Brakes

The Basics

Learning about the braking system will help you to know when you need to get your brakes serviced, and if you’re thinking you’ll be able to do it yourself, unless you can perform brain surgery singlehandedly, a brake service is best left to the experts (like us!).

Let’s start with the main components of your braking system:

Brake Pads

The friction created by your brake pads is how your car comes to a stop

Brake Calipers

These handy things squeeze the brake pads on to the disk and release when you take your foot off the brake pedal

Brake Rotors

These are the things your brake pads clamp down on to stop your car and are, in actual fact, just as important as your brake pads

What to look out for

When you're stepping on your brake pedal, all of these components work together in order to stop your car and making sure they are all in good working order is extremely important to vehicle safety. So, if you’re experiencing any of the following, it would be a reasonable assumption that you should get your brakes looked at by a qualified mechanic:

• a burning smell when you stop your car

• squealing or grinding noises

• pulses in the brake pedal

• shaky steering wheel

• you need a longer amount of time to stop than usual

• your car pulls to one side as you stop

• you put your foot to the floor and nothing happens!