Brakes are one of the most important safety features on a vehicle, enabling you to slow down or stop and avoid or prevent accidents. In this blog, we’re going to show a little love to your vehicle’s brakes by sharing some insights about how they work, some general brake maintenance tips and some warning signs that may indicate a problem or impending failure in your braking system.
How Braking Works
In the most basic terms, when you press the brake pedal, the braking system’s components work together to create friction on your wheels and slow down their rotation. These mechanisms start with a lever connected to the pedal, which pushes a piston into your vehicle’s master cylinder, which then causes the hydraulic fluid in the cylinder to flow through the brake hose into other, wider cylinders positioned beside each wheel.
How the friction is made depends on whether you have disc brakes or drum brakes.
Disc Brakes
Disc brakes consist of a brake disc, a brake caliper, and a brake pad. When the pedal is pressed, the hydraulic fluid flowing to the brake caliper will cause the brake pad to press against the brake disc, creating friction.
Drum Brakes
Drum brakes consist of a brake drum and brake shoes. The drum, which is hollow, turns with your vehicle’s wheels. When the brake pedal is depressed, a hydraulic cylinder will push the brake shoes against the inner surface of the brake drum, and this is what creates the friction.
Many more recent vehicle makes have disc brakes on the front wheels and drum brakes on the back wheels. It’s also common to see disc brakes on all four wheels. Generally speaking, only old or very small cars tend to have drum brakes on all four wheels.
Regenerative Braking Systems
On electric hybrid vehicles like a Toyota Prius, or electric vehicles like a Tesla Model 3, you’ll find a regenerative braking system. This system slows vehicles down by using their forward motion to turn electric motors in reverse, causing enough friction to slow or stop the vehicle. Usually, these systems will also have a disc brake system integrated with anti-lock braking systems to determine when to use the regenerative and when to use the friction brakes.
Maintenance Tips
A vehicle’s brake system life depends on a driver’s driving habits and the conditions of wherever they live. In climates like Alaska, for example, the sub-freezing climate can cause your car’s brakes to seize or cause them to deteriorate more rapidly than in warmer climates. Generally, most mechanics recommend getting your brake systems inspected every 12,000 miles, except where use, severe weather, or other conditions necessitate more frequent inspection and maintenance.
A typical brake inspection should include checking your vehicle’s:
- Pads and/or shoes
- Calipers
- Rotors and/or drums
- Wheel cylinders
- Hardware (including springs and adjusters)
- Hoses
- Parking brake cables
- Fluid condition
- Wheel bearings and grease seals
- Master cylinder fluid exchange
Some general maintenance tips that you can apply at home to keep your brakes from wearing down as quickly include:
- Regularly check your brakes: Check pads and/or shoes for wear, check rotor for scratches and pits (especially on a disc system), check caliper for rust or cracks
- Make sure the brake cylinder is always full of fluid so there’s no unnecessary strain on the master cylinder
- Test your brake fluid: Copper can get into the fluid from brake lines, preventing the fluid from working correctly
- Watch out for leaks in the hydraulic system
- Check the vehicle underbelly: Most brake lines pass through the vehicle’s underbelly and are exposed to ice, salt, tar, pebbles and other debris from the road that could easily cause damage
- Schedule regular maintenance and brake service with your trusted mechanic
Brake System Warning Signs
We advise you get your vehicle checked out by a mechanic immediately if you notice any of the following symptoms of brake system issues:
- Grinding or squealing noise when the brake pedal is pressed
- Your brakes “push back” or vibrate when you step on the pedal
- You feel a “pull” when pressing on the brake pedal
- Your press on the brake pedal and feel a vibrating in your seat or wheel
- The pedal goes too far toward the floor, or farther than normal
- Your vehicle skids to one side when you push the brake while driving
- Your vehicle takes longer to stop than usual
- A warning light is lit on the dashboard
A Note on Dashboard Lights:
The most concerning of the dashboard lights for your braking system is the red “BRAKE” light. This can mean your fluid is low, system pressure is low, the parking brake is on or there’s another significant system malfunction. Yellow brake warning lights are still concerning, but not quite as urgent.
Keep Your Brakes at their Best with METRO
At METRO, it’s our goal to get to know you and your vehicle — including its brakes — so well that we can track pattern wear and predict failure before it happens. Through scientific, preventative maintenance, METRO helps keep you safe and saves you more money in the long run. Whether you’re scheduling for routine maintenance or coming to us with an existing problem, we’ll put in the time and care that you and your car (or truck) deserve.
Visit our website or call us today to learn more about METRO or to schedule your next appointment: https://metropolitangarage.com/.
