emergency brake won't disengage...
 

thoughts?
when i got ready for work yesterday, i disengaged the parking brake on the allroad (outside temp was something like 20 with a lower wind chill). the car felt sluggish. but, i attributed that to cold transmission fluid, cold cv joint grease, etc... then i realized that the parking brake felt like it was engaged. so, i tried re-engaging it, and there was no connection until about half way through the pull of the lever. releasing the lever, only releases about half way through the pull.

against my best judgement, i drove to work in the hopes that something was "frozen" and the heat from the brakes would unbind it. alas, the problem still exists. although, it is less pronounced than before. any ideas about which end to look at for a fix? rear brakes or in the lever mechanism itself? also, the "brake" light is not lit, even though i can tell the brakes are semi-engaged.

thanks for any ideas/suggestions.
j.

Your parking brake cable is frozen. Go find a heated garage!
 

I've never looked at the ar e-brake cable but you must have gotten some water inside the rubber boots they use for turning corners. you could try breaking the ice free or a hair dryer on them. If it was the pad itself, it should've gotten enough heat to thaw when you drove it so it must be somewhere on the cable.

is your garage heated?

happened on another car of mine, and i needed to replace the ebrake line
 

the inner cable line was rusty and old and it seized just like yours.

It is if you turn the heat on:p
 

I don't have access to a key, though.

Actually, there is no more heater downstairs in it. The only one is upstairs. I forgot the d/s one
 

was removed. It's probably warm in there than it is outside, though....

Reason for the warning on using it in freezing temps. Happened to me (diff car) in 60 degree
 

weather. Stuck rear caliper (my GLI).

Bad cable or frozen ebrake mechanism in the caliper.

I would just put a halogen worklight under the car and shine it on the cable for a few hours.
 

may be enough heat to free it up. Sam's sells infrared halogen heaters for $80 that mount on the wall and just plug in.

Update - warmer weather fixed problem!
 

which tells me that there must be water somewhere in the lines. hmm. shouldn't they be sealed somehow?
j.