The brakes on your car will need to be replaced and repaired from time to time. How do you know when it's time to take your car in to have your brakes looked at? Here, you'll find a few symptoms of bad brakes that tell you it's time to get the car in for repairs.
Shimmying Steering Wheel
When you press on your brake pedal, the car should begin to slow and come to a smooth stop. If you feel your steering wheel and brake pedal shimmying or pulsating as you apply the brakes, the rotors are likely warped and will need to be replaced. In many cases, the shimmying will happen first when you are applying the brakes going down a steep hill or when you apply a lot of pressure when you're moving pretty quickly.
The warped rotors won't really cause too many problems at first, but it can cause some problems if you allow the problem to persist. Get to the shop and have things looked at. The rotors may have warped because they became overheated – you need to find out why things got so hot – or it could be a failing component in the brake system. You could also just have a very heavy foot on the brake pedal.
Squeaking or Squealing
Brakes have small squealers put on them that begin to squeak when the brake pads are getting low. This is your warning before the brake pads begin cutting into the rotors. If you listen for that squeak, and get the car to the shop when you hear it, you'll avoid a much more costly brake repair bill as you'll only have to replace the pads, not the rotors, which is where the cost begins to climb.
Grinding
When you hear the grinding sound when the brakes are on, you've waited too long – the brakes are cutting into the rotors. Stop driving the car anywhere other than the repair shop. You will have limited stopping ability and you could cause more problems if you continue to drive the car as it is.
If you hear the grinding when the brake pedal is released, there's probably a problem with the brake caliper. The caliper is the part that causes the pads to squeeze and release the rotor to stop the car. When this part goes bad, it can cause the brake pad to stay on the rotor and cause excessive overheating and damage.
Talk with your local brake repair company like Buettner Tire & Auto the minute you notice any of these issues.
Share25 September 2018
You get in your car, turn the key and nothing happens. Your day is immediately put on hold and you don't know what to do. Could it be a dead battery, a bad starter or some other unknown element in the car keeping you from going about your business? To learn about the many things that could be keeping your car from starting, visit through my website. Here, you will find a run-down of the many things that could be causing your problem, so that you can more quickly get the problem resolved and get back to your day as you had it planned.
