary!

 

 

There are arguments about whether you should downshift all the way to first at high speeds as it destroys your transmission. Honestly, if I were going fast and had any time at all I would shift to third if that is an option and apply parking brake then move to second and then first. If I was about to ram something with no options I would go straight for first. The argument isn't whether you will have to repair transmissions but if you lose the ability to continue to apply engine braking in the current situation which may be your only braking. Supposedly newer cars will work their way down rather than dropping straight to first but I drive old vehicles so don't depend on me but check for more enlightened informants for new vehicles. Parking brakes can help but really aren't meant to stop you but all friction is a friend in a bad situation.

 

Also, pumping brakes may help if brake fluid pressure is the problem.

 

Make sure your cruise control us off! Though touching the brakes should turn it off, who knows if things are going wrong.

[frogger]

Some automatics, like my Nissan NV, actually can be switched into manual for 1/2/3 gear for towing and engine braking. Those are becoming more common and I remember my mom's old BMW could run in either automatic or manual transmission mode, too. That was almost 15 years ago.

 

If you cannot downshift because of an automatic transmission then neutral and parking brake is he next best option :)

Are there cars where there is no way to manually downshift? Genuinely curious as I've never seen one but my newest car is 15 years old and they keep coming out with more stuff.

 

Almost always my edits are for homonym issues. :/

Edited July 5, 2016 by frogger

[mamakelly]

Actually, this happened to my Dh last week. He was driving our 19 year old son's 1986 Chevy Blazer home from work. He was going about 50, down a large hill and realized he had absolutely no brakes. Everyone was stopped at the red light at the bottom of the hill. Thankfully he was in the left hand lane on a 3 lane road. He drove up and over the center island into oncoming traffic, (which was far enough away from him, so he knew they would all have enough time to stop without hitting him), flipped a U-turn and then drove into an uphill driveway which slowed him down enough to downshift. He said he knew he didn't have enough time to downshift without hitting the cars in front of him. At 50 mph, the parking break was zero help. It was a miracle that he and the car didn't even have a scratch. We were so thankful Dh was driving, and not our son. Most likely, he would have severely injured himself and the people in front of him.

 

What's even more upsetting is that DH was supposed to leave the next day, driving that car, to pick up our daughter at summer camp in the mountains. If the brakes had gone out on the mountain, that would have been life threatening for both of them.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Some automatics, like my Nissan NV, actually can be switched into manual for 1/2/3 gear for towing and engine braking. Those are becoming more common and I remember my mom's old BMW could run in either automatic or manual transmission mode, too. That was almost 15 years ago.

 

If you cannot downshift because of an automatic transmission then neutral and parking brake is he next best option :)

 

yeah my last automatic had a 1st and 2nd gear, but I just looked at my car today and it doesn't so after using the emergency brake I'd try N or P or hell R...something!

 

I hope this never happens!  NY requires yearly brake inspections.  It's annoying of course, but I do think it's a good idea because honestly I'd probably just forget about it. 

Edited July 6, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[SparklyUnicorn]

Are there cars where there is no way to manually downshift? Genuinely curious as I've never seen one but my newest car is 15 years old and they keep coming out with more stuff.

 

Almost always my edits are for homonym issues. :/

 

Mine genuinely cannot downshift.  It has park, reverse, neutral, and drive...that's it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Although when I take my foot off the gas it downshifts very quickly.  I can even feel it. 

[Guest]

Are there cars where there is no way to manually downshift? Genuinely curious as I've never seen one but my newest car is 15 years old and they keep coming out with more stuff.

 

Almost always my edits are for homonym issues. :/

Every automatic I've owned has at least one or two gears available but I haven't driven every car - I honestly don't know! I think it's more that people don't know what the numbers mean - my old suburban and pontiac had them, an oldsmobile, infinity, and gmc truck had them, and now my new van has a specific option for switching it over with the computer and not just gear shift. Edited July 5, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Guest]

Mine genuinely cannot downshift. It has park, reverse, neutral, and drive...that's it.

