Weak handbrake on cars fitted with rear disc brakes

[JazzyB]

Being a 55 reg jazz it will have disc rear brakes. Check the handbrake counting the number of clicks as you pull it up. Should be about 8 clicks. If not it will need adjusting. According to the haynes manual appears fairly straight forward to do

[culzean]

Adjusting the handbrake on a rear disc car should be fairly straight forward providing that nothing has siezed up yet!

But on a car with drum rear brakes there is something to watch out for, In the bad old days BJ (before Jazz) my wife used to have a Fiat Punto and I could never get the  handrake to work properly till a mechanic told me that to get the 'self-adjusting' handbrake mechanisms to adjust on most cars you had to chock the wheels, loose off the handbrake, slacken off the handbrake cable adjuster COMPLETELY (the cable(s) must literally be flapping around) and then start the engine and pump the brake pedal a few dozen times, you often hear a clicking sound from the rear brakes as the 'self-adjusting' ratchet mechanism winds the shoes out. Then adjust the handbrake lever to however many clicks advised in handbook.  If you don't do this the tension on the handbrake cable stops the ratchets working and it is only the cable mechanism lever that is taking up the adjustment in the rear brakes.

[guest907]

On my third Jazz now, the last two owned have had rear disc brakes. I agree with the comments on poor handbrake performance and I have quite a steep drive so need to ensure the lever is pulled up fully.

I have found though that if I press the footbrake hard to ensure the pad is in full contact with the disc before pulling the handbrake lever I have no problem.

[guest1898]

If you really want to resolve this you can swap the disc axle for the drum version from the early models GD1 chassis circa 2001-02.  Equally the centre console can be removed where you will find the tension cable for the hand brake. 
Discs are better overall when looking for braking performance when driving drums are better for locking the rear wheels.

[guest2071]

 I have been to the garage today, because the 2007 Jazz I bought in September last year, was sitting in the lay-by on the side of our drive, my wife having driven it for about 40 minutes, having put the handbrake on, and it then rolled down a slight slope, and hit a dry stone Wall on the other side of the drive, with a force that seemed to indicate that the car was in free run!
 I had to rebuild the dry stone wall as it had dislodged the stones to such an extent that we could no longer use the garden gate. I reported to the warranty people about the incident, and they requested I have it checked out with the garage. The local garage checked the car, on a ramp, removing the wheels, but found nothing to indicate the failure, unless about 1/2 disc wear is unusual. There was also no sign of wear from inadvertent running with the handbrake engaged, which proved that it did not happen, besides, the handbrake light has always been extinguished, when driving.
As requested, I asked the Garage Mechanic to talk to the Warranty people, and as expected, they said it was not a warranty problem. I then said I would get onto Honda, and was advised to look on the forum first, to see if such a problem has been noted before. Looking on the forum was quite an eye opener! It seems it is an inherent problem.
 I have now requested new rear brake pads to be fitted, before I approach a local panel beater to see if he can punch out the damage to the front fairing. Fortunately the damage does not extend as far as the headlight on the passenger side. I feel pretty upset that I should have to be doing this on such a relatively new car.

[guest1844]

I'd say its actually a design fault. I've checked mine out and everything (lever, cables, calipers, adjustment, sticking pads) is fine, but you still have to pull hard. I was half expecting a problem at the MOT. When my wife was learning to drive, we got stuck on a steep hill start. I pulled on the brake as hard as I could and it still wouldn't hold. Fluster (!) ensued as a car pulled up behind. In the end, engine off, in gear, we swapped drivers and I then had to endure a wifely reprimand the content of which you might imagine...
I had a Citroen BX once where the handbrake worked on the front discs. This was a surprisingly light and effective brake, though it could slip as the disc cooled. Bigger cars have separate parking drums which are the best. I don't know how Honda have got themselves such a problem with this.

