Rear Electronic Parking brake replacement not advised.
We advise against brake upgrades that attempt to replace the rear electric parking brake mechanisms in order to provide a rear brake upgrade. This is due to the potential for safety, warranty, and other related concerns.
Alcon engineers and manufactures brake components and systems for the highest levels of professional motorsport, major passenger car OEMs, specialist vehicle manufactures and axle builders. In addition to this, they use OEM direction and experience to supply upgrade kits for armorers and customers requiring higher performance brakes than originally fitted.
With respect to kits, OEM experience tells us what is safe to modify or replace and what is not. It is for this reason that you will not currently find an Alcon upgrade for an Electric Parking brake (EPB). EPBs fitted on passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles are not only replacement for mechanical parking brakes; they have a lot more functionality. This functionality is integrated into the vehicle control system.
Suppliers of OEM EPBs invest a lot of time configuring and testing the brake before the vehicle is allowed to go to market. Reaction times within the system need to be in the milliseconds.
Potential issues if the control system is out of bounds or in error include:
- The brakes apply, without warning, when the vehicle is being driven; causing the vehicle to spin.
- The brakes lose their ‘ABS’ functionality, when being applied dynamically, in the case of an emergency; causing the vehicle to spin.
- The brake releases clamp load unintentionally, causing the vehicle to roll-away.
- The park function completely fails to perform, without warning; causing vehicle to roll away.
In addition to their own research, Alcon consulted with OEM customers and volume manufacturers of EPB technology. The message was clear; do not modify or replace an OEM EPB..
There have been a number of service bulletins and control system modifications by manufacturers with these components. In addition to the potential hazards above, replacing the EPB may not allow an update to the control system and likely invalidate the warranty of the vehicles brake system. It is likely then that the manufacturer will refuse to update the vehicle software.