Car Refused To Move

[Bazile]

Got into my car this morning - engine started on first turn over - great .

Chucked a bowl of water over the windscreen and the back window , to remove ice - no problem

Released handbrake and went to pull away and the car would not move - it felt as if something was holding the car back as if the handbrake was not disengaged - but it was cos the handbrake light on dashboard went out when i realeased the handbrake lever .

The resistance seemed to be coming from the back wheels

After quite a long while , and with me gently putting my foot on the gas on quite a number of ocassions , the resistance gradually dissapeared .

What do you think was the problem ?
Could it have been the brakes shoes that had frozen against the discs ?
Was it that cold last night ?

Has anyone experienced this issue before ?

[boxtops]

It was certainly that cold last night............ perhaps the back tyres froze to the road (can that happen?).

[Hopkirk]

Yes, handbrake stuck on.

I haven't had this from freezing. However my old Astra used to suffer this regularly, usually after heavy rain. The water and brake dust must form some sort of glue.
Vauxhalls are particularly prone I believe.

[TWR]

If it happens again Bazile & you have the space behind you, stick the car in reverse that should release the handbrake. Its the Linings sticking to the very damp brake drum. ( No Problems)

[chas2008]

the handbrake warning light operates from the lever not the actual brakes, so lever down light off ! frozen rear brakes...

[Baldric]

Brake drum!
is this a vintage car then?
;o)

[Hopkirk]

Oi Baldy, I have never had a car that hasn't got rear drum brakes.

[Fitzer]

Another possibility is that the surrounds on the handbrake cables have split allowing water in which has then frozen the cables in place preventing the pads/shoes from disengaging, this can be trickier as the pads are still stuck to the disc by mechanical force as opposed to just being held by a bit of ice.

[Teddio]

If you have drum brakes the leading brake shoe can jam. If you're facing down hill then engage reverse gear and gently slip the clutch. If facing uphill then try driving forwards.
The solution is not to have the handbrake on too tight.

[TWR]

For you information, the earlier 306 had rear brake drums, Unless there was something wrong with my wifes EX 306.

[Bazile]

Many thanks folks for your responses .

Is this an unusual event - because in all my 30+ years of driving I cannot recall this ever happening before ?

[TWR]

How is the 306 running Bazile? did you get your problems sorted?

[Baldric]

You mentioned the handbrake light, the switch for that is normally linked to the handbrake lever in the car, so would not be frozen, but the brake itself could be.

[Bazile]

Hi TWR

It's a 307
I'm still getting a low mph figure , going by the fuel gauge indicator and multifunction display . The fuel gauge moves a downwards a way for not a lot of miles travelled .

Take this morning - after the episode of the frozen brakes and my giving it some gas for a while to try and move - the petrol indicator has move about 2.5 mm from where it was when i parked up last night .

I really dont know what to do ,as i cannot afford to change the car right now

[TWR]

Yes, I meant a 307, this weather will have effects on fuel consumption, I take it the car does not have a roof rack? that increases fuel, Did you say the car had been serviced? what milage you do again will have an effect, eg/ to town>>home>>back to town>>stop start, your Engine If I remember is the 1400cc, but the body of the car is heavy! we had the 1400 & that was the same, I will come back later & give a few tips.

[Bazile]

Thanks TWR - it was serviced a couple of weeks ago - oil change / oil filter / plugs / air filter / tyre pressures checked .
The mechanic said that as the engine settings are controled by the ECU there is nothing that he can adjust .

I take your point about about the engine size and the heavy weight of the body .
However according to the handbook , it states that it shoukd return a figure of 30 something to the gallon around town .
I realise that these figures are tested in controlled situations and that the engine is obvioulsy not new , so it would not be expected to get 30 something to the gallon now .

However low 20's to the gallon does seem to me to be bad .

[jno]

petrol indicators work on the yoyo principle, in my experience.

[espookid]

Problem sorted I suppose
I live in Finland and here we do not apply the handbrake in cold weather for the very reason it could freeze ,we leave the car in gear and as there are not so many hills here it works

[TWR]

Hi Bazile, are the tyres the Original Pirellis? they should be at 28>>30PSI, 20mph! there is something drastically wrong here, yes the ECU controls the fuel + others within the car, do you do very short trip? is there a smell of fuel anywhere around the car? do you use the A/C often, although the A/C increases fuel, it will not use to that extent, how much fuel do you put into the car? as £20 gives you hardly anything now in comparison with years ago, do you get into top gear as soon as you can? when I had a manual car, it was if conditions allowed, Ist 3rd>>5th, missing out the others. Do you leave the car running to warm up? I have a feeling the ECU is at fault with this car after what you have said, to exchage this is a costly job, can you find out from the V5 who the last owner was? if so ask them what was their reason to get rid, if the answer was, what I think! get back onto the garage that sold you the car & ask them to sort it. this interest's me.

[Bazile]

Hi TWR

-Not sure what tyres are on there now - will have to have a look when i get a chance .

- My daily trips are approx a 10 mile journey and a 4 mile journey

- No smell of fuel

- Dont use A/C

- I get into top gear ASAP

- Dont leave idling to warm up .-

- I usually buy petrol when the gauge gets to a particular line on the display - i then drive car and see how much mileage i do before it returns to that particular line - i know how many gallons i've put in so i can work out how much mpg i am roughly getting .
I know it might not be very accurate , but it should roughy given me an idea of how many miles i'm getting .
Even if I knock off some miles to take into account of inaccuracies - i do think that i'm getting a low MPG .

- The car was bought a long time ago now - probably over 4 years + - so i dont think the garage would entertain me presenting an issue on it now to them .
It was my daughter's car , so i will ask her if she felt that she was filling up quite often compared to her miles travelled .

- The gear box does make a grrrrring sound when driven and i'm told that it is on it's way out - could be tommorrow or 6 months time or other .
However i'm able to get all gears . The car does judder a bit sometimes when moving off from standstill or near standstill .
It seems to occur when the car is at temperature - it's less evident when i move off from cold , like first thing in the morning , when the engine is cold .

[TWR]

Hi, that Judder could be a couple of things, Clutch / Drive shaft wear, Engine Gearbox Mount's, you can see this by lifting the bonnet up & pushing the engine back wards towards the screen, the mounts are on the Drivers side + Passenger sides, the wear will be evevident when doing this, your fuel, is it the likes of Tesco etc? if so, try Shell or the others, are you a ( Don't take offence) Brakes on brakes off driver? but saying all this, your car does have a problem & I think it's the ECU.