hand brake issue

recently bought my second volvo v50 r design 2.0d its know done 10500 miles. parked it up on a slope then after 15 mins the car rolled down the hill into a horsebox!! volvo have said there is nothing wrong with the car after running tests for 1 week although when i got back in the bent car they had made an adjustment to the handbrake ( it was much tighter and more efficent to use ) they have offered to pay insurance excess of 300 quid. i feel pretty hard done buy espeically as my last v50 went in for a handbrake upgrade. also know one would answer why it took 15 mins for car to move or why they felt it necessary to make an adjustment to the handebrake after the car had apparantley passed the relevant tests!! has any one else had handbrake issues on a 08 plate or new car____ volvo reckon know problems reported as yet..

No problems now , If you read the handbook there is a specific way of putting the handbrake on correctly . The handbrake "upgrade" on your old V50 as you know is adjusting the handbrake to it's ultimate and when you pick the car up the receptionist explaining the correct proceedure AND handing you in person a leaflet explaining the correct method of application as described below AND a sticker added to the appropriate Handbrake page of the Old owners handbook ... You press the footbrake hard THEN pull up the handbrake . You get the extra vital grip then . If you pull the lever up alone, especialy with a hot disc it COULD release the tension a fraction as the disc cools . This is pretty universal practice when rear calipers are used for the handbrake . You use the footbrake power to actualy apply the brakes and the handbrake lever to hold that pressure .

A colleague had the exact same prob with his D5 07 or 57 plated V50. his rolled down a hill at work into our electrified perimeter substation fence! totally stoved the rear of the car in.

It might be just me but I thought everyone left their car in gear when parked just in case the handbrake did fail especially on hills, and even if your car is an auto putting it in park does the same job. My V40 has a tendency to roll back if I don't use the footbrake when applying the handbrake, but I always, always leave the car in 1st gear when parked. Better to be safe than p*ssed off.

Welcome to world of V50 parking brakes. As Clan has already stated, there was a modification which included an insertion in the handbook about 18 months ago. It doesn't really address the weakness in the design, but just explains how to overcome it. Frankly my wife still can't apply the brake so that the car holds on our steep drive. Basically if the car (and brakes) are hot when the parking brake is applied, then when evrthing cools and contracts, then the brake may not hold the car. Set the brake pressure with footbrake and then hold with the handbrake. Just be aware and learn to live with it and enjoy the car. By the way my, old V70 would roll fractionally backwards when the parking brake was applied on a hill, before the brake grabbed the disc and locked the car. I got used to that too. The car would always hold though, no matter how hot or cold.

Regarding the V70 handbrake the rolling back an inch is just the shoes rotating a fraction to their stops after application this has always been a trait with the rear disc/ drum handbrake shoes since it was introduced on the 140 in 1968 .

Perhaps Volvo should review SAABs design and force the gear lever to be in reverse before the key can be removed!