[xmoore]

Hi, I'm having rear brake problems on my Kia Carens (53 plate).
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It started with having too much travel on the handbrake lever.
I started looking and subsequently changing the rear brake pads just prior to a MOT as they were pretty low. Thought that would sort the lever travel and provide better breaking. After struggling for some time to work out how to return the piston back into the calliper I finally worked out that it needed to be screwed back in. It was pretty tight to turn and had to use water pump pliers to turn the barrel round and wind in. Not forgetting to line up the dimples horizontally to align with the lug on the back of the brake pad.

All went back together fine, through the MOT with an advisory that the handbrake efficient was only just good enough. Pads bedding in I thought.

Now, some week's later the handbrake travel is still excessive and no self-adjusting of the handbrake seems to have taken place. So, I took the brake apart again and tried to wind out the piston to start the self-adjusting working. However it seems when winding out the piston (it winds out really fast) it has a different thread and I wound it out too far and I lost some brake fluid!

Now I appreciate I'm going to have to bleed the brakes now, can anyone shed any light or have any ideas how to make the handbrake start to self-adjust?
I've looked at the handbrake cable and can find no manual adjustment so it must all happen within the calliper.

Any help or ideas much appreciated.

 

[Gasgokia]

Hi Xmoore, I run a 2003 Mk2 Carens 1.8 Auto SE, replaced my rear brakes about 10/11 months ago and experienced the same problems as you. What I did to improve the power of the brake was to adjust up the cable, the adjuster is hidden under the handbrake lever, and under the centre console. If you look at the front of the console between the seats you will see a little pop out cover, under this is a screw, (1 of 2 which you need to remove), the other is under the bit of black/grey rubber bobbled mat in the rear storage section of the console, just about between the backs of the front seats. Remove both screws & lift by 1-2 inch, use a torch & look from the back forward, just to the right of the lever assy & you will see the adjusting nut, (I put my head on the floor where the rear passengers feet go), clockwise will take up the slack. It's a bit of a sod to access the nut, I used aratacheting spanner, which made it easy once the hex head was on the nut. Only needed a few turns. The self adjuster, built into the calliper will adjust over the fullness of time, mine is just starting to. Though it is a well known fact that the handbrake on our series Caren's is at best iffy, and at worst rubbish. Hope this helps. Cheers Gasman.

 

[xmoore]

Hi Gasman,
Thanks very much for the post, it was spot on.
Just finished bleeding the brakes, then whilst jacked up adjusted the cable up nicely.
I did initially look for adjustment on the cable before I started this whole sorry tale. Wouldn't have thought of looking under the console for it though.
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I guess the auto adjustment must start kicking in once the pads wear down to a certain level.

Thanks again, blimen useful!

 

[Gasgokia]

Hi Xmoore, Glad to help & yes those self ajusters will start to operate eventually. Cheers Gasman.

 

[dave600]

Hi all,
just found your forum after a brief search, i thought i would let you know of our `handbrake` expierience last week. After parking in Fistral beach carpark in cornwall,which slopes to the sea ,my wife and i returned to our car only to find it at the bottom of the carpark snugly wedged on a rather large stone boulder being the last object before the beach and atlantic ocean!. judging by the distance it had travelled (approx 30 meters)and the small amount of damage (deep scratches on the bumper but no dents or breaks) it looks like it had slipped away with the brake slightly binding, i double checked the handbrake lever and found it in its normal if not extra knotch position as you would do parking on a slope. luckily for us it is out of season with little car through traffic and few padestrians about. We have had the car checked by our independant garage and was informed the brake was not malfunctioning but it was a known kia problem. We bought the car second hand from a private indipendant dealer over a year ago. Do you think we have grounds to ask Kia to investigate the problem?
Our car is 53 plate 3 owners
will be parking in gear in future!

 

[sandsfield]

Handbrakeproblems 56 plateHey just reading your problems and have to say i'm having the same trouble!
Only purchased the car a week ago and after parking up at home on a very slight slope i came out to find the Carens had rolled down and perched itself on my neighbours car!!
I've called the dealer we got it from and he has told me the same thing, that it's a common problem with Kia and that they have not issued any recalls for it to be fixed as it passes the MOT however surely this is not acceptable for any car! Luckily it was only my neighbours car that stopped it, my children as well as others around the area regularly ride their bikes up and down our otherwise quiet street it could quite easily have been one of them who were seriously injured. I think this needs to be taken more seriously and Kia really do need to start looking at a recall.

 

[marsie222]

I'm afrais this isn't going to help you much, but the handbrakes on these things a c[email protected]. I've got a 54 Carens and I always leave it in gear when parked up, because its started to drift down the slope on its own too many times for comfort and I'm lucky it hasn't killed anyone.
Its slid down the hill outside my local a couple of times now and last Sunday a bloke came in asking if anyone owned a Kia becauseone had slid into the back of his parked car.

I turns out that the culprit this time was a'08 Picanto, so the problem appears to be widespread and unresolved in equal measure....I'm going to buy a brick....No, not aVolvo, a good old victorian bluebrick, so I can stick it under the wheel every time I leave it on an incline.

