I have the '03 arc model w/man. trans. My e-brake got stuck on the last/top notch and I had to have it towed to dealership to have them release. They said the entire e-brake mechanism under the console needed to be replaced as a result of strectching. They did say the cable going back to the brake itself was ok but the entire mechanism/system needed to be completely replaced and the cost with labor would be $500 USD. Seeing if anyone else has had this problem fixed or replaced and what their cost was. I was not expecting it to be this much let alone a problem at all, i thought it just needed to be released. Trying to determine if this isa fair costor too much. It was taken to a Saab dealership.

 

If I were you I'd call a junkyard for that assembly and done it myself. It can't be that difficult to do. Shouldn't be more than a $100 part. I'm surprised at that diagnosis though. Did you have a look yourself?

 

I did not take a look myself as it requires taking apart the center console and would not know how to do that let alone look for what is wrong. I will probably pick the car up on Monday and have nothing done at this time; it is winter here and i can always park on a downslope for the time being. I still can't believe that it would be that much so I am going to call some of the local Saab shops and get their estimates and go from there. Thanks for the junkyard idea, I will definately look into that.

 

I wouldn't bother fixing it until spring as well. I stopped using my ebrake when temps got below freezing cause the ebrake was being frozen stuck. Had to torch the rotors to get it unstuck.

 

Got the car back this morning; learned it was something with the releasing mechanism in the parking brake assembly that broke and as a a result the whole assembly needs to be fixed. The brake is released and car is driveable so at this point I will be contacting some of the Saab shops around town to get their estimates. Hopefully it will not be anywhere near the $545 estimate the dealership gave me. Thanks for the help again.