I have a A class 2004. When I released the handbrake lever this morning the brakes did not release. Can you please help I am stuck. Marius

Have you tried applying foot brake before releasing park brake. You will need a good battery to release the brake with ignition on. Also you need to depress footbrake to move shift lever from PARK

Probably the hand brake cable has become jammed, and need to be replaced.

snapped cable released brake, handle is stuck behind panel

Hi
If you have checked your brake fluid level is fine try pulling off the plug that goes to the lid of your brake fluid reservoir and plug it back in just to check for a bad earth as usually a faulty handbrake switch will make the handbrake light flash and beep as a safety warning to let you know you have left your handbrake on
I hope this helps Nick

footbrake kind or handbrake lever.. spray wd40 on the cable where it enters the sheath and work it on and off.. also check the cables where they are located near the back wheels and spray these also.. they rust up and stick ..lever style e-brake has a button on the lever that must be pushed in to release..if jerked up to hard by a strong arm it will be tough to release it.. calls for 2 hands to pull up and push the button at the same time..foot brake requires pushing down while pulling the hand release and see if it works.. repost please..

First: Pull UP on the handbrake and then push the release button. The button can only be released while the lever is being pulled up so pull hard. This will release it the lock for you to bring the brake handle down.

The easiest way is to just cut the handbrake cable (the one that goes to the lever, hidden by the exhaust), but you will have to replace it afterwards.

Does the car have drums or disc brakes on the rear? If it has drums then the handbrake lever may not be releasing on the rear shoe itself or a spring or brake lining could have let go and got jammed. If the handbrake lever is the problem then removing the wheel and striking the drum with a large ball peen hammer should release it (may be barbaric but it works), this will not solve the problem the brakes would have to be removed and serviced or replaced depending on the problem. If the vehicle however has disc brakes on the rear then the caliper on that wheel may have become stuck or seized, normally they are replaced nowadays if this occurs since rebuild kits are not readily available. Still with disc brakes could also have stuck pad in its guide on the bracket, although much less likely, also tends to be less costly since you only have to remove and clean it up (rust, etc). If the handbrake is inside the rotor (internal drum), then you could have a problem with the shoes or lever releasing inside the rotor (depending on the setup on the rear). As well if it were not brakes in very, very rare occasions a wheel bearing could lock up, not very likely though. hope this will help you good luck

This is almost always (95%) caused by rust inside the hand brake cable going to the back wheels, replace the cables and the issue will go away.