Brake Repair: Some Tips on Your Car's Brakes

Jul 21
08:14

2011

Andrew Stratton

Andrew Stratton

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This article gives an overview on potential problems with your braking systems and warning signs that indicate when brake repair is necessary. Read on to learn more.

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Your car's brakes are one of the most important safety features of your car and when they malfunction,Brake Repair: Some Tips on Your Car's Brakes Articles you and everyone on the road around you is unsafe. Your car's braking system will warn you before they simply go out in a variety of ways so you really have no excuse not to address the issue before it becomes a safety issue. 

Clearly there are a lot of different components that go into your brakes and those components can all play a role in why your brakes are not functioning the way they should. Your brakes themselves consist of brake pads, brake shoes, calibers, and rotors and combined with other aspect of your braking system such as braking fluid and the master cylinder, your brakes work in conjunction with your automobile to keep you safely going on the roadways. When one component goes out of whack the whole system can go down with it.

The most obvious warning will be squealing brakes. Brakes, much like children, should be seen and not heard. If you can hear your brakes, you need to have a mechanic take a look at them as soon as possible to access what type of brake repair job your car likely needs. The squealing noise you hear is a deliberate design of your braking system and it is the sound of metal touching metal on your brakes. Once your brake pads have worn down to this point, they need to be replaced. Replacing brake pads or shoes is probably the most common type of brake repair job that most car owners have done to keep their brakes functioning properly followed by replacing or shaving down worn out rotors.

Other indicators of bad brakes and a possible brake repair job looming in your future are things like your brakes feeling spongy or going all the way to the ground before they actually take hold or being grabby when you just tap the brake pedal. In other words anything that doesn't feel right or normal to you probably isn't and should be checked out. The good news here is it is possible that low braking fluid levels and not the need for new shoes, pads or rotors is causing your spongy or grabby brakes. If your brake fluid is low your brakes won't be able to work properly and this generally just requires adding fluid to the brake reservoir.

You should do annual brake inspections on your vehicle when you change out your seasonal tires to ensure your brakes are in good condition and if not, you can at least be prepared for the brake repair job cost by planning for it in your budget.

Take good care of your brakes and your car will remain a safe mode of transportation for you and your loved ones and get you where you need to go safely each time.