Emergency Brake Replacement Cost Guide

The emergency brake is a mechanism that locks the rear brakes down and keeps the vehicle from moving when parked. There are three different types of systems, and the emergency brake replacement costs and procedures vary significantly depending on which system is used.

The two main types use a system that applies the rear brake pads or shoes themselves. A third kind has its own independent set of brake shoes, essentially a small drum brake inside the rotor of a rear disc brake system.

One thing the systems have in common is the cable system that operates them; each has a set of e-brake cables. The e-brake cables are made of steel cables in heavy housings, which tend to be positioned low in the rear bodywork and are subject to both weather damage and physical damage from road debris.

If there is water intrusion into the housing, the cable can bind or seize internally. If a cable catches something in the road, it can get pulled and kinked (or worse), which can also cause a cable to bind or seize. The exception is newer electric e-brake systems, which have ordinary rear brake callipers but with a motor that applies the rear brake pads as an e-brake.

Let’s consider the costs related to the three types of systems individually:

1. Rear Drum Brake E-brake Systems

This is a common system that’s been around for a long time. The e-brake cable attaches to a lever which pushes the secondary brake shoe against the brake drum to lock the drum in place.

The cost of replacing the e-brake system on a vehicle with this kind of system is the same as the cost of replacing the rear brakes. On average, that cost is about £175. Sometimes a non-functioning e-brake can be remedied by a simple adjustment, which costs about £40, or about half an hour of labour, on most vehicles.

The drum brakes have a self-adjuster that is supposed to keep the shoes in proper clearance so that both the brakes and the e-brakes work. Assuming the brakes are in acceptable condition, the things that can go wrong with the e-brake system are limited to e-brake cable problems. Others are issues with the star adjusting mechanism and hardware.

Using £100 an hour as a labour rate for factory parts and £70 for non-factory components, some specific examples of the replacement costs on some common vehicles with rear drum brakes incorporating the e-brake system are as follows:

For a 2004 Toyota Tacoma with a 3.4-liter engine

The e-brake mechanism is part of the rear drum brakes. The labour time to replace the e-brake adjusting hardware and lever is around 1.7 hours, and the cost of a non-factory hardware kit is about £15. This makes the emergency brake repair cost about £135.

To replace an e-brake cable on the Tacoma, there is a front cable and left and right rear cables. There are a variety of possible rear cables depending on body style and bed length. The labour time to replace the front e-brake cable is estimated at 1.3 hours. A factory cable costs £65, and an aftermarket cable costs about £15. The total cost to complete the job would be about £155 using factory parts and about £105 using aftermarket parts.

For replacing a rear cable, the labour time is around 1.1 hours, and the cost of a factory cable is about £120. The cost range for aftermarket cables is about £15 to £30. This makes the job of replacing a rear cable cost about £195 using factory parts, and about £92 to £110 using aftermarket parts.

For a 2005 Honda Civic with rear drum brakes

The labour time to replace the e-brake hardware is estimated at 1.3 hours. A non-factory kit for both sides costs about $25, which makes the job cost around £115 to complete.

For replacing the emergency brake cables on this vehicle, there is a left and right side, and the labour time for each side is around 1.5 hours. A factory e-brake cable costs about £30 and a non-OEM cable costs about £24. The total cost to complete the job would be about £135 to replace an e-brake cable using factory parts, or about £130 using aftermarket parts.

2. Rear Caliper Emergency Brake Systems

This is used on some vehicles that have a rear disc brake. The e-brake cable operates a lever on the rear brake calliper, and a screw mechanism in the rear calliper is applied to engage the brakes.

Other than the e-brake cable, the main things that can go wrong with the e-brake system are internal to the rear brake callipers. They have an internal self-adjuster. Sometimes, on calliper replacement, the clearance needs an initial manual adjustment, and sometimes it will set itself. Either way, if the rear e-brake doesn’t continue to work after that, then the calliper should be replaced. In most cases, the recommendation is to replace the callipers in matched pairs.

On some newer vehicles, there is no brake cable. However, the e-brake system is an electric motor that operates the screw mechanism in the calliper rather than a lever. On these, if the e-brake doesn’t work and the cause isn’t a wiring issue, then it is usually necessary to replace the calliper. It’s because there are no service parts or procedures for repairing internal parts that are generally available.

The average cost of replacing the main components (the callipers) in this kind of system is about £350.

