Driving with the hand brake on!

[Chery001]

Yesterday I drove my MINI MC with my hand brake on for like 200 meters. I was so stupid! As soon as I got out of the car I smelled burning plastic. I have two questions:

(1) Am I supposed to be able to drive the car with the hand brake on? I always thought if you leave the hand brake on, you shouldn't be able to drive the car at all, just like you put your gear on "Parking". Does that mean the car was not functioning the way it is supposed to?

(2) Should I worry about the brake? Is the hand brake and the regular brake controlled by the pedal the same brake? Should I have the brake looked at and possibly replaced if there is a significant damage?

Thanks for your help!

[memphisto]

Hi Chery001 and welcome to Mini 2.

In answer to your questions:

1) Yes you can drive the car with the handbrake on - the handbrake only operates on the rear brakes and without great force, and can usually be defeated by the engine. When parking many people also put the car in gear as a precaution as handbrakes have been known to fail on occasion (including Minis). Putting an automatic gearbox in 'Parking' has the affect of locking the transmission and serves a similar purpose.

2) I don't think a 200 meter drive would have caused any damage to the brakes. The energy while braking is mostly converted by the brakes into heat (smelled burning), so what you did will be no worse than some very spirited braking.

I sometimes leave the brakes on a notch or two as I drive off myself, and I don't usually notice until I spot the warning light..

[Chery001]

Thank you SO much, memphisto!!