I have 08 Mazda 5 minivan with auto transmission. Parking brake broke. My driveway has steep incline and I need to park my vehicle there. "Park" position of transmission is what keeps the vehicle stay. One mechanic I consulted told me that it is ok not to have the parking brake fixed. Question: is it safe to keep the vehicle this way? Do it hurt the transmission? Can it damage something? Thank you!
You should get it fixed. If you're parking on a steep incline that's putting a lot of strain on the parking pawl in the transmission.
In any case, most Japanese cars of that vintage, the thing that breaks is the cable that goes from the lever to the brakes at the rear wheels. It shouldn't be too expensive (or too hard to do yourself if you have a few tools and handy skills)
There is an adjustment nut when I opened the center console. I adjusted it and parking brake started working for a few weeks. Then it got loose again. I adjusted again, and again it worked for a few weeks. Then it got loose again. Now I am afraid to adjust it again because I feel it has reached its adjustable range. What could be the cause?
I would guess the cable has stretched - if you're using it every day for 14 years, it's not surprising and it probably needs to be replaced.
Thank you for very useful info and advice! I plan to take it to a mechanic to have it checked? Which is better, a tire place or brake shop? Is there a place giving free estimate?
No chain shop is a good place and forget dealerships. Best to find a good independent mechanic in your area.
I took it to a local shop this morning. They looked at it and told me that parking brake cable in the caliper is seized. It needs rear brake job. Total cost $589. Also they found front coil spring broke. To fix the front coil spring/strut and rear brakes for parking brake function, total cost $1450. Is this reasonable?
Parking brake broke.
How?
Fix it.
When you put the car in park on an incline, it creeps until the parking pawl latches into a notch in a gear-like disc on the output shaft. The parking pawl is basically an arm that can pivot. The gaps in between the teeth of the gear and a tooth on the arm match each other, locking up the shaft. The other end of the arm pivots on the transmission case. There are return springs, etc, but that's the gist of how it works.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl
When you leave the car without the parking brake on while on an incline, the weight of the car is trying to shear off the tooth on the parking pawl, and the tooth of the gear. Your car staying in place is riding on 2" of metal, at most 1/4" wide.
The same kind of stress is on the screw of an emergency scissor jack when you raise a car. The weight on the jack is wanting to shear the threads off the stud (causing it to collapse), but there are enough threads to stop it, unless you exceed the weight limit.
You don't get under a car on a jack without a jack stand, right? Think of the parking brake as a jack stand with the parking pawl as the jack.
Try to figure out where the cable broke and repair it. I cringe when I see people park on inclines and their car creeps until the pawl catches and it rocks back and forth. My truck's parking brake didn't work when I got it, and this made me fix it.
Parking break is also called emergency brakes so I wouldn't recommend not fixing it. Also on very steep places putting the car in park only isn't the safest option and won't always keep the car from sliding. If you're on a hill and your parking gear fails then without the parking break there is nothing there to keep the car from sliding/moving. Also, the park gear is not meant for holding the whole weight of the vehicle on a hill; it can eventually damage it and it's not cheap to fix the whole transmission.
@fjcruiser2014 - It is NOT an emergency brake. The correct word is BRAKE.
As I stated in my initial response it is ALSO called emergency brakes too because aside from its use of keeping the vehicle from rolling back on a hill it can be used to stop the vehicle if the regular braking system (the one that functions when pressing the brake pedal) fails. It can be called anything you want to call it, but the terms parking brake and/or emergency brake is very common and accepted.
https://knowhow.napaonline.com/parking-brake-vs-emergency-brake-whats-the-difference/
Since there can be no quality without accuracy, please see the 2008 Mazda 5 Owner's manual section 5 page 6. Forty years ago it may have been an emergency brake, but has not been since then, @fjcruiser2014.
https://carmanuals2.com/sc/75245
Even on newer cars with electronic parking brakes it can be used in the case of an emergency so again no matter what you want to call it it can be used in the case of an emergency when the normal brake system does not function.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/what-happens-if-you-pull-your-parking-brake-when-driving-fast/
Question: is it safe to keep the vehicle this way? Do it hurt the transmission? Can it damage something? Thank you!
No, it is not safe. And yes, it can damage the parking pawl as Chuck Tobias stated.
Take it to a brake shop. After all, it is your parking brake that is malfunctioning, not your tires.
In the meantime, is there any way you could park sideways on the incline of your driveway. That way you would avoid placing too much pressure on the parking pawl. If it is damaged or breaks you will have nothing to hold your car.
Why do you want to let a relatively cheap repair, cost you a totalled vehicle, or worse somebody else maimed or killed (if the pawl shears off)?
I took it to a local shop this morning. They looked at it and told me that parking brake cable in the caliper is seized. It needs rear brake job. Total cost $589. Also they found front coil spring broke. To fix the front coil spring/strut and rear brakes for parking brake function, total cost $1450. Is this reasonable?