Tighten Your Handbrake

When you drive stick, you need a working parking break seeing as when you park, the engine doesn't lock as it would in the parking gear of an automatic transmission.

Unfortunately, my handbrake became loose over the last few months, and in the end, parked in a hill, in neutral, the car would just move in the direction of the slope... Not good!

Here is how I used the guide to tightening the handbrake on a Ford Focus to tighten mine on a 2005 Hyundai Accent.

Here is the link to the Ford Focus handbrake tightening guide:

http://www.focushacks.com/mod/Handbrake_adjustment

Step 1: Getting to the Bare Handbrake

First things first, we need to get to the bar handbrake itself.

The pictures above show where the screws to the centre embellishment are found on the Hyundai Accent.

You need to remove all of these screws, and unscrew the shifter's head before getting to the bare handbrake.

Step 2: Tightening the Handbrake Cable

Once you have removed the centre console cover in between the seats, it is easy to access the handbrake cable, and its nut.

Grab a wrench, and start tightening.

On the link I gave you on the first page, they say to tighten your handbrake for it to be tight at the 6th to 8th tooth (last pic). The only way to figure that out is by testing it.

In the end I tightened mine too much, but I do like to be harsh when I pull on my handbrake so it guaranteed that my car wasn't about to be set loose in any incline!

I hope this helps some of you with your cars.

Happy fixing!