I have a 2004 S60. Washed the car last Sunday and did not try to drive it until today. Car will not go forward or backwards. No problem with the transmission engaging. Emergency brake handle has slop in it when you first pull on it. I've raised each back wheel and can only rotate each about one degree. There is definitely a mechanical interference.

I stopped at the local Volvo dealership yesterday and talked to the manager. He said that one possibility could be that the emergency brake pad separated and may be making the brakes jam. He told me not to try moving the car as I could shear off something related to the brakes and if that happened it would be very expensive to repair. I'm hoping he is wrong. After washing the car, I backed it out of the garage and pulled it back in. Prior to this I did not hear or notice anything wrong with the brakes. Therefore, I would think it has something to do with the emergency brakes/cables.

Can anyone tell me how to check/adjust the emergency brake cable? I've searched other posts and found similar issues but could not find how to adjust and/or replace the cable. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

The shroud over the ebrake handle pulls strait up (the drink holder and arm rest storage compartment need to be open). Once that is out of the way, you will find the adjustment nut under a small plastic cover on the handle. Should be a 10mm nut.

 

After several attempts over several days to move the car from the garage by rocking it front and back with engine started and in gear, I was finally able to drive it today. After backing down the driveway and driving around our development, the noise from the rust wearing off of the rotors stopped and everything appears to be OK. The emergency brakes on Volvos seems to be a problem with other models than just the S60. This will probably be the first and last Volvo we own.

 

Supposedly mine is having the same issue. Took it in for a transmission fluid leak and they discovered an issue with the e brake not disengaging. I'll let you know what it ends up being.

 

Thanks rowmike, I'll look forward to your reply.

 

Im having this issue right now. Sent out my cluster to get fixed and left e brake on. Seems stuck now. Aarrgghhh. Any help

 

It's not really a "common problem" it's just a lack of maintenance.
There can be 2 things wrong with the parking brake, 1 rusted/stuck cables, 2 the expander could be rusted.

You can either drive the car and wear the pads until they stop sticking, or get it fixed properly, if your lucky it's just a mather of taking it apart and lube it up, and putting it back together.

 

Just bought a S60 R. Previous owner took the brake shoes out of the car because he said they were sticking. Gave me a bag with the parts and found the pads separated from the steel backing.

Took the rotor off and found a cast boss on the wheel spindle sheared off. This boss keeps the shoes from rotating. When the boss broke and the shoes rotated it also ripped the shoe retainer tabs off the steel backing plate.

I assumed when the pads separated from the steel backing they jammed, possibly at a high speed. This sheared off the boss on the casting which required the wheel spindle to be replaced. I was lucky enough to find a used R series spindle and brake backing plate locally. I believe the spindle is same for all AWD models but the backing plate is dedicated to the R series which has larger brakes.

At a dealer it would have been well over $1000.