E90 Handbrake - Doesnt come up as high on second application

[BBQ_Man_Dan]

Hi All,

First post here, so hello everyone.

I have owned my E90 320D for just over a year now and the handbrake has been pretty much useless since day one. It also felt as if the auto adjuster (i now know there isn't one) was faulty and allowing the handbrake to reset. If I pulled the handbrake it would go pretty much to the top, upon releasing and pulling back up again the travel would be halved.

So i decided to adjust the handbrake after following guides and decided to remove the rear disks to see if the pad material had become unstuck from the backing plate. My thoughts were (after realising the E90 does not have auto adjusters) that the pad material was getting stuck under the pad and not allowing it to engage fully, hence the reduced handbrake travel. Adjusting the handbrake was pretty straight forward, trickiest part was removing the disk from the hub as it was seized on, and the pads were in good shape. After adjusting the handbrake it now holds the car but still has this strange reduced travel after pulling it up the first time.

Is this something that is expected on the E90 or should I start pulling more bits off the car?

Thanks in advanced,

Dan.

[Bimmer Owners Club]

Hi Dan...welcome to the Forum

I have not experienced this fault before but think if you have been over the rear brakes then I think I would then go to the handbrake lever area and see if there is something amiss there....although not sure what you may find but has to be worth checking I guess.

Let us know what you find

cheers .  Trevor

[BBQ_Man_Dan]

Hi Trevor. thanks for the reply. Only replying slightly late.... I didnt receive a notification.

So after some more poking around and paying attention to what is going on i think i have narrowed the problem down to the ASZE.

When i first pull the handbrake up the lever comes up very high. When i release the lever a ratcheting noise can be heard, almost like when you pull the lever without pressing the button first. Once this ratcheting has occurred the travel is much reduced.

So my question is, is there a ratchet mechanism in the ASZE? I cannot find any diagrams online. I'd like to know how the thing operates before i take the centre console out, which looks like a big job.

[Greydog]

Have a look at www.pelicanparts.com it is an American site but apart from the steering wheel being in the wrong place their how too's are great with photographs. Also look at www.newtis.info it is a BMW Technical Information site, the same information used by dealers.

Dave

[BBQ_Man_Dan]

Thanks Dave,

newtis looks like a great site with lots of info.

Doesnt seem like the the ASZE is serviceable. I'll have a look this weekend, taking the centre console out also doesnt seem overly tricky from the guides.

Dan