Towing Issues: Car towed with E-brake on, tow driver, rear brakes

Question
Dear Mr. Geiger:

I had my 93 automatic Taurus automobile towed from my home to a repair center. It only has 38,000 miles and is in excellent condition since it gets little use.  The tow truck arrived and hooked up the car.  It was towed on the tow truck that lets your rear wheels drive. He went into the car and pulled the hood release instead of the emergency brake. I learned this later, when I found the hood partially opened.

When the car arrived at the repair center the rear brakes were smoking and had a terrible odor of burning metal.  When I saw this and asked what was happening, the two truck driver said the emergency brake was not fully released. He immediately released the E-brake.

What damage could have occurred to my car by this incident?  I would like to know what to look for as a result, ie, transmission or engine difficulty as a result.

Should my car undergo a diagnostic to search for harm this caused.

I had the repair center check the brakes and they said the rear brakes were okay.  Is this possible after what happened? Do you think this incident may have decreased the life of my rear brakes?

Also, what typically could happen to a car which has been towed with the emergency brake on?

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Your Taurus is a front wheel drive vehicle.  The tow truck lifted your front wheels off the ground leaving your rear wheels on the ground.  They are free rolling so no damage occurred to your transmission. However, the parking brake is activated on the rear wheels.  Your parking brake was left on but it was not fully on.  If it had been, the tow driver would have dragged the tires on the road and he would have definitely noticed and taken the brake off.  

In this instance it sounds like the parking brake was on slightly, enough to keep the car from rolling on it's own, but not enough that the tow driver felt any resistance.

I must confess I have made this mistake several times in my career and it is quite embarrassing.

Brake pads are made of a composite material that will smoke a great deal when they are heated up and the do put off a burning metal smell.  If the distance was a great one then there could be enough damage to the brake pads that they need to be replaced.  If the brake drums or rotors (disc brakes) got hot enough then there could have been permanent damage such as warping or hairline cracks. However,it will not cause a great reduction in braking ability because 75 % of your cars braking power is performed by the front brakes.  

If you are concerned about safety then you should go to your mechanic and have him check the brake drums/rotors and have them turned (process of trueing the drums) or replace them.  Usually if you have never had the brake drums/rotors turned then this would be an inexpensive fix.  It's when you have to replace the whole brake drum/rotor that it cost more.  

If the tow was a short distance of a couple or so miles, then there would be little or no damage that you should be concerned about.  If your mechanic tells you that there is enough thickness left on you brake pads, you should be okay.

I can assure you that this caused no other damage to the rest of your car.  It would be a waste of money to have a diagnostic test.

Hope this was helpful.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions pertaining to this subject.