For a couple of specific examples of the replacement costs of a rear calliper emergency brake system on some common vehicles using a labour rate of £70 to £100 an hour:

For a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze with a 1.4-liter engine

The e-brake mechanism is mechanical and built into the rear calliper. The labour time to replace the two rear callipers is estimated at 1.4 hours. Factory callipers cost about £195 each, and non-OEM replacements cost around £94 each. That would make the job of replacing the rear callipers cost around £290 using OEM components or about £190 using aftermarket parts.

If an e-brake cable on the Cruze needs to be replaced, there is a left and a right. Each has a labour time of an hour to replace. A factory e-brake cable costs about £25, and a non-factory cable costs about £20. The total cost of replacing an e-brake cable would be about £95 using factory parts or about £90 using aftermarket parts.

For a 2016 Jeep Renegade

The rear e-brake is electric and built into the rear calliper. The labour time to replace a rear calliper is around 1.2 hours. A factory set of callipers costs about £440, and there are no aftermarket sources. This makes the job of replacing the rear callipers cost about £525.

3. Rear Disc-Brake Inside-Rotor E-brake Systems

This is basically a drum brake that operates inside the brake rotor. As with the e-brake system that operates with a rear drum brake system, there is an adjuster to set the clearance of the shoes to the drum.

The assembly isn’t subject to wear in normal use, where the e-brake would only be applied when the vehicle is stationary. But if the e-brake is left on while driving, it can wear rapidly. Adjustment is done with a star wheel, which is sometimes accessible without removing the rotor and sometimes not.

The springs, adjuster, and shoes are subject to moisture-related issues sometimes, and additionally, rust can cause enough problems that the whole assembly needs to be replaced. Wear can also be an issue if the e-brake is left on while driving the vehicle.

On average, it costs around £215 to replace the main components of this kind of system.

For specific examples on some common vehicles, the replacement costs of a rear drum e-brake system inside a brake rotor, supposing that £70 to £100 an hour was used as a labour rate, are as follows:

For a 2011 Ford F-150

The labour time to replace the rear e-brake shoes is estimated at 1.6 hours. A set of factory shoes costs about £105, and non-OEM shoes cost about £35. A hardware kit adds about £15 to the cost. The total cost to complete the job of replacing the rear e-brake shoe assembly would be about £230 using factory parts or around £160 using aftermarket parts.

To replace the e-brake cables on the Ford, there is a front cable and a variety of other cable options for the left or right rear cable, depending on cab and bed length. The labour time for the front cable is one hour. A factory cable costs about £60, and a non-OEM cable costs about £23. The total cost to complete the job for the front cable would be about £130 using OE parts and about £90 using aftermarket parts.

For the left or right rear cables, the labour time is estimated at 0.5 of an hour, and the range of prices for factory cables is about £40 to £100. Aftermarket rear emergency brake cables range from about £15 to £55 in cost. Expect to spend around £75 to £135 to complete the job using factory parts, or about £50 to £90 using aftermarket parts, depending on which cable is needed and which body-style the vehicle has.

For a 2006 Kia Optima

The labour time to replace the rear e-brake shoes is around 1.3 hours. A factory e-brake shoe set costs about £60, and a set of aftermarket shoes costs about £25. Hardware costs about £25. The total cost to complete the job would be about £175 using factory parts and about £140 using aftermarket parts.

For this vehicle, there is a left and right e-brake cable. The labour time to replace either is around 1.3 hours. A factory cable costs about £62 for the right side and £48 for the left side. Aftermarket cables are about £25 each. The total cost to complete the job would be around £155 to replace the right-side rear e-brake cable using factory parts, and about £140 for the left side. Using aftermarket parts, the job would cost around £115 for either side.

Other Things That Can Be Involved

The most common thing is the brakes themselves, regardless of the type of system. In a system that uses the brake pads or shoes themselves to apply the e-brake, a brake job would be done if the brake pads or shoes needed to be replaced. Any parts necessary for the e-brake system would be supplementary to that.

Replacing the e-brake hardware in a drum brake system is generally a part of a drum brake service, if necessary. On a brake job for a disc brake system, replacing the callipers is usually about 0.2 of an hour as additional labour cost to the brake job, mostly accounting for having to bleed the system.

In a system with an e-brake inside the drum of a disc brake system, if the disc brakes needed to be replaced, then most of the labour to service the e-brakes would be overlapped by the main brake work.

In a drum brake system, if the brakes themselves needed to be replaced, all the labour charges to replace the e-brake hardware would be included in the labour related to the brake work. Only the parts cost of the e-brake hardware kit would be an addition, as detailed in the above section.

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