Electronic Parking Brake

[Tilly2]

Got my new car and it's got an electronic parking brake. I don't like it. It feels all wrong and all the doors lock about ten seconds after starting off. Very disconcerting!

Should I be feeling a tug when I start off in first gear and hear a noise?

[Psybbo]

What is it, Tilly?

[Tilly2]

er....an electronic parking brake, is a little lever that you pull up with your finger when you park.

[Psybbo]

The car, Tilly!

[tonyav]

LOL.

[Tilly2]

Oh, sorry. A Vauxhall Meriva Tech Line.

[Tilly2]

It's a very bossy car. It tells you when to change gear!

[tonyav]

Can't you disable the talking thing, Yilly ?.

[Psybbo]

Yes, ours is a Honda civic and it's a bit bossy too!

[tonyav]

Are these cars female ?.

[Psybbo]

No Tony, men know everything regards cars so they must be male

[Tilly2]

Well mine's called Snowdrop, so, probably.

[buildersmate]

I declined to buy one of these (VW Golf) after the salesman couldn't tell me whether aforementioned electronic brake ends up off or on, in the event that the battery goes flat.
Either way it seems an unwanted solution to a problem that didn't exist in the first place.
What is the answer to the flat battery question?

[Tilly2]

Oh, goodness. Another worry! Flat battery? Really?

[tonyav]

Interesting question that, buildersmate. I'll look forward the hearing the answer to that.

[Tilly2]

O.M.G.!

[Tilly2]

Does anyone else have a car with an electronic parking brake?

[Hopkirk]

Oh dear

http://www.which.co.uk/cars/choosing-a-car/buying-a-car/car-recalls-investigation/case-study-vw-passat-/

[tonyav]

Tilly, have a look in your handbook, it will probably tell you what to do regarding your handbrake in the event of a flat battery.

[Old_Geezer]

They're all bossy cars now-a-days. Leave the seat belt off and it nags and nags for ages. Even if you are just reversing into your drive having opened the gates. The machines are taking us over, we are mere underlings now.

[Baldric]

Buy a set of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rigid-20cm-Seat-Belt-Extender/dp/B006E390OO

they plug into your seat belt sockets, and stay there, so you don't get nagged anymore, and they make the belt much easier to put on.