Weird! What do you have, Sparkly?

[Joyofsixreboot]

I do now.

[MotherGoose]

My father had me go through every reasonable disaster scenario, including making me change a tire, completely, alone, before he would Iet me drive by myself. I Intend to do the same for my children. I got my drivers license in 1990 or so, and I think cars have changed a bit since then, but I'd try pumping brakes, downshifting, emergency brake, driving up embankment, etc and would almost never consider abandoning ship. FWIW, I've never actually had to change my own tire thanks to good samaratins, but it's hie to know I could if I had to.

[YaelAldrich]

Our hybrid Toyota Camry only has a B (for brake) in lieu of 4,3,2, and 1 (like in most cars).  I love this car, but this and the fact that the electronic ignition doesn't seem to be able to be overridden as in older cars (turn the car to ON, and then you can move the shifter away from P) make me worry in emergency situations.

Edited July 5, 2016 by YaelAldrich

[Doodlebug]

I was driving a 65 Chevy pick-up home from the hardware store 5 years ago when the brakes totally failed.  I was eerily calm, shifted to neutral (no D1, D2, etc), and engaged the parking brake...

 

We were three blocks from a busy intersection when I felt we hit a speed at which I could safely maneuver a hard right turn (no power steering).  Thankfully, that street inclined just enough to get us to a stop.  

 

Scary stuff!  

 

Our current automobile is standard transmission, and it would be easier for me to negotiate failed brakes... still a little heart pounding, though!

 

 

 

 

[abcmommy]

Happened to me in a 82 benz with a couple of kids in it ca 2000-2001. I coasted into a parking lot and threw it into park and yanked the parking break I guess, bc we did not die.

[AngieW in Texas]

Happened to me in my 1964 Ford Fairlane when I was a freshman in college. I was coming off of the freeway and tried to slow down on the exit ramp and nothing happened. I pushed the brake all the way down and it didn't do a thing. There were cars in front of me stopped at the light, but nobody was in the U-turn, so I took that (thought I was going to flip over) and then pulled into a parking lot and ran over every speed bump until it slowed enough that I could pull the emergency brake. I didn't know anything about downshifting and my car was an automatic. When they fixed it, they said that it looked like a rock had hit the brake line and then it all drained out.

[Rachel]

This happened to my husband. His brake drums actually broke (72 Chevy pickup, modern cars don't have drums). It was rush hour on a 7 lane road. He did manage to steer to the turn lane and slowed down enough that when he hit the car in front of him he only caused minor damage to their bumper.

 

Sparkly- how do you drive on mountains or hilly roads without a lower gear?

[TrixieB]

Mine genuinely cannot downshift.  It has park, reverse, neutral, and drive...that's it.

 

Ours is like that, but it also has some kind of manual simulator thing where you can "shift" but there is no clutch.  For those times when dh wants to pretend to drive a manual transmission, I guess.  I don't know if the manual simulator tells what "gear" the car is in.

 

Normally, to downshift going down a steep hill, I hit the brakes once and the engine downshifts.  Which wouldn't work if the brakes failed. 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Weird! What do you have, Sparkly?

 

I have a Kia Soul.

[SparklyUnicorn]

 

Sparkly- how do you drive on mountains or hilly roads without a lower gear?

 

Like any automatic, with the brakes.

 

That said, I never drive on mountains and very rarely large or long hilly roads. I live in a densely populated city.

[Guest]

I have a Kia Soul.

Yeah, my Dodge minivan has P, R, N and D. No idea how I would down shift anything?? I do know that jumping out would be a very bad idea but I can see a clueless teen thinking that was safer. Sad.

[TrixieB]

Like any automatic, with the brakes.

 

That said, I never drive on mountains and very rarely large or long hilly roads. I live in a densely populated city.

 

Try doing the quickie brake stomp thing when you're going down a hill, to see if it downshifts for you.  You should be able to hear engine pitch change.  One time I was listening to a song that has that same sound, while going down a hill, it was like in super stereo.

