How necessary is regular brake maintenance? What’s involved? Why do brakes even need maintenance? You’ve likely seen a few near misses in your years of driving. Driver skill combined with excellent brakes is what helps to prevent those collisions. In this blog post, you’ll learn how brakes work and why a complete brake job is necessary.
When you step on your brake pedal, several components kick into gear.
What makes these parts work? How often do they wear down? We’ll discuss each part in detail below so you’ll understand exactly what’s going on and why a complete brake job may be recommended.
Think of brake fluid like a telephone line: buttons on your phone send a signal to a switchboard, which then connects to another phone. Like that signal, brake fluid tells your brake calipers to activate. Without it, your car would simply keep going.
Brake calipers begin the process of creating friction to slow down your vehicle. They look like clamps and contain the brake pads and pistons. When you press on the brake pedal and send brake fluid to the calipers, they squeeze the brake rotors.
Brake calipers don’t need as much attention as brake fluid, but they should be replaced as needed. If you allow your brake calipers to wear to the point of hearing grinding noises coming from your wheels, you’ve waited too long.
Brake pads, despite their name, are not soft. They’re made of metal or ceramic. Housed in the brake calipers, they press against the brake rotor to stop the wheel. How long they last depends on several factors:
For example, if you often drive on busy highways or streets and need to brake frequently, your brake pads will wear more quickly. Braking suddenly in a vehicle with an automatic transmission instead of braking slowly will also speed up brake pad wear.
Thanks to brake pistons, your brake pads are able to make contact with the brake rotors.
Brake rotors are directly attached to your vehicle’s wheels. When your braking system slows your brake rotors, your wheels follow along.
When brake rotors are new, they’re smooth. The constant friction and heat caused by braking wears them down. Our Canadian winters can also send slush and salt into the rotors, potentially causing rust.
This type of damage will require you to start slowing down sooner, because your brakes won’t operate at their best.
Although each component in the braking system comes with a general estimate of when to replace it, paying attention to your vehicle will give you more details. If you notice any of these signs, take your car in right away:
When an auto technician performs a complete brake job on your vehicle, they place the car on a hoist, remove the wheels, and inspect and clean every component of your braking system.
This may involve replacing components, and you should feel free to ask to see the worn components. If you do inspect them, look for rough surfaces, rust, dimpling, and wear (you’ll especially notice the wear on your brake pads).
Once your complete brake job is done, you should notice a marked improvement in braking.
For any questions about a complete brake job, or to schedule one, contact the NAPA AUTOPRO shop nearest you.
Photo: shutterstock_608097647
