Hi.

When I returned to my car in a car park, some nice person had parked so close that I could not get into my seat ( I'm not the thinnest OAP in the world). After faffing about on the passenger side and with the use of a brolly to press on the brake pedal, I manged to start the car and edge it forward enough to get in. My question is, is there a way to release the brake and get the car in neutral  without putting on a grand display to passing crowds?

Second: I was north bound on the M5 yesterday, the normal 40 min trip took just over 3 hours. In that time I noticed that the handbrake lever was getting hotter and hotter, although later it cooled down. Was this just a by product of the starting and crawling and stopping of the trip or something to check on?

 

Regards

Hopefully they did not damage you door too! Notice the gear knob gets hot after a more spirited drive, but never the gear lever?