eK Electronic Parking Brake Dead: Common Causes & Fixes

Hi there! I have some experience working on cars and had a similar issue with my 2009 Mitsubishi Colt, pretty close to your eK model. I feel your pain with the electronic parking brake problems. Mine did exactly the same thing, totally dead, no response. Took it to my trusted workshop and it turned out the electric motor in the brake caliper was completely shot. Had it fixed there for around 505 Euro, not cheap, but it was necessary for safety. Before I can give you more specific advice, could you tell me if you're getting any warning lights on the dash? Also, have you noticed any unusual sounds before it stopped working completely? If it's anything like my case, it's likely the same issue, but let's confirm the symptoms first. The Mitsubishi electronic brake systems from those years are pretty similar.

Thanks for sharing your experience! No warning lights showed up before it stopped working, it just died suddenly one morning. My car's at 76285 KM and had its last service about 3 months ago, but they didn't mention any brake issues then. Weird thing is there weren't any strange noises either, it was working perfectly fine the night before. Would you mind sharing how long your repair took? I need the car for work so trying to figure out how long I might need to arrange alternative transport. Really hope it's just the motor like in your case and nothing more complicated!

Hey again! Thanks for the follow-up. Yeah, that sounds exactly like what happened with my Colt, it just went from working perfectly to completely dead overnight. So frustrating, right? In my case, the repair took about a day and a half, dropped it off in the morning and got it back the next afternoon. The main time-consumer was actually waiting for the parts to arrive, as they had to order the motor unit specifically for the Mitsubishi brake system. The actual repair work only took about 3-4 hours once they had everything they needed. With your mileage being similar to what mine was when it failed (mine was around 80,000 KM), and given the identical symptoms, I'm pretty confident it's the same issue. No warning lights or weird noises is actually typical for this particular problem, these electronic brake motors tend to just give up without any warning. One tip from my experience, while you're getting it fixed, have them check the wiring harness too. Mine was slightly corroded, and the mechanic cleaned it up as a preventive measure. Hasn't given me any trouble in the two years since the repair. Let me know how it goes! Hope you can get it sorted quickly.

Thank you so much for all this detailed info, it's really helpful! That's actually a relief to hear it might just take a day and a half. I can probably manage with carpooling with a colleague for that long. The similarity between our cases is pretty striking, really makes me think it's the same motor issue. I'll definitely mention checking the wiring harness when I take it in. Better to get everything sorted while they're in there! I've called a Mitsubishi specialist workshop and booked it in for next Tuesday. They quoted me roughly the same price range as what you paid, so that seems about right. Thanks again for sharing your experience, it's made me feel much more confident about what I'm dealing with. I'll update this thread once it's fixed in case anyone else runs into the same problem!