Manual parking brake button popped off

[lopezzi]

Same thing happened to me. Dealer quoted me about the same price; somewhere near 1k to fix which is absurd. The tiny little plastic tab that holds the button in broke on mine and it looks like that plunger thing is all part of the whole assembly. I finally got fed up of doing the "two handed set the parking brake" procedure, so I finally looked into it and I was able to make mine functional again. What I did was get some plastic weld (it may have been JB plastic weld) or some strong epoxy, and I used a q-tip to apply it to the hole in the silver button that popped off. Put a decent amount in there, but didn't just overload it with the stuff. Then I put the spring back on the plunger and then mashed the button on there. Got myself some duct tape and taped the button down (in the depressed form) by putting a couple strips of duct tape over the handle and the button in varying orientations to make sure the button was being pressed against the plunger and being held there. Left it that way overnight to give the solution enough time to cure. The next morning, I removed the tape and lo and behold the button stayed on! It still moves freely like it always did, the spring keeps the pressure on the button to keep it in the "out" position so it works again like it always did. The only difference I can tell is the button sticks out just so slightly more than it did originally. To me, it was worth it to have a one-handed functioning e-brake again. I can post pictures of what it looks like now if you guys want. I searched and searched for a solution as well and could never find anything, so hopefully my fix will help someone else. Good luck all!

 

[Tornado18GTI]

Yeah, I would rather just buy the assembly and do it myself. Problem is I can't find actual instructions for replacing this, just adjusting the parking brake cables. Maybe if I get in there it would make sense but I don't like diving into things without knowing exactly what I'm doing.

I get it man but if Im faced with having to pay that crazy amount of money or giving it a shot myself. I'd settle on myself any day of the week. I agree I also like to know what I'm getting myself into but even if you took it apart to kind of see where your at, it's already broken what's the worst that can happen?

Not the greatest video but it may give you an idea what you're looking at getting into. Seems like there's more videos on YouTube just doing a quick search for "parking brake lever mk6" I realize I searched mk6 and that happens to be a Jetta but I imagine it's a similar process.

 

[berfles]

Same thing happened to me. Dealer quoted me about the same price; somewhere near 1k to fix which is absurd. The tiny little plastic tab that holds the button in broke on mine and it looks like that plunger thing is all part of the whole assembly. I finally got fed up of doing the "two handed set the parking brake" procedure, so I finally looked into it and I was able to make mine functional again. What I did was get some plastic weld (it may have been JB plastic weld) or some strong epoxy, and I used a q-tip to apply it to the hole in the silver button that popped off. Put a decent amount in there, but didn't just overload it with the stuff. Then I put the spring back on the plunger and then mashed the button on there. Got myself some duct tape and taped the button down (in the depressed form) by putting a couple strips of duct tape over the handle and the button in varying orientations to make sure the button was being pressed against the plunger and being held there. Left it that way overnight to give the solution enough time to cure. The next morning, I removed the tape and lo and behold the button stayed on! It still moves freely like it always did, the spring keeps the pressure on the button to keep it in the "out" position so it works again like it always did. The only difference I can tell is the button sticks out just so slightly more than it did originally. To me, it was worth it to have a one-handed functioning e-brake again. I can post pictures of what it looks like now if you guys want. I searched and searched for a solution as well and could never find anything, so hopefully my fix will help someone else. Good luck all!

Sure, interested to see how it looks. How long ago did you do it?

I get it man but if Im faced with having to pay that crazy amount of money or giving it a shot myself. I'd settle on myself any day of the week. I agree I also like to know what I'm getting myself into but even if you took it apart to kind of see where your at, it's already broken what's the worst that can happen?

Not the greatest video but it may give you an idea what you're looking at getting into. Seems like there's more videos on YouTube just doing a quick search for "parking brake lever mk6" I realize I searched mk6 and that happens to be a Jetta but I imagine it's a similar process.

Yeah I hear you. I'll check that video out, looks like it could help. My only concern is if I don't figure it out I have zero parking brake, right now it's still functional. Guess it's worth a shot though.

 

[Parabola]

Not sure if it helps, but during disengaging if you pull the parking brake handle up slightly and then press the button, it seems that the button has less resistance to disengage. Cannot believe they would charge almost $1000 to fix a damn button...

 

[berfles]

Not sure if it helps, but during disengaging if you pull the parking brake handle up slightly and then press the button, it seems that the button has less resistance to disengage. Cannot believe they would charge almost $1000 to fix a damn button...

I noticed that too and started doing it that way after the first time this happened. Then it happened two more times, I just can't believe the design is so poor that a tiny piece of plastic breaking turns it into a $1000 fix at a dealership.

 

[lopezzi]

Sure, interested to see how it looks. How long ago did you do it?

It's only been a few months, maybe like 3 or 4, but so far, I've had no problems with it. I'll get some pics tonight and post them up here.

 

[lopezzi]

Here are a few pics. As you can see there are little bumps on the button that I don’t remember seeing before it broke. Still, to me it was worth it.

