You rely on your vehicle’s brake system to keep you safe each time you step on the brake pedal. The brakes can prevent disaster or, unfortunately, cause it. Depending on how well you maintain your brake system will determine how well it works. Bird Automotive can inspect your car, truck, crossover, or SUV’s brakes when recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer to ensure everything is a-okay.
Brake Inspections Are Necessary
Unless your owner’s manual says differently, a good rule of thumb for brake inspections is every 15,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first. Brake inspections allow experienced auto technicians to find potential problems and fix them before your brakes become a danger to rather than a safety mechanism for your automobile. What would you do if you couldn’t stop your car?
Problems Found During Brake Inspections
A very basic explanation of how your brakes work is this: Stepping on the brake pedal releases brake fluid from the master cylinder to the calipers. The fluid presses the cylinders into the brake pads which, in turn, are pushed against the rotors. This causes friction that produces kinetic energy, and this kinetic energy is what slows down and stops the wheels.
Brake inspections reveal problems otherwise unknown to you, the driver, and the sooner these problems are addressed the less your brake system is damaged. For example, brake inspections find
- Air in the brake lines
- Dirty or low brake fluid
- Leaking brake lines
- Master cylinder damage
- Stuck or bent calipers
- Warped rotors
- Worn brake pads
Imagine for a moment that your brake pads are worn down. The friction-inducing surface is completely gone and the pad backings are scraping against the rotors each time you apply the brakes. Each time the backings scrape against the rotors, the rotors warp. What started as a quick brake pad replacement after a brake inspection has now turned into an expensive rotor replacement, as well.
Signs of Brake System Trouble
An inspection isn’t the only way to tell whether your brake system is on the road to problems, although it is the most effective way. Your brakes will also alert you to problems by grinding, squeaking, or squealing when you apply them. You might also feel your automobile wobble and/or pull to the side when you brake, or your brake pedal may sink to the floor or sink and then catch again.
Don’t take chances. Call or stop by Bird Automotive, LLC, at the first sign of brake trouble. We are a full-service auto repair shop in Oak Grove, MO, and we’d be happy to inspect your brakes and fix the problem.
