Advice Needed on Park Brake/Auto Hold

[mikecb1]

Just bought a 56 TDi Sport 170 with 20k miles, and struggling to get to grips with the smart (?) braking system.

Four times now in one week the park brake has failed to release when pulling away (Twice for me, twice for my wife). Since I have always used the handbrake in previous cars at junctions, traffic lights, roundabouts etc, this is potentially very dangerous, and I have lost confidence in using the park brake for temporary stops. Is there some trick to getting the brake to release reliably, or is it more likely to be an intermittent fault with the system? Is the parking brake not intended to be used for temporary stops, and if so, then how does one pull away on a hill?

Since I have the Auto Hold function, I thought I would try using this for temporary stops. This kinda works, but since the brake releases as soon as I touch the accelorator, the car rolls back a little on inclines before I can pull away. Again, is this just a case of learning the knack, or is there a fault?

Any ideas/experiences gratefully received. (The car is good otherwise).

Mike