Parking Brake Woes, Won't ratchet, but can set Options

[corsepervita]

I searched on the forum and wasn't able to find anything in relation to my symptoms. It's a bit odd. One morning I had brought the teener to work with me and set the brake, things were fine.

I released the brake and went to go park it because I forgot something, but when I went to set the parking brake, it didn't ratchet. It acted as if the button was pressed in and just went right back down.

I was a bit puzzled. I figured maybe the button was sticking, so I pressed it, moved the handle up and down a few times. Nothing.

I reached back in with my finger and could feel the little tooth that moves when it ratchets and manually moved it forward and released the handle, the car went nowhere and the brake was set. However, I have to manually do this now every time I set my brake. It won't ratchet like it should and automatically lock the tooth.

Obviously I think I'll have to take it apart, but what should I be looking for? Anyone here experienced this before?