[IrishITguy]

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on buying a new Ridgeline Touring, which I think is the equivalent of the RTL-E trim here, north of the border. I test drove one yesterday and loved it, except for one irritating thing... why did Honda choose to use the 70's style footbrake, instead of a nice discrete electric brake? Just a minor irritation on my part, but curious if anyone else feels like that, and more importantly, has anyone found it gets in their way when driving or exiting the truck?

 

[Farther]

I don’t find it a problem but I would have preferred a handbrake over the foot brake.

 

[Fulton-722]

Sort of an outdated concept, but doesn't seem to cause any problems !

 

[wjfyfe]

Our other two vehicles have the foot brake, just as the OP referenced, so the Ridgeline just feels natural, other than not having to use a hand release. Also, we much prefer the center storage rather than that space being utilized by a brake handle.

Bill

 

[Jquelch]

I’ve had the electric handbrake In the 2018 Civic and 2020 CRV and I’ll say I prefer the foot brake in the Ridgeline. With the foot brake I know when it is on/off, no waiting for it to engage or pushing the button the wrong way multiple times because I can never remember if I need to push or pull the toggle to dis-engage the brake.

 

[Mansfield10]

I’ve had the electric handbrake In the 2018 Civic and 2020 CRV and I’ll say I prefer the foot brake in the Ridgeline. With the foot brake I know when it is on/off, no waiting for it to engage or pushing the button the wrong way multiple times because I can never remember if I need to push or pull the toggle to dis-engage the brake.

I cannot agree with this more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DTHughes]

I can never remember if I need to push or pull the toggle to dis-engage the brake.

So true, when I drive my wife's '20 CX-9 with the same type of brake, I do the same thing. 😉

 

[speedlever]

Plus one on the hand brake/release. Ixnay on the E-brake. Heaven help you if the battery fails when the E-brake has been engaged.

 

[longboat]

Maybe Honda chose a footbrake because most (all?) full-size trucks still use a footbrake.

I would prefer a handbrake, and I would probably actually use it if it was such.

 

[Pilk]

Wifes Ascent has the Ebrake switch and its a pain. Much prefer the footbrake.

 

[njamesj]

The footbrake is fine in my opinion...it is a truck!! Most important to use it regularly to make certain the cables to not freeze. Same holds true for the electronic brake which has moving parts at the wheel.

 

[Tom1189]

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on buying a new Ridgeline Touring, which I think is the equivalent of the RTL-E trim here, north of the border. I test drove one yesterday and loved it, except for one irritating thing... why did Honda choose to use the 70's style footbrake, instead of a nice discrete electric brake? Just a minor irritation on my part, but curious if anyone else feels like that, and more importantly, has anyone found it gets in their way when driving or exiting the truck?

I do feel like the brake can get in the way - not so much when entering/exiting the vehicle, but when I try to extend my left leg, I hit the pedal with my shin. Would prefer if it was a bit more discrete, but I do appreciate that it's not an e-brake.

 

[technist]

I prefer the footbrake. My wife's car is a standard (Mazda 3) and when I drive it, I always pull up on the hand brake further than she does so she has a hard time releasing it and sometimes I have to release it for her. No issues with the foot brake

 

[Benjo]

I prefer the footbrake. I had a manual transmission Subaru with the electric parking brake. It had great auto-releasing and an angle-sensing auto-application hill-holding feature that made it very easy to get started or parallel park on a hill. Took a while to get used to and trust, but it was nice with the manual. It also got recalled twice, was quite noisy, confused anyone new to driving the car, was in a lousy location, and lacked any finesse (it's either on or off, and doesn't work without the ignition on).

 

[GreginJaxFL]

I also like the foot brake. have not ever used it as we are pretty flat here in Florida and it’s has never got in the way. After reading this, I will give it a good push to make sure It works.

 

[longboat]

Foot brake goes with column shifter.

Hand brake goes with console shifter.

E-brake goes with pushbutton shifter.

As usual, Honda does things in their own unusual way.

 

[Showkey]

Hand brake in the console takes up valuable console real estate.
Be careful what you ask for……as far ebrake.…….Complexity, service problems, effectiveness issues.

Which brings up the question ……..how many drivers actually use the parking brake ?
Studies show less than 5% of automatic transmission drivers use the parking brake. Manual transmission usage is higher.

 

[joecbr]

I don't have any problems operating the parking brake on my 2021 Sport. I am concerned with it's placement in the event of a major collision. I could see that lever doing some serious leg damage. Knock on wood...

 

[Farther]

I am concerned with it's placement in the event of a major collision. I could see that lever doing some serious leg damage

Not to worry, your face will probably absorb most of the impact when the airbags go off.

 

[DTHughes]

Not to worry, your face will probably absorb most of the impact when the airbags go off.

Oh dear!