I posted this in the general forums, but no one saw, so I'm going to try again here. The parking brake in my 95 740 is starting to stick. This isn't anything new. We've replaced the damn thing twice already, and it looks like a third time will be coming up soon. I found a trick to make it turn itself off, by putting my foot under the petal and pulling up while I release the brake I can stop it from going back on. That will do me for a while. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem before. Is this thing supposed to brake ever 40 thousand miles? Or is my car just special?

I've never heard of a parking brake on any car go in 40k miles. Heck, it's not even supposed to be *on* while you're driving, so it wouldn't be very mileage dependent. My guess is that something in the system that you're *not* replacing is the real cause of the problem. Yes, I think your car is just special... ;)

My ebrake doesn't work lol

~Matt Segal

When you say it sticks, what sticks?
Is it the pedal that sticks in the slightly depressed poisiton and keeps the "Parking Brake" light turned on or does the parking brake actually drag?

The fist issue is pretty common with E38s. It happens with my '95 regularly. The workaround is just to release the brake with the lever, then pull it again and the light will extinguish. The real fix is to replace the hydraulic cartrage (similar to the ones for the hood or trunk, just shorter).

If the brake is pedal is free to come up, but the brake cable is keeping it depressed, then I would first look at the mechanism inside the rotor on the rear wheels (looks just like a drum brake inside the rear rotor). Make sure it is together correctly and is free to move. If that appears to be working correctly, the only other thing is the cable.

In any case, I have not heard of anybody's e-brake sticking on in a couple of years following the e38 boards.

The break is off, but it seems to just drop back enough to turn the light on. Sometimes, when the foot trick doesn't work, I just need to tap the back of the petal again with my foot and it goes back off. The break isn't sticking on, so it's not that big of a deal. Have you replaced the hydraulics in your? If so: how much was it, if you don't mind me asking.

My first guess is that this is just the sensor a little out of kilter. Hopefully that's the case, as I'm sure that would be a lot less money than replacing the hydraulics...

I have not replaced the gas strut in my brake pedal yet. For now, I just live with the pull twice and go thing. I saw the problem when I was under there replacing the recirc filters. Just didn't have the parts on hand. I am not sure what the part costs, but it must be in the same range as the gas struts for the hood or trunk.
The part number for a 95- 11/97 car is 35 51 1 165 574
My ETK does not list the part number for cars after that. The ETK calls the part and Absorber, in the TIS it is called a gas strut.

Alright, thanks. I'm going to live with the foot release method for now; it's not that big of a pain to spend money on it. I’m sorry that your car has the same problem :-/ defects aren’t much fun.

I wouldn't call it a defect. The gas strut is a wear part, the same as the ones in the trunk or under the hood. In fact, the one on my E-Brake pedal gets more use than either of the others. It is to be expected.

I had the same problem with the light staying on. Took two pulls every time to get it to turn off. Replaced hood shock (similar part number but slightly different as posted above) and the problem was solved.