 

[berfles]

Noticed in the video above, even that guy says if you have to take the center console apart he'll say a prayer for you... It doesn't sound or look easy. I have one other garage to try before I attempt this myself, but I'd prefer not to have to do it if the price is at all reasonable.

 

[berfles]

Here are a few pics. As you can see there are little bumps on the button that I don’t remember seeing before it broke. Still, to me it was worth it.
View attachment 167084

View attachment 167085

Thanks! I think you're right, those did sit inside. Looks good though.

 

[berfles]

Wound up taking it to a small shop that had good reviews. They did it in two hours and charged me $206, happy with that. They did muck up my brake handle a bit though, the soft touch pleather stuff is cuffed up. I was probably going to get the ECS handle eventually anyway, but I'm just glad it's working again.

 

[Tornado18GTI]

Wound up taking it to a small shop that had good reviews. They did it in two hours and charged me $206, happy with that. They did muck up my brake handle a bit though, the soft touch pleather stuff is cuffed up. I was probably going to get the ECS handle eventually anyway, but I'm just glad it's working again.

That seems reasonable considering its almost a 1/5th of what the dealer wanted. Glad it got fixed.

 

[capcor]

Same thing happened to me. Dealer quoted me about the same price; somewhere near 1k to fix which is absurd. The tiny little plastic tab that holds the button in broke on mine and it looks like that plunger thing is all part of the whole assembly. I finally got fed up of doing the "two handed set the parking brake" procedure, so I finally looked into it and I was able to make mine functional again. What I did was get some plastic weld (it may have been JB plastic weld) or some strong epoxy, and I used a q-tip to apply it to the hole in the silver button that popped off. Put a decent amount in there, but didn't just overload it with the stuff. Then I put the spring back on the plunger and then mashed the button on there. Got myself some duct tape and taped the button down (in the depressed form) by putting a couple strips of duct tape over the handle and the button in varying orientations to make sure the button was being pressed against the plunger and being held there. Left it that way overnight to give the solution enough time to cure. The next morning, I removed the tape and lo and behold the button stayed on! It still moves freely like it always did, the spring keeps the pressure on the button to keep it in the "out" position so it works again like it always did. The only difference I can tell is the button sticks out just so slightly more than it did originally. To me, it was worth it to have a one-handed functioning e-brake again. I can post pictures of what it looks like now if you guys want. I searched and searched for a solution as well and could never find anything, so hopefully my fix will help someone else. Good luck all!

Worked great. Had my handbrake with no button on it for months, I don't have the bumps showing on mine either although it does feel a bit more "squishy" than it did before but that might be down to using too much epoxy on mine. So much easier than trying to go to the dealer right now and paying for it.

 

[lopezzi]

Worked absolutely great! Had my handbrake with no button on it for months, I don't have the bumps showing on mine either although it does feel a bit more "squishy" than it did before but that might be down to using too much epoxy on mine. So much easier than trying to go to the dealer right now and paying for it.

Awesome! Glad it worked for you too. Hopefully it will stand the test of time, but so far it’s still held on!

 

[T John]

New to this problem and this forum - I've had the same issues with 2016 GTI. the dealer said they'd not heard of this before - I'll suggest they check this site (as I should have done first) when I pick it up. I guess I'm getting a bargain at $500 to repair it. Not particularly patient with things like this and getting it right by someone I can expect to refix it if it happens again seems worth it. One comment related to parking in gear. I have a driveway with a slope to it. My car will roll down my sloping drive in any gear - I do not recommend relying on the trans/engine to keep the car where you put it. Block a wheel.

 

[maniq]

Same thing happened to me. Dealer quoted me about the same price; somewhere near 1k to fix which is absurd. The tiny little plastic tab that holds the button in broke on mine and it looks like that plunger thing is all part of the whole assembly. I finally got fed up of doing the "two handed set the parking brake" procedure, so I finally looked into it and I was able to make mine functional again. What I did was get some plastic weld (it may have been JB plastic weld) or some strong epoxy, and I used a q-tip to apply it to the hole in the silver button that popped off. Put a decent amount in there, but didn't just overload it with the stuff. Then I put the spring back on the plunger and then mashed the button on there. Got myself some duct tape and taped the button down (in the depressed form) by putting a couple strips of duct tape over the handle and the button in varying orientations to make sure the button was being pressed against the plunger and being held there. Left it that way overnight to give the solution enough time to cure. The next morning, I removed the tape and lo and behold the button stayed on! It still moves freely like it always did, the spring keeps the pressure on the button to keep it in the "out" position so it works again like it always did. The only difference I can tell is the button sticks out just so slightly more than it did originally. To me, it was worth it to have a one-handed functioning e-brake again. I can post pictures of what it looks like now if you guys want. I searched and searched for a solution as well and could never find anything, so hopefully my fix will help someone else. Good luck all!

Did the same and it is working so far. Simple idea, 5$ solution.