How To Tell When The Brakes On Your Car Or Truck Need Servicing

18 July 2022
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The brakes on your car or truck will stop the vehicle safely as long as they are in good conditioning and working correctly. Over time the brakes will begin to wear, and you will need to take the vehicle into an auto brake repair shop for service, but determining when can be challenging.

Brake Fade

As the brake pads and shoes on your vehicle begin to wear, they can glaze over from the heat generated during the braking process. Heavily worn pads and shoes can suffer from brake fade or limited effectiveness because the friction surface is too smooth to grab the from or disc effectively. 

If you notice that your vehicle is requiring more and more distance to come to a stop, it is vital to take it into a brake repair shop and have the system inspected. Glazed shoes and pads can be replaced, and if you catch them early enough, you can avoid damage to more expensive parts in the system.

Most auto brake repair shops will explain the issue to you and show you why the brakes are not working effectively if you would like them to. Or you can have them repaired and get back on the road knowing that the brakes are working correctly, without having to deal with the technical side if you prefer.

Brake Noise

When brakes start to make noise, the sounds and the timing of those sounds can be critical. Brakes that squeal when applied are often wearing and beginning to approach the glazing stage but are still working effectively. 

Grinding noises, on the other hand, are often caused by pads or shoes worn so far that the metal backing plate is making contact with the drum or disc. Any grinding noise when applying the brakes should be investigated immediately, and an auto brake repair shop is the best place to start. 

If the metal to metal content continues inside the brake system, damage can occur to the drums, discs, and many other parts used in the braking process. Repairing the brakes on a car with this type of damage is often expensive and can be avoided. If you hear metal dragging or scraping when you apply the brakes, stop driving the vehicle and take it to an auto brake repair shop so a technician can inspect the system and determine the problem. 

Older brake pads and shoes used metal rivets to secure them, and those can cause scraping sounds when the friction material wears out. However, that is less common in modern brake systems, so grinding and scraping are not something you want to ignore when you apply the brakes in your vehicle.  

Reach out to a company like Greg's Japanese Auto Parts and Service to find out more.