Hi All,

Bought my first Rover and was super excited. 2005 LR3 4.4 130k. Pretty decent rig but needs a lot of the common issues corrected. I’m getting there, but am stuck on the EPB. I’m a very capable DIY mechanic. I’ve searched countless posts and videos and can’t seem to figure what the problem is. I did buy a Gap tool.

Previous owner told me they replaced the EPB and I believe them. Module and cables look new. Previous owner did say while the EPB was replaced, he thought something needed to be adjusted.

When I got it home, trying to set the parking brake made the screeching stuck actuator noise. I checked the fault codes with the IID and got a bunch of codes, many more than just the EPB. I cleared them all and ran the unjamming procedure with the IID and it unjammed. I’ve read the brake bible and read a ton of posts and watched a lot of videos. I adjusted per the brake bible and tried to set the EPB. I could hear the EPB motor run back and forth a bunch of times 20-30 seconds and it would fail to set. Then the red park brake light started flashing on the dash. I checked the faults and got C1A53-68- EPB latching failure. I went through adjusting procedure again, tried a second time and got the same fault.

Next, I decided to tear down the brake shoes to inspect everything. RH shoes look new, everything moved freely, no rust. I did find one problem. The spring that holds the flap/door closed on the cable was not put on correctly and the cable was slipping through! I was like . I then checked the LH side. All components looked the same, except the brake was defiantly dragging at some point. Not terrible, but the shoes had clearly been engaged while driving at some point. Oh, rotors look very good as well. I put everything back together and adjusted per the brake bible and tried to engage the EPB. I could hear the motor run. It could hear the pitch change and tension was clearly increasing. The motor then backed off a tiny bit and the tightened more and it jammed. It didn’t make the screeching noise, it just locked up. I tried the unjamming procedure and it wouldn’t unjam. I could hear the EPB making the ratcheting noise but it just wouldn’t unjam. I walked away and went back to searching posts, reading the brake bible and watching videos. Couldn’t figure anything out. I tried rotating the hubs and the EPB was defiantly set. I tired unjamming again and it mysteriously worked! Now what!? 😂. I read the adjustment procedure again and tired adjusting again….. and it jammed again…. 🤬….. this time, I couldn’t get it to unjam with the IID. Desperation set in and I tried pulled the manual release….. nothing happened….. I was pulling so hard I though the drums were going to pull through the floor. lol….. I’m sure I was pulling hard enough…. No release. Cable moved freely and was not stuck…. However, after regaining my composure, I was pulling the cable in and out and could hear a clicking noise like something was moving in the EPB so I think I was releasing. Tried running the unjamming cycle with IID a bunch of time and it
worked again! 🥳….. adjusted again and it jammed again 🤬……

I am now contemplating my life and why I bought a LR. I thought it was cool….. I’m gonna build a rig, I’m gonna hit the trails and beach….

Snapping back to reality, I realized I can’t let this thing sit in my garage for the next decade so I decided to pull the EPB cover off to see what I could see….

The brass colored mechanism was maxed out and had jammed up against the end of the spline on the others side. I used a pry bar and hammer and tried to hammer the adjuster loose. After beating on it I though it had turned a little so I decided to try the unjamming routine a bunch of times and it worked! 🥳. I then unwound the brass color part completely so it was all the way to the other side. I thought that maybe if the mechanism was backed off completely the cable would have more slack and readjusting would get everything working properly again…..

Read the same posts over and over….. I found one new video of some guy driving a RHD model who took his LR3 in for a EPB fix and the guy talked about how important the Allen screw adjuster was…..

I readjusted the shoes again. I look though the adjustment hole on the rotor and could see the shoes looked perfect. There were almost touching the rotors but the hubs turned freely.

I think about trying to set the EPB again but I feel like I have LR EPB PTSD and I’m scared….

Anyways, I try to set the EPB again and I can hear the mechanism running….. time has slowed….. seconds feel like hours. 😂

I’m paying very close attention to the sound of the motor. I can hear it tightening and tension increasing. But, tension is defiantly increasing faster than the last time. The motor then backs off slightly and then continues to tighten more. I swear it was about to stop and i could hear it jam up again. I crawl back under to look at the EPB and it’s maxed out again. 🤬

So, I go back through the same process and eventually get it unjammed…..

The LR is currently sitting in the garage with the EPB cover off and the mechanism completely unwound.

I thought about replacing the shoes, but they are in very good shape. They look new, other than the LH shoe having been dragging. I feel like replacing the shoes is a waste of time and money. I did check the live brake force reading and it was 660ish N/m. It seems like if the mechanism had another 1/4” of spline, it wouldn’t max out. Or if the cables were just a little shorter, or perhaps I’m just missing some minor thing to check….

Should I do the bed in procedure before I try to set the EPB again? Will that recalibrate the travel distance of the cables? I’d be worried about the EPB locking up while I bedding them in and leaving me stranded.

Also, I’ve seen info that said you should back adjuster off 8 clicks and others that say 10 clicks. Which is it? Would 10 clicks fix the issue?

I would love some help if anyone has ideas or can tell me what to check!

Thank you so much!