Brake Repair - The Important Elements of Your System

If you step on the gas pedal and get a weird response, chances are you should have your car in front of a mechanic before the week is out. For some reason, the response of the braking pedal doesn't evoke this reaction in many drivers. This is disturbing, since a faulty braking system can lead to a lot higher safety risk than a faulty acceleration system, engine, or transmission. While no aspect of car maintenance should go long ignored, it is especially important for your safety that you handle brake repair quickly. So that you can intelligently discuss any problems with your mechanic, here are the most important elements of your system:

- Pads/Shoes

Unless you purchased a set of lifetime pads, these are the one aspect of brake repair from which you are almost certainly not going to escape. Drive your car enough, and these will need to be replaced eventually, probably several times within the lifetime of your car. Why are they important? These pads create the friction that slows your car to a stop. When they wear away, you start getting metal on metal, which reduces friction and causes a terrible sound. Don't drive for long when you start hearing squealing or, worse, grinding.

- Rotors

Why is the aforementioned grinding such a bad thing? That grinding sound means the calipers are biting into the rotors. The rotors are discs connected to every tire. This is what the pads bring to a halt when you step on the brakes. If you fail to change your pads often enough, you could wear away the rotors, creating deep grooves in the metal. This is going to hamper your system and will require massive brake repair.

- Calipers

The calipers are directly responsible for moving in and creating that all-important friction. To work correctly, these calipers must be supplied with fluid, keeping them mobile through the use of pressure in the lines. If a fluid leak occurs, or there isn't enough fluid added to the system, braking system failure can happen. If you take your car in for brake repair, you might want to make sure the mechanic examines the fluid lines.

- Brake Repair Without Symptoms

You don't have to wait until you hear the car squealing upon stopping to take your braking system in for an inspection. Make a habit of bringing it by your favorite shop for inspection once a year, and you'll be sure there aren't problems developing that could lead to a disaster on the road.