Stop: 4 Things You Should Know About your Car Brakes

Stop: 4 Things You Should Know About your Car Brakes

The brakes and braking systems are some of the most important components to your vehicle. These often overlooked and underappreciated systems keep you safe – it’s just that simple. Despite this, few people know how to check their brakes for issues and determine if it’s time to visit a shop for brake repair. We’ve decided to put together some quick tips that you can use in your day to day driving. These tell tale signs can save you a few bucks, either at the mechanic or in the hospital, if they are caught early enough.

Change the Way You Brake

If you are stomping on your brakes or having to start braking much earlier than you think normal, there is a chance that your brakes, rotors or fluids are worn out and need to be replaced.

Use your Senses

Grinding is another sign of wear on your brakes. Especially at lower speeds, you can hear/feel the vibrations, squeaks and clanks of bad brakes. Every so often you should drive with the windows down and the music off and pay attention to the sounds your car is making.

Check on your Brake Lines

This is the system that turns the pressure you apply to your brake into the actual braking of your vehicle, closing the calipers that move your brake pads onto the rotors. Broken, frayed and cracked brake lines are common as the material can corrode or weather as part of normal wear and tear. If left unchecked, your car can lose brake fluid and you can be left with a car that can’t stop.

Pay Attention to your Driving Habits

The way that you drive your vehicle dictates the amount of wear and tear your put on it. Here are some ways you can cause unnecessary damage to your brakes:

1. Riding the brakes – We’ve all been behind the driver on the highways that keeps hitting the brakes for no reason. Not only is it annoying (and dangerous,) but causes unneeded wear and tear. If you find yourself braking for no apparent reason, try and correct the behavior.
2. Sudden stops – If you are approaching a stop, use the distance you have between where you are and where you need to stop to your advantage. Coast where appropriate and allow the car to slow down on its own. Then, gradually apply the brakes as you come to your stopping point. Slamming on your brakes causes a lot of heat and friction which will ultimately damage and wear your brakes down.
3. Keep your car clean – dirty brakes aren’t as effective, and, you can get stuck calipers which will warp and destroy your pads and rotors in short order.

Worrying about your brakes might not be the sexiest thing to pay attention to when caring for your car, but the truth is that it is dangerous for you and for the folks you share the road with to drive around with bad brakes.

BBack Car Care are your brake specialists. We can repair and replace every component of your braking system. In fact, many of our services come with free brake inspections to make sure that you are safe while on the road. Talk to one of our service writers about factory scheduled maintenance of having your brakes checked out during your next visit. We’ll look everything over and show you any issues that come up.

Need to make an appointment – Call us today or submit an appointment request now.