Take Care of Your Car's Brakes, Here We Tell you How

Take Care of Your Car's Brakes, Here We Tell you How

One of the systems that you should give the most importance to is the brakes because due to their simplicity, compared to other systems, we can trust ourselves and believe that they work correctly and have serious consequences.

Because brakes are a system that we can easily overlook and the importance they have on driving safety, we decided to do an article on how you can have your car's brakes in optimal condition.

All four wheels have brake pads and even though we must check all of them, there is a difference between the front and rear brakes.

Brake Discs : All vehicles today have a disc braking system that is made from a strong alloy of steel and iron. With this material they can withstand very high temperatures when the pads rub the discs.

The general rule of thumb for car manufacturers is that the brake discs are changed every 60,000 km, however this varies based on other factors such as driving style.

There are different methods of extending overall good condition and keeping brakes in good condition for longer. A scratched or worn disc, even with new pads, does not fit well and braking is not as effective as it should. This can be detected if, despite changing the pads, the driver notices vibrations and noises when stopping.

Front Brakes : They are the ones that you have to watch the most because they are the ones that support most of the braking. Its durability is usually between 30,000 and 45,000 km.

Rear Brakes : By not supporting the weight of the inertia stop, they are smaller and wear less. They can last up to double or even triple that of the front ones, although it is advisable to change them over 60,000 km.

Most modern cars have sensors that warn you via dashboard witnesses if the brake pads are already too worn.

If you are unfortunate enough that your car does not have such an alert, you can check by looking at the brake fluid. The faster you finish it will be an indicator that the brake linings have considerable wear.

A reduction in brake fluid also alerts us to other problems. You can also check the condition of the pads by taking a look at the thickness across the rims. This method is unreliable, because there may be poor visibility and may be misleading.

Brake Fluid : The function of the brake fluid is to transfer and amplify the force that is applied on the brake pedal to the brake pads and you are in turn to the discs.

It must be able to withstand very high temperatures, generated by the friction of the pads and discs, as well as the pressures of the circuit. Manufacturers usually advise changing it every two years and checking its condition annually.

Keeping the brake fluid system in good condition, as well as its reservoir at an optimal point, is important because it protects other elements of the braking system such as the brake master cylinder, the rear brake cylinders and the hoses.

Those are the basic points of the braking system that you should check and in case of presenting a fault repair immediately.

To know if the Brake System Fails

In addition to the electronic systems of the car that can warn you about a breakdown or a bad condition of the brake system, you can notice this if you pay attention to changes in your car.

Pedal does not return to position. It may happen that the pedal also feels very hard, that after pressing it it does not return to its original position or that when you press it it changes firmness. They are all signs that something is wrong with this system. The most advisable thing is that you take it to a specialist to review it.

The pedal sinks less or more. Either due to a leak or lack of brake fluid when you press the brake pedal, it sinks more than necessary or, on the contrary, it sinks less than before.

This problem may also be due to badly worn brake linings. If the pedal does not return normally to its initial position, take the car to the workshop.

Squeaks when braking If the brake pads are too worn, when braking the wheel will collide with the disc, so a squeak will be heard and it is very likely that you will have to press the pedal too much to achieve braking.

It can be anything from dirt on the pads, which are very worn or are of poor quality. Also that the pads rub against the caliper or that some part is missing or that the discs are in bad condition.

The Car Vibrates : A bad adjustment in the alignment and balance, that the brake pads are dirty, have crystallized or impregnated with grease or brake fluid can cause a variation in the stability of the car. But it may not be the brakes directly, but the tires do not have the correct pressure or even ball joints or shock absorbers in poor condition.

With these simple recommendations you can keep your car's braking system in the best condition and thus avoid the risk of an accident.

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