temp fix

[SilverShadow]

My son has a 91 coupe and this morning when he put it in gear it was as if the E break was still on. He tried everything to make it normal. Since he HAD to, he drove it to work and said it was like driving with the hand brake on. It's Sunday and no shops open. He lives 30 miles from me and won't get off of work till late. Is there something like a sensor reachable he can disconnect or is it more complicated?

[RyanD]

Perhaps the shoes in the rear drum are stuck?

[SilverShadow]

Was told by another member for him to drive it backwards and hit the breaks. I have done this to other cars to adjust them. But for some reason I think this problem on his coupe is ABS. His car's lever will not move unless the key is inserted into console hole.
Neither of us work on cars and if I do, it's simple stuff like replacing power steering or small things reachable. I leave the big stuff to the experts with the room and tools. Just wondering if there is a way I can fix it myself?

[Bad_dude]

Check the brake fluid level to see if it's low. The rear drum might be stuck due the cylinder leakage.

[Fleetw00d]

Was told by another member for him to drive it backwards and hit the breaks. I have done this to other cars to adjust them. But for some reason I think this problem on his coupe is ABS. His car's lever will not move unless the key is inserted into console hole.
Neither of us work on cars and if I do, it's simple stuff like replacing power steering or small things reachable. I leave the big stuff to the experts with the room and tools. Just wondering if there is a way I can fix it myself?

What model is your son's car, DX, LX, or EX? If DX or LX, it doesn't have ABS. Are you saying the gear shift will not move even with the key inserted in the ignition, in the "on" position, and his foot on the brake? Without the above conditions, the gear shift in any automatic can be moved by inserting a key in the slot on the console (any key works, I've used my keys on JY cars to pull the lever back to access the radio).

To check if the brakes are actually dragging, jack up each wheel and see if it can be rotated with the parking brake released and no pressure applied to the brake pedal.

Does he use the hand brake regularly when parking the car? When he pulls the hand brake handle up, is there increasing resistance, or does it come up easily? When released, does it pull itself down, or does he have to push the handle down? If he does not use it regularly and it takes little effort to set it, and doesn't "pull" itself down when releasing it, the cables may be seized. I don't recall how accessible the ends of the sheaths on the cables are, but you could attempt to spray a lubricant into the ends of the sheath, then pull the brake handle as hard as you can, then release, several times to attempt to work the cables loose.

Alternately braking in forward and reverse will adjust drum brakes, but that may only serve to make things worse if the cables are siezed.

[SilverShadow]

Well My son made me look like a complete asshole idiot for posting here! He was so tired this morning at 5:30 after only two hours of sleep, he did not even check his tires! He calls me today and says, "Dad...one of my tires was all shredded. I put on the spare and it rides fine." I could have decked him if I was near! All this posting and it's the F*&% ing tire? Well the break light is still on so I guess that was what he thought and we have to see what that is about. Thanks for the reply and I will keep the info handy.
Sorry to have bothered you all.
91 LX coupe by the way, mine is a CB9

[SilverShadow]

By the way...since he owned the car, he has always had to insert a key in console to move the lever to N to start it. He can pay to get it fixed, but he said it's his security of sorts. I told him most car thieves already know this about Hondas.

[Fleetw00d]

If he owns it, I hope he is paying for a new tire. The un-necessary expense may prompt him to pay a little more attention to his tires.