Parking Brake Light

There are very few emergencies that will ghet better by giving that handle a healthy yank, and most will get much worse. That has not been an Emergency Brake for closing in on 3 decades.

The handle pulls a cable that makes the brakes (rear only) work. If the rear brakes are drum type, then the actual braking components will be mechanically operated, if the rear brakes are disc type, then a separate set of brake shoes that operate against a "drum" that is built into the rear rotors will be activated.

It sounds to me as if the rear brakes, and probably the cable only, are binding and not allowing the handle to be set fully OFF. You can push the handle to the full off postion, but it pops out again. There is a switch that detects the handle position, and this switch is not being activated properly.

Most Parking brakes are self adjusting, though it seems to be an oxymoron sometimes. Basically you can give it a try and if it works, great, but if it don't, no big deal.

To "Self Adjust" the parking brake, Engage the brake, by pulling on the handle normally, no need to strain yourself. Start the car and put into Reverse. Give it a little gas until you start to roll backwards a bit. Stop, and release the Parking Brake. The light should go out. If you pull it again, it should be a bit tighter to pull and shorter. Basically you taking up the slack in the line, thus making the pull distance shorter. Just make sure when you do this, there is enough clearance behind you and don't forget that you are still in Reverse.

The dealer will usually adjust the parking brake when you take it in for a $24.95 oil change.