How You Can Properly Maintain Your Brakes
What You Should Do
Your vehicle’s braking system plays a crucial role in the safety and performance of your vehicle. It’s because of this role that it’s important to properly and consistently care for your brakes throughout your vehicle ownership. Although many people settle for following a routine maintenance schedule, that may not be enough based on factors such as driving style, habits, and conditions. So, what else can you do to ensure your brakes are always operating at their safest? Don’t worry, as the Auto Stop team is here to help. Here are three things you can do to ensure your brakes are always properly functioning!
Inspect & Service the Brake Fluid
When checking your brake fluid, you want to inspect its level and the quality of the fluid. If the fluid isn’t at the appropriate level, make sure to add more! As for the quality of the brake fluid, you want to look for a milky color, which means it is contaminated and must be replaced. Also make sure to inspect the areas around the fluid, as the color means water or condensation has mixed with the fluid, which could indicate a leak! If not replaced, the contaminated fluid could cause damage to both your wheel cylinders and the master cylinder.
“Bleed” the Brake Lines
”Bleeding” your brakes lines means removing all the air from them. This process helps you avoid a spongy brake, which is when the brake pedal needs to be pushed further down in order to activate the braking system. Make sure you visit our shop, as we’ll be able to quickly and efficiently perform this service for you!
Check & Replace The Brake Pads
The brake pads are the reason why your metal calipers can safely squeeze on the metal brake disc. Without them, your brake rotor and disc could sustain major damage. When checking the brake pad, you want to inspect its thickness. Ideally, it should have 12 millimeters of thickness. When the pad has reached 3 millimeters or below, that is when you should replace it. Another way to determine the thickness is to simply listen to your brakes! When you hear a squeaking or squealing sound, the pad has reached the minimal level of thickness as the metal sensor within the brake pads has been exposed and is contacting the disc!
