[PacificaLimited]

Does anyone have any insight as to why/when the electronic Parking Brake will automatically disengage when putting the vehicle into gear...?

I honestly am not capable of finding a "pattern".
It really seems random as to when it happens.

• Enter vehicle
• Depress brake pedal
• Press start button
• with foot still on the brake, turn transmission dial from PARK to DRIVE

SOMETIMES the parking brake disengages automatically, SOMETIMES it does not.

Seems to be inconsistent; on flat ground, on a hill, from manual start, from remote start... I cannot (yet) make heads or tails of it. Anyone else notice this...?

 

[ezdays]

One thing I found is that it won't disengage automatically if you don't have your seat belt latched. I found that out the hard way since a few times I tried to back out of the driveway before putting on my belt.

 

[PacificaLimited]

One thing I found is that it won't disengage automatically if you don't have your seat belt latched. I found that out the hard way since a few times I tried to back out of the driveway before putting on my belt.

Hmmm... I generally latch my seatbelt +95% of the time before putting the car in gear... but will try experimenting with that and see if it makes a difference or can yield some consistency to the behavior.

 

[ezdays]

Hmmm... I generally latch my seatbelt +95% of the time before putting the car in gear... but will try experimenting with that and see if it makes a difference or can yield some consistency to the behavior.

I tried it this morning, and it will not automatically disengage if you move from park before you latch the driver's seat belt, even after you latch it. That seems to be the only consistent way it won't automatically disengage. And yeah, like you, 95% of the time I have my seat belt on before moving from park, but the few times I don't, this hand comes out of the dash and slaps me on the wrist....

 

[cue003]

So seatbelt BEFORE touching/changing gear shifter. Got it. Of course I assume you have your doors/liftgate closed before shifting as well.

What about when the parking brake is initiated? Does it have to be initiated before the vehicle is turned off, after it is shifted to park and before you unlatch your seatbelt? Does any of that effect the auto disengage?

 

[BrettP]

Bummer. I do not like having my seat belt fastened while backing out of the driveway.

 

[ezdays]

So seatbelt BEFORE touching/changing gear shifter. Got it. Of course I assume you have your doors/liftgate closed before shifting as well.

What about when the parking brake is initiated? Does it have to be initiated before the vehicle is turned off, after it is shifted to park and before you unlatch your seatbelt? Does any of that effect the auto disengage?

I find you can engage the parking brake anytime after you shift into park regardless of whether the engine is running or not or if the seat belts are latched or not. You can also go to "settings" and have it so it automatically engages every time you put it in park. I tried that for a few days, and went back to pushing the button when I need to.

Bummer. I do not like having my seat belt fastened while backing out of the driveway.

You can always manually disengage by pushing the parking brake button, even if your seat belts aren't latched.

 

[PacificaLimited]

I actually LIKE having it auto-engage the parking brake when I put the car into PARK.
My salesman told me: "You might want to disable that because it gets annoying..." but as someone who ALWAYS uses a parking brake out-of-habit, I like leaving it set to automatically engage... and now that I know WHY there are times it won't auto-disengage, I know it's just a matter of latching my belt BEFORE turning the gear selector. DONE!

Mystery solved... thanks.

 

[MiniVinn]

That's quite the safety system when you think about it. Kinda cool.

I would typically get annoyed but I can see how this is beneficial in ways

 

[PacificaLimited]

So... it seems that you were 100% correct on what I thought was "random behavior".
In my driveway, there are many times that I habitually put the car in gear and reach for the seatbelt as I roll forward towards the end of the driveway. I never noticed this subconscious behavior until this discussion. Everywhere else--parking lots, parking spaces, work, etc--I seem to buckle-up BEFORE shifting into gear most of the time... hence it happening sporadically. (I buckle-up 100% of the time... just that sometimes it happens after putting into gear)

Over the past handful of days, it was 100% predictable regarding the relationship of latched seatbelt and auto-disengaging of the Parking Brake.
Thanks for connecting the dots for me (us).

 

[ezdays]

So... it seems that you were 100% correct on what I thought was "random behavior".
In my driveway, there are many times that I habitually put the car in gear and reach for the seatbelt as I roll forward towards the end of the driveway. I never noticed this subconscious behavior until this discussion. Everywhere else--parking lots, parking spaces, work, etc--I seem to buckle-up BEFORE shifting into gear most of the time... hence it happening sporadically. (I buckle-up 100% of the time... just that sometimes it happens after putting into gear)

Over the past handful of days, it was 100% predictable regarding the relationship of latched seatbelt and auto-disengaging of the Parking Brake.
Thanks for connecting the dots for me (us).

Glad to help, you'd never guess how I found this out....

 

[cue003]

So it looks like the following:


Enter vehicle
Depress brake pedal
Press start button
Ensure drivers seat belt is BUCKLED
with foot still on the brake, turn transmission dial from PARK to DRIVE or REVERSE

Parking brake should auto-disengage when the above steps are performed. Seat belt buckling must happen before shifting the gear dial.

 

[ezdays]

So it looks like the following:


Enter vehicle
Depress brake pedal
Press start button
Ensure drivers seat belt is BUCKLED
with foot still on the brake, turn transmission dial from PARK to DRIVE or REVERSE

Parking brake should auto-disengage when the above steps are performed. Seat belt buckling must happen before shifting the gear dial.

Yup, I spent time in the driveway wondering why the brake didn't disengage automatically sometimes. It took a while before I caught on why.

 

[kahala74]

Somewhat related question regarding the parking brake.

Has anyone been using the parking brake at stoplights? For example, slow to a stop at a stoplight, your foot is on the brake, gear is still in D, then press the parking brake button and lift your foot off the brake.

When the light turns green, press the brake again and push the parking brake button to continue driving.

Seems to work fine and I've had no issues thus far. My prior Mercedes had a function where if you press the brake pedal deeply after coming to a stop, the brake will engage until you are ready to continue driving again. Just a convenience thing.

 

[BrettP]

Here's a pretty good video covering what we've discussed here plus some other things I didn't know (e.g. pressing the parking brake button while the vehicle is rolling).


2017 Chrysler Pacifica Park Assist - Bing video

 

[markinmad]

Ooo, you can push it while in motion? Winter rally turn practice in the snow here I come!

 

[cue003]

Good find on that video there BrettP. They mentioned items in a different order than we discussed and tried here. We know our methods of having your seat belt buckles before shifting the dial to drive or reverse is necessary.

 

[gaggan82]

Hey Guys,
So I'm confused- does it have an 'Auto Hold' feature when you stop and the car does not move till you press the accelerator again?

 

[cue003]

Hey Guys,
So I'm confused- does it have an 'Auto Hold' feature when you stop and the car does not move till you press the accelerator again?

No auto hold feature. The closest thing is Hill Start Assist (HSA)

 

[dhartlieb]

Does the failure to disengage have anything to do with remote start?