When to Get Your Brakes Checked
Immaculately maintained brakes can avert potentially hazardous situations. For optimum safety, the braking system must be checked periodically for defects, worn brake pads and rotor, leaks, loose parts, cylinder defects and fluid viscosity. Symptoms such as catchy or sluggish brakes, vibrations while braking, screeching or grinding sound from brakes or retarded braking performance indicate that your brakes needs servicing, repair or overhaul. Responsible drivers never compromise on brakes and rely on professional help to fix brake problems.
Warning Signs that you need your brakes checked
| Brake Lights Emergency brake is on or you have a serious drop in hydraulic pressure. Your brakes may be near total failure. |
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| Drag Sticking brakes, hot wheels or engine that seems to have lost power. Brakes may be failing to release; the condition can reverse itself, leaving you with no brakes at all. |
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| Grabs “Touchy” brakes that grab with the least pressure. May indicate a problem as simple as grease or oil contaminated lining – or as serious as a loose or broken components ready to fail in an emergency. |
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| Hard Pedal Requires extreme pressure to make brake function. Can indicate power brake trouble, restricted hydraulic lines, frozen calipers or wheel cylinders, or damaged brake linings. |
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| Low Pedal Pedal nearly touches floorboard before brakes function. May activate your brake warning light. Problems may require a simple adjustment or indicate something much more serious. |
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| Pull Car pulls to one side when brakes are applied. May be an under inflated tire, misadjusted brakes or brakes are in need of repair. |
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| Squeal Brakes should operate with a minimal amount of noise. Some noise is normal but excessive squeal, screech, grinding, groaning, chatter, clatter or bang means your brakes need attention. |
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| Vibration Brake pedal, steering wheel or entire vehicle shakes, vibrates or pulsates when brake is applied. May indicate need to resurface disc brake rotors – or signal a serious problem of a loose component or faulty steering mechanism. |
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Why should you service you car ?
Owning a car carries with it certain responsibilities. One of these is to keep your car in good roadworthy condition. There are many things that you can do yourself, such as checking the engine oil and keeping an eye on the tyre pressure, but cars are complex, expensive and potentially dangerous machines, so it is important that you get an expert to look at yours from time to time. That makes a regular car service a very good idea indeed. Here are a few reasons why:
It will save you money on fuel
A car is a complex and finely tuned piece of engineering. Even the slightest change can have an impact on its performance, yet changes are inevitable with usage. Natural wear and tear can lead to a gradual but significant loss of efficiency, which means that your car will require more and more fuel to travel the same distance. Regular servicing ensures that any little changes or problems are picked up and resolved, making your car as efficient as it can be for as long as possible. Regularly servicing your car will mean fewer visits to the pumps and less stress on your bank account. In an era of rising fuel prices this is more important than ever.
It will keep you and other road users safe
We are so accustomed to using are cars on a daily basis that it is easy sometimes to forget that they are potentially lethal objects. It is a good idea to stand back sometimes and think about this fact and reflect on our responsibilities as drivers. These extend not only to the way you drive but also to the maintaining the condition of your car. Poorly maintained vehicles significantly increase the risk of serious accidents. There are plenty of things that you can do yourself to keep your car in good condition, but these should be seen as a supplement to a professional service and not a substitute. Regularly employing a qualified mechanic to check the health of your car will give you peace of mind that you have done everything you can to keep you and your fellow road users safe.
It will protect your warranty
You may think that only old cars need servicing and that brand new ones should be free from problems. While it is certainly true that new cars tend to be more reliable, the best way to keep them that way is to service them regularly. Most new car warranties require regular and specific servicing. It is important that you stick to their conditions; otherwise you are liable to void the warranty, which could prove a very expensive mistake.
It will preserve the resale value of your vehicle
However much you love your car now, you will almost certainly want to sell it some time in the future. A full service history will make your vehicle much more attractive to prospective buyers. You will sell your car more easily and for a higher price if you have looked after it properly. Paying a mechanic to service your car will save you money in the long run
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