Mahindra XUV 700: Handbrake malfunction causes vehicle rollback

And so the handbrake held good for a good 8 seconds before giving away. The silver lining was that the vehicle was not free rolling, but was rolling back with some resistance from the handbrake.

BHPian Mudhalaipatti recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have clocked 4500 km so far and just a couple of highway runs. Almost all of these have been city rides and the ride is just awesome.

FE in the city has improved. The recent highway run gave me a FE of 11.6 kmpl, which is the highest so far. MID is now showing upwards of 12 kmpl which is again something new. I’ll update the FE next time when I fill the tank. As expected the FE keeps inching up.

Software niggles still persists.

And now………

Scare of a lifetime !

Over the weekend, did a highway run. While returning, around noon, wanted to get some tea and stopped by a roadside Cafe. There was an upward incline to the entrance and so parked the car, engaged the hand brake, waited for a few seconds and stepped out of the car. Took four steps, away from the car. In my peripheral vision the tip of the front bumper moves back faster than I would expect. I turn back and to my horror, the vehicle is sliding backwards on to the highway (this is just a two lane highway and it’s a fairy busy highway). I scrambled, managed to open the handle and the door, flung myself in to the car to reach the handbrake and pull it back with all my force, at the same time, trying to wriggle myself in (I was tummy in seat position) And then managed to press the brake. The vehicle comes to a stop barely inches away from the middle of the lane. Fortunately there was just a lorry on one lane and he managed to swerve to the other lane to avoid me.

My whole family was in the car and it was just me and my in-law who stepped out. After I bring the car back up, I can’t talk. My heart is beating so fast, words barely come out of my mouth. I sit there for 5 minutes before regaining my senses and contemplate as to what went wrong.

1. Bring the car to a standstill on an incline.
2. Since the family is inside and it’s midday with the sun beating down, have to keep the car running and so park the car in neutral.
3. Engage the handbrake. It’s at the usual handbrake position.
4. Keep my foot on the brake for a few second, while I’m taking order for snacks from the backbenchers.
5. Then take my foot off the break for a good 3 seconds, while I finalise the order. The vehicle is standing still.
6. I open the door, step out – 2 Seconds.
7. Take 4 steps – 3 seconds.

And so the handbrake held good for a good 8 seconds before giving away. The silver lining was that the vehicle was not free rolling, but was rolling back with some resistance from the handbrake.

Just to give you an idea of the level of Hand Brake engagement/position, here is the comparison with my wallet to provide some spatial context.

Here is where I think the “Park” function in automatic is great.

And my rant with the door handles continues. It was sheer agony with the extra step to open the handle in this situation. Fortunately I opened the handle, while the vehicle was rolling back.
Had I fumbled for a second, I can’t imagine the fall out. Get your act together Mahindra !!!

A few other observations from the passengers

• The second row middle seat is the most uncomfortable. Especially with the hard back and the bump in the floor. 500 was great in this regard. I barely use the cup holder tucked in to the second row seat and so this setup is proving to be a huge discomfort.

• The last row seats are not so uncomfortable, if the seats are reclined back to the full. In fact, the Almighty’s favourite is that last row, when she has to shut eyes.

• There seems to be some problem with the back speakers. The volume of music in the 3rd row is feeble. Got to check during my next service visit.

• AC is becoming a nemesis for this vehicle. While the driver and the front row gets a lot of love, the second row middle seat gets all the AC. The middle AC vent setup freezes the 2nd row middle seat passengers, but the rest on this row don’t get as much AC, as the reach of the air is far less. I like the AC in 500 much better than the 700.

Here’s what BHPian sunikkat had to say on the matter:

Glad you and your family are safe.

Basic rule, never ever park your car in an incline when people are still in the car. It is too much a risk to take thinking the car technology will keep it safe.

Call me old school but I try as much to avoid parking on inclines. And if at all I have to, I engage the hand brake, slot in gear for manual and P for auto and depending on situation even keep a block or stone to the tyre. People can call I am paranoid, but for me it is being defensive.

Here’s what BHPian pd1108 had to say on the matter:

Glad to know that all of you are safe. Here is a tip: whenever you park the car on an incline, always turn the wheel completely. In the event of a rollback/forward, it will go in a circle and stop. Many years back, a police officer told this to me in the US. This trick has never failed me

Here’s what BHPian PearlJam had to say on the matter:

Glad that you could avoid a disaster and having the good presence of mind to not panic during the incident.

Somehow, I would never trust the parking brake with my life, though I’ve never had a bad experience till now. I always try to avoid parking on steeper slopes whenever possible, and I don’t mind walking the extra distance for that. Whenever possible, I try to put an appropriate shaped brick/stone under the rear wheels. Might look odd, but I don’t care!

A good wheel stopper is probably worth it’s weight in gold. Like this one.

Keyword: Mahindra XUV 700: Handbrake malfunction causes vehicle rollback