 

[murphwiz]

No recall needed, just needs to be properly adjusted, quite simple really, to many lazy dealers out there.

 

[Gasgokia]

Hi, I quite agree 'No Recall Needed', though not with 'properly ajusted', these handbrakes are a pain, and not helped by a poor design. Ajusting them with the cable is only a short term measure, and after fitting new rear pads its had taken many months for my 'self ajusting mechanism' to actually do what its meant to do, i.e., actually ajust the brakes up. Now at last my handbrake holds on 4 notches on the flat & 5 on a slope, thats not bad bearing in mind that my car is automatic, so there is always a forward motion being applied even when stopped. Perhaps the simple ideas (and what I was taught) are best, always, but always leave you car in gear, either 1st or reverse, or if its automatic, in the park position,with the steering wheel turned so that should the car move it will run in the kerb & stop.

Cheers Gasman...... Edited by: Gasgokia

 

[murphwiz]

Kia techs should know how to adjust them....
Loosen cable adjuster, assuming calipers etc are sliding free and pads are fitted with the pegs in right place (some cheap and nasty pads don't have the pegs, they are vital to get rear brakes operating correctly), start car to get servo working, and pump brake hard to get the rears working, do this 8-10 times, good hard pumps, then tweak handbrake cable.
Now it's correctly adjusted.

 

[cavking]

Hi chaps
quite right murphwiz,

The vehicle should always be runnig with brake servo working, Things have changed since the old days of bleeding brakes, Buy the way my cheap and nasty brake pads did have the horizontal lugs fitted

 

[madmerc]

IknowI am replying to an old post butI think this is the solution you are after. Following the previous suggestions of undoing the scews under the plastic cover on the front of the centre console and the screw under the rubber mat in the same console, you can wiggle the console up and over the handbrake lever. This gives you plenty of room to work sitting up. The design fault is that the adjustment nut is not a nylock type and therefore every time you apply and release the handbrake the nut loosens a touch. It is a 10mm nut. Turn the engine on and pump the brake 10 times, then tighten up the nut so that the car parks on 4/5 clicks. Then put on another nut and tighten together to lock the nut. replace the console etc. Further to this - the handbook needs to be read carefully - similar to Skoda Octavias etc, before you apply the handbrake, you are asked to depress the footbrake fully.This solves the problem very well and the handbrake on my 56 plate carens works well.
really it would be a simple recall for Kia - one locking nut and a bold type notice of how to apply the handbrake!!! Makes you think they don't care or your garage dosn't.

 

[Big Luigi]

All this talk about handbrakes are confusing me, don't you mean parking (foot) brake. My Carens 08 plate has a footbrake and similarly I'm looking to adjust it. Anyone have any clues???

 

[Big Luigi]

Just found it!!! There's an adjusting nut if you follow the cable from the back of the parking footbrake.

Edited by: Big Luigi

 

[Supacabby]

The original post was for an earlier version of the Carens, they had a "normal" style handbrake, you have the foot operated parking brake!
Best way to adjust the parking brake is to remove the rear discs &drums & adjust the shoeswhich are self contained within. There's not much more to do to this as it should (in theory) never wear out, it's either on or off!

 

[Big Luigi]

Just found it!!! There's an adjusting nut if you follow the cable from the back of the parking footbrake.

Sorry this is bum information folks and I'm sorry if I mislead anyone. I thought I could feel an adjusting nut whilst groping in the dark (see the time of my post) On inspecting today in daylight there is NO adjusting nut.

 

[Big Dawg]

I have an 09 Carens with Foot parking brake. It;s crap and will not hold the car on any decent slope, I have to leave it in gear. I plan to call into my local dealer and see what they say......

 

[Supacabby]

As said before. Adjust the rear parking brake shoes which are internal to the drums, this will automatically adjust the cable & the feel of the footbrake will be more positive.

 

[ADW116]

ON THE SUBJECT OF THE LATER FOOT OPERATED PARKING BRAKE, I HAVE FOUND THAT YOU CAN ACESS THE BRAKE SHOE ADJUSTERS (THEY ARE IN THE 6 OCLOCK POSITION),BY REMOVING THE INSPECTION PLUG IN THE FACE OF THE DISC AND DOING SOME APPROPRIATE BENDING ON AN OLD SCREWDRIVER YOU CAN CLICK THEM UP.
I BELEIVE KIA SAY TO ADJUST UP UNTILL THE DRUM LOCKS AND THEN BACK OFF FIVE CLICKS, THIS SEEMS TO HAVE DONE THE TRICK ON MY 07 PLATE AND IT SAVES HAVING TO STRIP OFF THE REAR SUSPENSION LINK TO ROMOVE THE CALIPER, BUT IT NOT EASY TO SEE THE ADJUSTER THROUGH THE HOLE, I HAPPENENED TO HAVE A SMAAL BUT VERY BRIGHT PIN LIGHT THAT HAPPEN TO DO THE JOB, BUT OYU ARE STILL WORKING BLIND WHEN YOU GET YOUR ADJUSTING TOOL IN!

 

[Supacabby]

Yes that can be done but you don't get the opportunity to wash the "crap" & dust out though which is always a good thing to do.

Agreed, the suspension link is badly placed!