Mystery after Corsa handbrake horror

The handbrake on any car has only one job to do – stop it from moving when it’s stationary. But on Stuart Mainwaring’s Vauxhall Corsa VXR, it didn’t do that – with what could have been fatal consequences.

He told us: “My wife Lisa had been shopping with our son, and on her return she parked the Corsa on our drive, which is on a slight slope. She applied the handbrake, then got out of the car and chatted to a neighbour. Lisa heard a loud clonk and the next thing she knew the car was rolling down the drive.”

Terrified, Lisa tried to stop the Corsa, but was crushed between the front bumper and the rear wing of the neighbour’s vehicle. It caused damage to both cars and left her with badly bruised legs – but it could have been a lot worse.

Stuart assumed the handbrake had failed and contacted his dealer, Stover Vauxhall in Newton Abbot, Devon. It referred his case to Vauxhall itself, and the key components were removed from the Corsa and sent away for inspection. A Vauxhall spokesman explained: “We are aware of four cases of this, including Stuart’s. We have inspected each vehicle with the handbrake in-situ and then removed it for further testing by both GM Engineering in Rüsselsheim, Germany and with the supplying company. This included rig tests and physical checks on the mechanism. No fault was found with the handbrake.”

But Stuart isn’t happy. “If the fault was due to Lisa not applying the handbrake correctly, why did she have time to get our son out of the car and talk to our neighbour? Surely, if a handbrake isn’t applied correctly it would fail instantly?”

Vauxhall told us that it considers the case closed. The spokesman added engineers continue to monitor all aspects of the Corsa handbrake, but as yet no issues appear to have been identified.

Stuart is £1,500 out of pocket as he chose to pay for repairs to the two vehicles, rather than use his insurance, and risk a price hike when his policy is due for renewal.