[culzean]

Handbrake is terrible on our 54 plate Jazz.. Asked the garage to sort it out, and they tightened the cable- obviously that has made no difference whatsoever.. It is going back in again today, hopefully they can do something with it.. I have to leave it in gear when I park it on a hill, or it wouldn't be there when I came back! As for hill starts- it is a nightmare -a race to get your foot from the brake to the accelerator before you run back onto the car behind- the handbrake is totally useless. We have had new discs and pads on the rear wheels this week and thought maybe that would help- no such luck.

I am gobsmacked that anyone would not leave a car in 1st gear when parking (or better still reverse, which is even lower geared than 1st)  - whether or not the car has drums or discs. A brake cable can fail at any time, in fact it is when the handbrake brake is pulled on when the cable is under maximum stress and most likely to break.

[Rory]

I am gobsmacked that anyone would not leave a car in 1st gear when parking (or better still reverse, which is even lower geared than 1st)  -

On a steep slope, would that hold the car?  Or would the engine be able to overcome its compression?

[DV]

On a steep slope, would that hold the car?  Or would the engine be able to overcome its compression?

The 1st gear is to help the handbrake and not to use alone! (I alway use the handbrake + 1st gear combination and on the slope I turn the wheels towards the curb too).

[guest6209]

I bought a new Honda Jazz from Gilder in Sheffield in March 2016. In June I parked it on my (nearly flat) drive with the handbrake on.( I have a witness to that effect) The air temp was 23C
It rolled backwards and into a wall. Gilder checked the handbrake and made adjustments. It was suggested that the discs were hot and contracted on cooling, causing loss of "hold". Gilders spoke to customer service on my behalf and I was told they would make a goodwill contribution to my excess.
Gilders were great. However, my "case handler" left the company, I was "reallocated" and the upshot was Honda reneging on the offer. they are well aware of handbrake issues but there is no advice anywhere in the manual to park in gear.
I have been driving for 47 years and have never before had handbreak issues. The Jazz failed after only 3 months. I would suggest the problem Is Honda and not me!!
My advice, part the perishers in gear!!

[culzean]

It should be compulsory (and common sense) to leave a vehicle in first gear when parked, handbrakes can't be trusted, a cable can snap at any time.

[Dayjo]

It should be compulsory (and common sense) to leave a vehicle in first gear when parked, handbrakes can't be trusted, a cable can snap at any time.

When I first drove, my old bangers often had no, or very poor handbrake........

I always, still, park in gear, (or P).

Parked on level surfaces, I rarely use the handbrake. Preferring, not to stretch the cables.

[Century21]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm on my second Jazz (a 58 plate 1.2) and I was checking the MOT history and noted that it has had the parking brake/handbrake fixed on a couple of occasions.  My previous car, a 54 1.4 Jazz also had a history of a weak handbrake.

From reading this thread it would seem that it's a fairly common issue for the MK1 Jazz.  I park on a hill at home and now I think I'll have to leave it in first gear.  I know that Jazzes have quirks and other issues, but didn't know that this was one of them.

Yikes!

[Jocko]

When I bought my Jazz, the dealer, a time served Honda mechanic, warned me about the handbrake. He told me to firmly apply the foot brake and hold it depressed until I have applied the handbrake. I have had no issues doing it this way. When I leave the car, I always leave it in gear. This is something I have done for my 50 years of driving.

[guest6425]

Me too, although on my Jazz (1.4 EX  mk2 facelift) I discovered that on a reasonable slope even leaving it just in gear (no handbrake) wasn't enough and the car would judder down the hill!

I'm more dismayed by finding out my rear discs (although brand new) are already showing surface rust, it beats me why we even need disc brakes on the rear of these cars, the fronts do 90% of the braking in any case and drums wouldn't corrode.

Apparently it's quite common for jazz rear discs to corrode and need replacing after a very short time, I've taken to  driving for 1 mile with my handbrake on the 1st click to ensure the disc surface gets some use, then driving normally thereafter.

Yes it'll wear the brake pads down a bit quicker - but they're a damn sight  cheaper than new discs.