East-Hartford-CT-Auto-Repair-Blog-When-To-Check-Brake-Pad

When Is It Time To Have My Brakes Checked?

Well, noises and vibrations are a good indicator that something is going on. Sometimes noises are as simple as disassembling the components, cleaning and greasing. Other times it is more compilacated and parts need to be replaced. If you hear grinding, that is bad. Get it to an automotive technician as soon as you can. Grinding brakes usually indicate that you have worn through the entire friction material on the pad, and the metal backing of the pad is scrapping against the metal rotor…hence the term “metal to metal.” in most cases, waiting until the brakes are metal to metal will just end up costing you more money to repair, and will leave open the possibilty of other components failing in the hydraulic part of the system.

It is good practice to have your brakes checked every other oil change if you use conventional oil, or every oil change if you use synthetic oil. A lot of wear can take place every 5,000 to 6,000 miles of driving. Around town/ city driving with a lot of stop and go will ususally wear your brakes out faster than a lot of highway driving for obvious reasons. Your technician should be able to give you a “runout” status which is usually converted into a percentage of pad surface left before you should replace your brakes. When you are in the 20% or less range, you want to change the brakes. Most people think it is ok to keep driving, but when pads get low they can not dissipate (get rid of) heat the same way, and can start to crack and can even boil the compound adhesive that holds the pad to the metal backing. The friction material can completely separate from the backing and fall out between the caliper and rotor. The long and the short of it is braking is kind of important, so keep yourself and everyone else on the road safe and check those brakes regularly. Your automotive technician should be able to bring you out and show you your pad percentage, or take pictures for you so you can see what they are seeing. As always, at Paul’s Auto Repair we can and will do both of these things for you. Drive safe!

6 thoughts on “When Is It Time To Have My Brakes Checked?”

  1. I don’t think I have had my brakes checked in over two years. It could be time for me to see what is going on with them. I haven’t heard any noise, so I assumed everything was alright, but I think that it is better to be safe than sorry.
    Cynthia

  2. I have had my car for a few years now and I don’t know if I need my brakes checked or not. Sometimes the brakes squeak and I have noticed some inconsistencies with the brakes. I think that it is time for me to go get it checked out. I have contacted an auto repair shop and I made an appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully I can get my issue resolved.

  3. I’ve noticed that my car has been making some odd noises that are coming from the brakes. I didn’t know that sometimes this is an indicator that the brakes just need to be disassembled, cleaned, and greased. I was wondering if I really needed to have my brakes repaired, because my car just barely passed inspection to have it registered. I’m going to try to clean and grease my brakes, and if it still makes those odd noises, then I suppose it would be best to have them checked out for any problems. Thanks for the information!

  4. Thanks for the tip about making sure to get your brakes checked every so often. I’ve had that metal to metal feeling before, and not only is it awkward, it’s also more difficult to stop the car. My wife’s big into making sure we keep our car in great shape. I’ll have to show this to her. Thanks again!

  5. I like the point you mentioned about having your brakes check every other oil change. I knew a sign of the brakes grinding was the most obvious sign they needed to be changed. Being that I do most of my driving in the city/ side roads where there are lots of lights and stopping, this information is good to know and something I will keep in mind when I go in for my next oil change!

  6. I did not know that it was best to have your brakes checked every other oil changed. It is good to learn that this helpful if conventional oil is used. My dad tells me that it is best to change brake pads before absolutely necessary to keep the overall condition of the car in good shape for a longer period of time.

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