Brake Repair – Common Brake Problems
Brake repairs are a common brake problem. If you know your automobile brakes are in need of replacement or repair, neglecting that fact can do more damage to your car, or completely fail leaving you in a precarious situation. Regularly inspected brakes are an essential element in preventative car maintenance as well as your passenger and personal safety. Car brakes can save you life!
The most common brake problem is the wear and tear on the pads, which should be regularly replaced either as recommended by your vehicle warranty manual, or the built in warning system–the sound of the squeak during a stop. If the brake pads are not changed when worn, they can warp the rotors. Let us look at these two much needed brake repairs.
How To Know When to Service Brakes
Depending on driving habits, terrain, city driving elements, quality of replacement brake pads, rotor thickness, type of vehicle, brake pads can wear out in every 18000-60000 miles. For this very reason it is a smart idea to have the pads on your brakes checked out at least once every six months. In this way you are performing preventative maintenance on them and are being proactive. This is better than waiting until the pads are worn down and start to squeak, as this can be an alarming feeling and sound to those uninitiated in brake malfunctions. Failing a regular bi yearly preventative brake inspection, when you start hearing that metal to metal squeak, its time to book an appointment for a brake inspection.
Faulty and Worn Brake Pad Warning Signs
The symptoms to look for that signal a brake pad replacement is needed include grinding sounds, squeaking and increased stopping distance. Most brake pads are fitted with a thin metal tab that lets you know when the brake pads need attention. The warning noise activates when the wear indicator touches the caliper; when braking force is applied, it causes the scraping, squeaky noise.
Not all brake pads are made this way however which means that having them inspected at least twice a year is strongly recommended. If the brake pads wear down enough in time they can do damage to the rotors. This brake repair will be even more expensive than if you had just needed to replace the brake pads!
Warped Brake Rotors
Warped rotors is a problem more commonly seen in modern cars but this issue can crop up on all braking systems that feature disc brakes. Rotors can warp if the wheel is tightened too much or if they become overheated.
You will know that you have a warped rotor when you are driving because when you apply the brake you will feel a pulsing sensation. Not only can this pulsing sensation be frustrating to have to contend with but it can also be a red light for danger. A tremendous number of newer motor vehicles are made with rotors that are paper thin and are susceptible to warping very quickly.
Another thing that can make this problem worse is that many automobile manufacturers do not leave enough material in place to allow for the rotors to be resurfaced. This brake repair must be done by a qualified technician. When a rotor is resurfaced the flatness of the rotor is improved upon and the pulsing feeling in the brake pedal then goes away. The safety of the brake is then restored to what it should be. The biggest takeaway from this article is delaying a repair could be very dangerous!
Your warranty will remain valid with services at K&G
The ACCC ensures new car warranties remain valid if the car is serviced by independent mechanics. So, you can have peace of mind that our servicing will not void your car warranty! At K&G Auto, we understand that servicing your car can be financially stressful, that’s why we’ve introduced Zip Pay!* (Term: Charge first $1,000 to your credit card and the balance to zip).