The importance of brakes on a vehicle cannot be overstated & is essential to ensuring road safety. In emergency situations, good brakes can be the difference between life & death. Therefore, today’s Vehicle Maintenance article is going to cover, you guessed it, Brakes!
First, let’s look at the picture & review what components make up your brake system. The components that you will need to look at are:
· Brake Pads
· Rotors
· Calipers
You should also check your brake fluid reservoir level & if you have questions about that then please review our July article “Fluid Mastery: The Art of Maintaining your Vehicle’s Vital Fluids” for more information.
What do these components do?
Brake Calipers are responsible for applying pressure to the brake pads onto your brake rotor causing your car to come to a stop. Over time calipers can become worn due to age, crack under pressure, or fail due to compromised brake fluid.
Brake pads are housed within your brake calipers. They are comprised of a friction material that with the help of your calipers, clamps down on your rotor to stop your vehicle. With use your brake pad material will deteriorate & will become ineffective.
Brake rotors are the metal plates that are secured to your wheel hub. Rotors usually last longer than your pad or calipers but you should still check them. If you are not able to get your wheel off, then please have your mechanical shop check them for you.
How do you check your brake components?
To check your brake components, you are going to have to get low & look through the spokes of your rim. (as you can see in the image, the caliper is red on this vehicle & the rotor is silver) When checking the brake system without taking your tire off the vehicle you are looking for cracks, a build-up of fluids or dust, and gouges in the rotor. If you can get down to see inside the caliper, you should also check the thickness of your brake pads.
Regular inspections help you to identify such issues early & can allow you to get repairs done before they become potentially dangerous or costly. It is recommended that you check your brake system every 12,000 miles but if you drive a lot or like me drive in rush hour traffic through Houston; then you should check your brakes more often. I check mine every month due to my long commute & my maintenance schedule.
We here at Kacal's Auto & Truck Service would love to help you with this if you are unsure of what to do. We are here for any services that you may need. We have created an email just for questions from our customers. Email your queries to questions.mechanic.kacals@gmail.com and we will get back to you soon.
Until next time, stay safe my friends!
Next up in our vehicle maintenance series is: Tires!
Remember to use code TT23 at our shop for $25 off your next service. Go to www.kacals.com to check out our services, set up appointments, and sign up for our loyalty program.
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