S-type. Why is parking brake jammed? - Jaguar Cars & Trucks

It sounds like the parking brake cable had jammed and possibly broke. I would lift the rear of the vehicle in the air and try rotating a tire. If it does not move at all the brakes are locked and need to replace emergency brake cable.

Are you parked on a significant incline? You may need to have your car CAREFULLY pushed slightly uphill by another vehicle while moving the shift lever. Not on a hill or a light uphill push doesn't help? Check to see if your brake lights are working. If your brake lights do not come on when you depress the pedal, your brake light switch or brake light circuit fuse may be the culprit, as that is where the release solenoid for your gear shift receives its power. Correct the brake light circuit issue and your problem will be cleared.
If your brake lights are working correctly, listen for a light click at the gear shift lever when you depress the brake. If you don't hear one, suspect the locking solenoid is jammed (can usually be corrected with a shot of oil, once you get to it).
Another possibility is that the shift linkage has jammed. Check the linkage for broken parts. It is also possible that the "parking pin" in your transmission has become jammed, especially if the car was run into while parked. If that is the case, you'll need to have the park pin replaced.

1. Press down on the clutch pedal and set the parking brake.
   
2. 2Identify the brake adjustment feature, located below the brake operating arm. It includes a jam nut, regular nut and rod. Measure the distance between the brake operating arm and the regular nut. The regular nut is distinct from the jam nut -- the jam nut is the outer nut.
   
3. 3Loosen the jam nut and turn the regular nut so that it's exactly 1-1/2 inches between the arm and regular nut. Double-check that the parking brake is engaged, then re-tighten the jam nut so it abuts the regular nut and holds it in place at the correct distance. Try the riding mower stopping procedure again in a safe place.
   

If releasing the parking brake does not get the rear wheels to release, then you either have a parking brake cable that is badly corroded and sticking, or you have internal problems in the rear brakes like broken springs, etc that are jamming the brakes. You will have to inspect your rear brakes and paking brake cables to find out which it is.

You should be able to pull on the parking brake cable and get movement easily. It depends on if your Caravan is equipped with front disc and rear drum brakes or if it is equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes. If it has 4-wheel disc, then you could also have a bad rear caliper.

check your brake light fuse

The brake switch may be bad on the pedal. Brake lights may still work but signal to trans is lost somewhere. First make sure all fuses are ok. Then test the switch. Voltage should be present on one wire then with the pedal depressed the other wires should have voltage.

Unfortunatly this is normal, nothing can be done about it. Get pads checked every 15,000 miles to save discs.

ALWAYS engage Parking Brake BEFORE putting vehicle into "Park". Reverse the process when you want to get out of "Park" (hold down brake pedal, put car into desired gear, THEN disengage Parking Brake). Good luck!

the brake switch may be failing, causing the gears to stay in a locked position making it hard to shift into park

Sounds like just the brake-shift interlock getting stuck. I would try using the override to get the shifter working again, then use the parking brake to keep it from getting jammed in the future.


The parking brake will reduce the pressure on the gearbox, especially when parked on an incline. If the interlock continues to jam, you probably do need to have the shifter replaced.