Avis and a car with no brake!

Old May 11th, 2008, 07:48 AM
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Avis and a car with no brake!

Last time we rented a car in Lisbon, we found (on some steep roads and mountains) there was no parking brake--it was embedded in the motor and engaged when you turned off the engine.!!! Well, that may be find for the autoban or highway, but not for the 'billy goat' hills where you may have to stop to let a car pass, then begin again on a very steep incline...just be sure to check this, if you are going out to the hinterland. We learned the hard way.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 07:51 AM
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Yeah, you need to be able to drive stick shift.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 08:35 AM
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ira
 
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Thanks for the warning, C.

>...hills where you may have to stop to let a car pass, then begin again on a very steep incline..

Can you not turn off the engine and start over?

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Old May 11th, 2008, 10:26 AM
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I am pretty sure there is a parking brake. Several of the Renaults I've rented have electronic parking brake which you just press a button in the dash for. Press an adjacent button (usually), and it'll release. Or if you are holding the car on a hill, releasing the clutch pedal will also release it, so it's a very nice feature.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 10:28 AM
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Getting off-topic, but some drivers from outside the US may also think cars here have no parking brakes. Here, many cars have the parking brake as a foot pedal on the left side, rather than a handle in the middle of the console. That can throw people off too!
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Old May 11th, 2008, 11:01 AM
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>Here, many cars have the parking brake as a foot pedal on the left side, rather than a handle in the middle of the console.

Ouch - that's where cars with manual gear switch have the gear coupling! It can throw you all right - off the road at least.

Thanks for warning! Do you know which cars have this system?
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Old May 11th, 2008, 11:10 AM
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The only car's I've seen with a foot pedal/parking brake have been automatic transmission. Common on a lot of models, but not universal. Many automatics have a hand brake in the middle.

Every stick shift I've driven has had a hand brake next to the driver.

I think it would be a very poor design indeed if parking brake were a 4th pedal, even if it is off to the side.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 11:35 AM
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>I think it would be a very poor design indeed if parking brake were a 4th pedal, even if it is off to the side.

Of course, but what I meant was - if you are accustomed to manual and put your foot on parking brake while driving, by simply an ingrained reflex - I don't want to ever risk it.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 11:51 AM
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All the foot pedal parking brakes I've seen have been far off to the left against the wall, and higher up and closer to the driver than gas/brake/clutch. They are not in the position where feet normally rest during driving.

I suppose it's possible to mistake for a clutch, but I do believe learning to drive an automatic is a simpler change than driving a manual for the 1st time.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 01:01 PM
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It may not be a rental, but I've definitely come upon a US-branded manual car with the foot pedal on the left for parking brake. It's likely a Chrysler K-car or something like the Dodge Shadow/Plymouth Sundance.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 01:04 PM
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We always rent a car with manual transmission; this one was a Renault, I think. Didn't notice that there was no hand brake until we were on steep hills, trying to shift all the way down, while nearly stopping to let another car pass on a steep hill. the other thing to look for is a place to leave the luggage out of view, either a trunk or a flap that conceals what is in the 'boot'...crooks who see luggage are that much more tempted...we know now what we didn't know then...we are going back to Portugal in the fall, back to the Pinhuo mountains, and this time we will be prepared.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 01:07 PM
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altimiro: It would be pretty much impossible to press the parking brake pedal by accident. It is too far away from the other pedals and in an entirely different plane.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen one in a stick shift car but it wouldn't surprise me. And it wouldn't be a concern.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 01:09 PM
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clarasong - There IS an electric parking brake on your Renault rental. Go back next time and check it out.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 01:18 PM
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Even so, I want a hand brake...so you can put it on and hold you on a hill, while you are down shifting. Very disconcerting to be 'rolling' backward when there is nothing between you and the side of a steep cliff. And I got one foot on the accelerator, one on the clutch, so which one do I put on the electric brake....nope, gonna insist on an old fashioned brake handle in the middle of the car.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 02:12 PM
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you put your index finger on the the electric parking brake
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Old May 11th, 2008, 02:18 PM
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Renault has those push button starter, push button emergency brake rentals going. I rented the Scenic, its a nice little diesel. For hills, I would say the main foot brake and gear use is adequate no matter what the hill. However my first car was astick and I could see an US automatic car driver getting worried over it.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 02:26 PM
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clarasong - the electronic brake really isn't that hard. Maybe they just didn't take time to explain all the controls before you drove off from the rental agency - did you not notice the controls even once before you got up in the hills?
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Old May 11th, 2008, 07:47 PM
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I guess you like what you are used to; I can easily drive a 'stick' and prefer it in Europe. However, I never trust French cars...sorry, that's just a predjudice of mine....when we go next fall, I am going to be 'choosey" and Mr. Avis is going to hear from me...we spend a lot of money on their cars...going to rent one next week and one in early June, etc....
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Old May 11th, 2008, 08:50 PM
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First, the electric parking brake the Renault has the auto-release feature. When starting the car from in incline, you don't even need to press the button to release the brakes. It's really a nice feature.

Second, the electric parking brakes are also on some Audi models. And of course, Audis are not French.

I don't see a downside to it, unless you're a rally car driver or a stunt driver who needs to use the parking brake to lock up the rear wheels and "flick" the car around with a pendulum turn.
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Old May 11th, 2008, 08:59 PM
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Also VW Passat has an electronic handbrake on the dashboard, I don't know about the other VWs.

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