 

[Guest]

I wa recently the recipient of a lecture about how the brakes in my car (or any newish car)  can not *completely* fail, but can go from 100% functionality, to 40% to 20%. But never 0%.

 

From the man replacing my brakes. It was not nearly as comforting as he intended it to be :laugh: :laugh:

 

So he said, pump those suckers and glide into some bushes/anything not totally solid  to slow down.

 

The "jump out" advice strikes me as unnecessarily panic-y in 99% of actual situations. And, in any case, theres __no way__ I'd jump out now that I have kids!!!

[Guest]

Had it happen to me last fall in a busy city. I downshifted and used my E brake. Thankfully no one was in the lane beside me so I was able to get over and have the room to do that. I believe the first thing I did was say "Aaaaah sh!!!!!t" though, lol.

[Guest]

I have a Kia Soul.

Huh! Good to know :)

[frogger]

I was just curious because it seems strange to me to have no ability to shift at all. I do think automatics are better or more efficient at shifting than people so I don't typically shift manually except going down a steep grade if I want to save my brakes but still strange. So I looked up the Kia Soul it sounds like there is a + and - sign next to the drive position that allows you to shift. I wouldn't recommend using it just playing around as that can be hard on a transmission but I bet that's how you do it Sparkly.

[lailasmum]

I haven't had my brakes fail dramatically but they did get close a couple of years ago but luckily very near my house. We live on a hill and I was literally just around the corner and if I can get it right I can kind of swing around the junction at the top of the road and on to our drive and then the flat drive gives me some opportunity to slow and pull on the hand brake and stop easily. I also drive manual so I think that helps since its easy to use engine braking.

Edited July 6, 2016 by lailasmum

[Carrie12345]

I am genuinely glad that this thread may help people, but now it's got my anxiety trying to creep in.  :tongue_smilie:

Almost every time I leave the house, I drop 1200' over 2 or 3 miles of curvy 55mph road, lined mostly by drop offs and a creek.  Loss of brakes, loss of steering, and loss of traction are probably my biggest fears in life.

 

When I was a teenager, I had a beater that cut out all the time, so I got pretty good at managing the power loss, but I lived in the suburbs at the time!

 

[Lanny]

I would do 3 things: First, I would turn off the Ignition Second I would pull the Emergency Brake all the way up and Third I would put the  transmission (Automatic or Manual) into a Lower Gear. For example, if it was an Automatic Transmission, I would move it from Drive into the Lowest Gear available, to try to slow the car down with compression from the engine. If it was a Manual Transmission, I would shift into First, ASAP.   If the car slowed to a very low speed, then, I would think about trying to jump from the car. That would be especially difficult for the driver.  

[Laura Corin]

I was just curious because it seems strange to me to have no ability to shift at all. I do think automatics are better or more efficient at shifting than people so I don't typically shift manually except going down a steep grade if I want to save my brakes but still strange. So I looked up the Kia Soul it sounds like there is a + and - sign next to the drive position that allows you to shift. I wouldn't recommend using it just playing around as that can be hard on a transmission but I bet that's how you do it Sparkly.

 

That's what my Ford Focus automatic looks like.  You move the lever over into the +/- section, then move it backward or forward to change gear.  The gear that you are in registers on the dashboard display.  I use it regularly to go down steep hills and I've not had any gearbox problems (8-year-old car).

 

Edited July 6, 2016 by Laura Corin

[SparklyUnicorn]

I was just curious because it seems strange to me to have no ability to shift at all. I do think automatics are better or more efficient at shifting than people so I don't typically shift manually except going down a steep grade if I want to save my brakes but still strange. So I looked up the Kia Soul it sounds like there is a + and - sign next to the drive position that allows you to shift. I wouldn't recommend using it just playing around as that can be hard on a transmission but I bet that's how you do it Sparkly.

 

Even when I had that ability, frankly I would not have really known how to use it.  I absolutely never used it.

 

And ok didn't know that about the +/- thing and had no clue what that was.  It's not on the main column, but off to the side so it's not obvious to me how to even use it.