30th Nov 2006, 04:50

I live on a steep hill, every time I park, the handbrake is applied,1st gear engaged, steering turned to the kerb.HINT.Instead of pulling the handbrake lever against the ratchet, ie click click click, try pulling the handbrake lever up with the thumb release button depressed. When the lever is assumed to be in the correct position, release the thumb button. Now lift the lever against the ratchet. One click is normally enough to engage a handbrake fully. Using the ratchet all the time WILL lead to handbrake failure as the ratchet and quadrant will be worn away. For drivers who live or park on a hill regularly, a chock is available at many motor factors at little cost.

4th Dec 2006, 13:49

With regards to the above comment (dated 30th Nov) I would like to add that we DO live on a very very steep hill (refer to comment I posted on 26th Nov).

If the handbrake had not been applied correctly then there is NO WAY that the car would have stood still for the length of time that it did, and for us to be able to remove our shopping from the car without it running us over!

As it was a hire car I am afraid that we have no way of finding out if the ratchet was being used all the time by other users.

But thank you for your comments anyway.

23rd Dec 2006, 07:16

I have an 02 2.2litre Vauxhall Vectra Elite which I purchased in May 2006 and so far have been very pleased with all aspects of the car. Today out of the blue the handbrake ratchet failed to engage. One minute it worked and the next it didn't. I am now faced with coping with the problem all through the Christmas shutdown. Any quick and easy solutions would be appreciated. Is this a weakness in the car?

27th Mar 2007, 06:14

I own a vauxhall signum and the handbrake failed whilst the car was parked on our steep drive and caused much damage to the car and our neighbours fence. I brought the car to my dealer who suggested I complain to Head Office as there was nothing they could do for me. There is obviously a fault on these vehicles and they need to sort it out before someone gets seriously hurt.

18th Apr 2007, 05:08

Hi all.

Well I can tell you Vauxhall have known about this Vectra Hand Brake / Parking Brake fault issue for some time as I have been talking to VOSA. I believe the reason they are keeping quite about this is due to them being investigated by VOSA and the police over this issue possibly causing a fatality in Manchester.

If Vauxhall admit there is a problem they are in serious trouble as they didn't recall when they knew about it. Vauxhall took my handbrake and destroyed it before VOSA could examine it before, despite my requests for it to be returned or examined.

I am hopefully about to get Vauxhall to pay out on my case on the grounds they don't accept responsibility. If you contact me if the same thing has happened to you at p4business@yahoo.co.uk it will add weight to my case and I will give you all the information you need to get them to pay out to you in return.

So please contact me at p4business@yahoo.co.uk if you want to claim money back or get the car repaired free of charge.

25th Apr 2007, 02:46

Hi.

Well I am desperately trying to get Vauxhall to sort this issue out. If like me you now have to pay your excess and have a hefty claim on your insurance and left with a car that you are afraid to park on hills, please contact me on the e-mail address below and I will give you some contact details of the person in Vauxhall you need to speak to.

Rhys - P4business@yahoo.co.uk.

10th May 2007, 15:48

I have a Vauxhall Vectra 06 model, which was parked on our driveway for quite a few hours, when all of a sudden it rolled off the drive hitting the house opposite. On retrieving the car, the handbrake was still fully on.

On contacting Vauxhalls head office, they denied any knowledge of faulty handbrakes, which doesn't help with the cost of repairing the car.

24th Jun 2007, 16:50

Last Thursday I parked (52 plate Vectra Elite hatchback, which I have driven from new) on my drive (around 12:00), and applied the handbrake as usual. I don't pull the handbrake on against the ratchett, but depress the thumb button, and then pull one more time against the 'click'. I have to apply the handbrake when parking as (surprise, surprise) my drive has a slight slope on it!

Ten minutes later someone knocked at my door to ask if that was my car across the road against the neighbour's tree... The car was still locked, someone actually saw it empty, rolling across the road, and the handbrake was now flat against the floor in the 'off' position.

Now I've gone through my insurance to get the car repaired and the handbrake checked, but it will cost me my excess and a year's no claims. But if there is a design fault I believe I have a reasonable case to recover these costs from Vauxhall.

8th Jul 2007, 17:19

Just this afternoon I parked my Vectra Z18XE on our driveway (slight incline), put the handbrake on properly (otherwise it would roll away), got out, removed items from the car, locked the car then went round the back of the house. After about 5 minutes I heard some people shouting, a bang, then a knock on the front door. My neighbour told me that my car had rolled back across the street, past some children and smashed into another neighbour's house. Another neighbour who fixes cars said he had received an email recently, warning him about problems of handbrakes on Vectras. When I looked into my locked car I noticed the handbrake was fully down, but I knew I had put it on! I had experienced the handbrake very rarely not engaging very well previously, but on those occasions I reapplied it so that it engaged properly and thought nothing more of it, but now I am convinced this is a lethal fault which is out of the user's control, and Vauxhall should be obliged to correct it. My email: issa@talktalk.net.