Parking brake stuck on after a long period of not driving, any way to free it

[brandonhill]

Parking brake stuck on after a long period of not driving, any way to free it without towing


Went on holiday for about five weeks and left my 2014 320i in the underground parking with the handbrake engaged like I normally do, came back yesterday and the car starts fine but the rear wheels are absolutely refusing to budge even with a bit of gentle throttle. You can feel the back end squat slightly like it wants to move but it's like someone's put chocks behind the tyres, and I'm assuming the parking brake shoes have rusted themselves to the inside of the rear disc hat from sitting so long in the humidity. I've tried rocking the car forward and reverse a few times hoping it would break free but I don't want to be too aggressive and snap a cable or damage the shoes, so now I'm just staring at it wondering if there's a trick I haven't tried yet. I'd rather sort this out on the spot than have it towed to a BMW Garage for something that might just need a bit of persuasion, has anyone successfully unstuck a seized parking brake on an F30 without getting under the car and whacking things with a hammer. Would releasing the cable from inside the centre console help or does that only adjust the tension and not actually release the shoes if they're rust bonded to the drum surface inside the disc.