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How much damage would driving with the e-brake on for, say about 30km, do to one's car? Half of it was city driving, half was highway driving.

I'm asking for my friend who just got her 05 Civic today

 
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I wouldn't think all that much .. just "helps" along the rear brake and tire lifes - as well as pulling some strain on the tranny/engine for the extra effort.

But just to get some more insightful feedback for you, I moved the thread into Tech Stuff.

 
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damn thats bad for the car... Flat spots the rear tires and destroys the e brake cable...

 
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the car will live especially if its brand new. just dont do it again. no permanant damage if its new and only done once!

 
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it will stretch out the cable like mad, my dad did it once on his accord the thing stopped when he was turning, the whole engine went dead,

 
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is that why i have to pull the e-brake up high for it to be on? I drove like that couple of times but the brake was up only 1 or 2 clicks

 
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How did you not know the E-brake was on. It would wear out your rear brake pad a little bit.

 
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yeah its because the rear pads are worn some. I dunno if theres an adjustment for the ebrake on our cars but you may consider having the dealer check your rear brakes, you may need new pads.

 
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its amazing how little some people do know and then give advices on it ...... Driving with the e-brake on for ANY length of time CAN cause serious damage from overheating the brake/warping drums to BURNING the car to the ground

 
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yeah I know a friend of a friend that burned there car up because of that. They got home and parked their car in the grass to wash it. The lawn was kinda tall and it was very dry. I bet that sucked.

 
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if it was a brand new car, then most likely the lining is now seriously messed up. The drums might also be somewhat warped, and the pad prolly got worn at an excellerated rate.

 
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I believe we should use the right terminology too: Rear brakes on 7thgen=brake shoes there not disc so they're not pads

 
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I never used the terminology "PADS" you may want to re-read my statement

 
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wow I just woke up a lil while ago. I stand corrected as do many other posters hehe. If they are worn can we just put a pair of Nikes in there? Hah I love sarcasm. In general we can assume this. If you drive with the ebrake on you will turn rear brakes into rear brokens.

 
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sorry i can across the wrong way tfnaaf I only quoted you so anyone that didn't notice your post for now or the future will realize that your brakes get very abused if the parking break is on while driving. So I wasn't trying to say that you said pads.

 
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thanks for all the replies and thanks to karumba for moving the thread.

so I've read many replies... anything from should be okay because car is relatively new to possible serious damage to the rear brake shoe.

should she bring it somewhere to get it checked out?

 
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not on our cars...e brake isnt strong enough.. guess they made it that way purposely

 
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yep... not too mention its like towing with your civic, youre putting a load on the engine, equivalent to weight depending on how much the ebrake is applied

 
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Mine must be in very good shape then, because my car won't move if the e-brake is engaged. That's when I do the "D'oh!" headslap and release the lever...

 
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Yes definitely get it looked at. If there is a problem it won't go away on its own. New brake shoes are cheap. The drums may have heat damage to them and may need to be replaced, not as cheap, but a prudent decision if there is discoloration or cracking.

 
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this kind of repair is easy (if you have to replace drum/shoes/tighten cable), and if youre comfortable working on a car, can be easily repaired without a shop, and save you lots of money.