How To Tell If You Really Need New Brakes
Breaks are the most essential part of any vehicle’s safety, break act as a guardian while you are on the road they are capable to take you the extra mile when your breaks are getting towards the end of their life, there are some signs you must keep an eye on to ensure your safety while going through this article you will have in-depth knowledge of how to tell if you really need new brakes.
Frequent brake inspection is required to ensure your safety behind wheels also can save you quite a buck down the line, as per data and statistics by leading break manufacturers an average, life span on a brake pad is 25,000 to 65,000 miles, while Rotors should be replaced somewhere between 30,000 to 70,0000 Miles depending on vehicle type.
5 Warning Signs You Need New Brakes
As the breaks go towards the end of their life span there are signs and symptoms you are likely to experience which we must not forget and keep an eye on, here are the 5 common signs.
1. Squealing or squeaking
Once breaks are at the end of their life span the first symptom you are going to notice is a Squealing or squeaking noise coming from the brakes.
Built-in wear indicators in brakes are designed in a way that once they are worn out break starts making grinding noise it indicates that the brake pads are worn out enough and need to be replaced else they can damage the brake Rotors.
2. Vibration When Braking
Another sign that you need new brakes is vibration once you apply the brake, vibration can be caused by many reasons it can be due to an engine piston problem or any other issue in the engine.
but vibration while applying the brake is a clear indication that brake pads are worn out as they have worn out chances are that they are damaging the rotor and it’s time to seek professional help of changing the brake pads or rotors.
3. Grinding Sound When Braking
If you don’t replace the brake pads after the squeaking for some period, brake pads continue to wear out and you start hearing more grinding and growling it’s like metal scraping against metal, and after a certain time the brake pads have worn completely that the metal plates in pads itself start scraping against the rotor and making a loud grinding sound.
Once your break starts grinding and growling that’s the point you must take your car for immediate service if it continues for a long period brake pads will damage the rotors and there is the possibility that you need to change brake pads and rotor simultaneously.
4. Taking Longer To Stop (Reduce Responsiveness)
Another sign that you need to replace the brakes other than unpleasant sound and vibration is the vehicle’s ability to brake, if you experience less than ideal break stoppage time it means either your vehicle brake pads are worn-out or there is less brake fluid
For a better understanding of either brake, stoppage time is due to brake pads or brake fluid to take the car to a mechanic as soon as possible to ensure you don’t lose breaking and don’t damage rotors which are expensive to be replaced.
5. Pulling to one side or another
Your Car brake pads do not always wear out simultaneously at the same rate, it might be possible left side wears out and get thin faster than the right side or vice versa, if this occurs your vehicle may pull slightly either to the left or right-hand side once you apply the brake,
Having this problem unchecked for a longer period can put more stain on one side of the vehicle and can cause stress to vehicle ball joints and wheel bearing if you feel this sign while driving its better not to take the risk and take the car to a mechanic for investing as soon as possible.
Note that brake pads are not the only sign behind the car pulling to one side it may be due to uneven air pressure on tires, faulty wheel bearing, or brake clipper, if you found that the issue is due to brake pads it’s recommended to install two new set of brake pads simultaneously.
Conclusion
Breaks are the most crucial part of your vehicle’s safety and must need regular checks, depending on the condition of the brake pads either need to repair or replace them, hopefully by going through this article you have an idea when you should need new brakes.