Handbrake lever

Traditional handbrake lever teeth will eventually wear out with prolonged use.

Electric park brake switches in the F-Generation vehicles have a common issue where they develops a hairline fracture—which is cosmetic and often present from 10,000 kms—so if you’re trying to address the issue we cannot help.

Earlier BMWs, including many of the E and F-Generation vehicles use traditional cable operated handbrakes. The handbrake levers in these vehicles uses a cable to connect the park brakes.

Many of the later BMWs use electric park brake systems now, including all of the current line up. These systems use an electric switch to operate the park brake—which are either utilising a central actuator or calipers on the actuator.

Most traditional handbrake levers come in different colours, but other than that there is little-to-no variation within a model generation.

Electric handbrake switches can sometimes have two types within a model generation: with auto-hold and without. This is less common in the F-Generation vehicles where it became a standard feature.

If you want to confirm fitment compatibility of a lever or switch for your vehicle, the the best way is to determine the BMW part numbers from the catalogue. This can be done by decoding your vehicle’s VIN in a BMW EPC (electronic part catalogue.)

If you don’t have access to an EPC, provide our team with your vehicle’s 17-digit VIN—and we’ll check our stock for a compatible match.

Both levers and switches are highly interchangeable between models.