Hand brake cable

[Red Pony]

I know that there is a TSB regarding the problem of the hand brake not releasing in the cold weather, my question is this. Does anyone know if Ford Service will cover this $300 repair for an out of warranty vehicle? My warranty ended in November and as luck would have it problem didn't start happening until Jan.
When I called the dealer they said it sounded like the TSB issue but had to charge me for the repair, called Ford customer service who called dealer and all of the sudden the dealer said there is no way to confirm or recreate the issue, therefore no way to state that the TSB relates to my car.

 

[ski]

The dealer may be hesitating to fix the problem even if Ford has agreed to cover the cost, because there's more profit in non-warranty work.
Did the dealer actually inspect your PB cable?

 

[Five Oh Brian]

I didn't know this issue existed in our cars until this morning. 23 degrees outside. I always set my parking brake. Let the car run for a few minutes to thaw out, cleared the window, put it in reverse, and the car wouldn't roll back without a fair amount of throttle. Drove to my daughter's school to drop her off, and every time I approached a stop and let off the gas, the car would slow down quickly (brake still stuck). When she opened her door to get out we could smell burning brakes! Got out and found it to be just the right rear. Got back in, drove another couple blocks and it finally released and has been fine since, but now I don't want to set the parking brake until it's above freezing. It's supposed to be in the 20's and low 30's here for the forseeable future.

 

[xxrequiemxx]

Honestly - I used to use the hand brake as well but my cable froze.... I am just going to leave the car in gear with no hand break b/c its more of a hasstle bringing the car in than just leaving it in gear.

 

[bigcat]

i had mine replaced with the revised cables. no problems since. it was -17* last night, and no problems.

if your car is out of warranty, the cables are very easy to replace yourself. take a look under the car at the connections, they are pretty self explanatory.

 

[ARTTII]

I had it happen to me with the revised cables, as stated, I also do NOT use the brake during regular parking, just leave it in gear. It is just not worth the hassle it creates. BTW, my car is a late build '07 and it had the problem with factory (revised) cables also. Dealers around here claim that the problem is due to where I live? I don't buy that...

 

[Red Pony]

Thanks for the input guys, I have a hard time paying for the repair especially since some of you have stated it re-occurred after new parts where installed. I might have them look at it the next time I get an oil change and see if I can persuade them to cover it.
The only problem I have is I always use the brake even though the car is in gear, habit I guess, I find myself applying it without thinking.

 

[hethj7]

Hmm, I've never had that happen and it's been really cold here lately. I always use the parking brake out of habit too. Plus, as said before, I set it while the car is warming up and I'm scraping ice of the windows.