Sensing the Need for Brake Repair

There are several ways your car can tell you brake repair is needed. If you don’t listen, you may soon hear a sound that will be much less subtle: Crash! The term “listen” is being used figuratively, though; in reality, you must have more than one of your senses clued in to brake-repair-need awareness. You need basically all of your five senses, except, of course, your sense of taste.

Signs You Can See

From inside your vehicle, you may see a red (or green, or other color, depending on your vehicle) light that says “brake” or “ABS.” Do not assume the light is on because of “some fluke thing.” You really need to get your brakes checked out if your car is convinced enough to make it as clear as writing on the dashboard for you. From outside your vehicle, you may see brake fluid leaking around a wheel. That’s a sure sign of impending danger, so you must take action right away. From under the hood, you may see that your brake fluid is low or very dirty. If that’s the case, it isn’t very effectively lubricating or cooling parts, so they can become overly worn.

Signs You Can Hear

These signs of needing brake repair are, perhaps, the most obvious and common. Squealing or grinding sounds accompanied by loud metallic noises don’t mean you should wait a day or even one more mile. You need to turn in to a nearby brake repair shop or get your vehicle towed to one.

Signs You Can Smell

If you smell smoke, you should always consider it a major warning sign! Look around your vehicle for the offending origination point. If it’s the brakes, they need immediate attention. The phrase “where there’s smoke there’s fire” might not apply, but where there’s smoke coming from the brakes, there’s sure to be brake repair work needed.

Signs You Can Feel

While you may realize feeling these kinds of things can mean car trouble, you might not associate them all with brakes. If you feel your brakes grabbing, causing jerking at each stop, there is a problem. As there is when your car pulls to the left or right side when you apply the brakes. If your brake pedal is difficult to push, feels unstable, or goes all the way to the floor, you also need your brakes checked out. If you need to pump your brakes to get them to work properly, you also clearly need to get them serviced. One more way you might feel the need for brake repair is if you have hot wheels after only short drives.

Now you know many ways in which you might sense the need for brake repair. Never assume your senses are fooling you. Play it safe and avoid costly crashes.