Brakes are the most critical safety component of every vehicle. They allow you to slow down or stop instantly to avoid serious accidents. Most owners take car brakes for granted and ignore their regular maintenance. In such cases, ill-maintained car brakes are prone to let you down when most needed, resulting in financial and physical losses. These tips for brake maintenance in cars will help you take good care of them.
How to Maintain Your Car Brakes
Properly maintained brakes enhance the performance and longevity of your car. They are among the simplest of car systems which comprise different components that require maintenance. There are many car brake problems that can arise if not properly maintained. Let’s take a closer look at how to maintain your car brakes.
Avoid unnecessary braking
While driving, you must keep a 180-degree view of the road and not just keep a straight, front view. A 180-degree view helps the driver to analyse the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in the front, sides and rear of the car. Doing so prevents unnecessary braking and helps reduce the wearing of brake pads.
Avoid overloading
An overloaded vehicle puts more stress on car brakes, leading to wear and tear. Therefore, you must take care of your car brakes by keeping luggage in the car boot area and avoiding passenger overloading as well. It is also one of the bad driving habits that damage manual cars.
Check and replace brake fluid
The car brake fluid reservoir has clear marks to maintain an optimal fluid level. Checking and maintaining the brake fluid level is crucial for your car’s safety and the most important tip for brake maintenance in cars. You can check the brake fluid through these steps:
- Always clean the top of your brake fluid reservoir cap before and after checking or changing the brake fluid.
- Check the fluid level; it must be above the minimum and lower than the maximum level of the reservoir.
- Check for brake fluid leaks.
- If the brake fluid colour has darkened, it’s time to change it.
- Change brake fluid at regular intervals.
Check and replace brake pads
The brake pads are the contact point between a car’s braking system and the tyres. The pads wear out quickly because of the heat generated between the tyres and the brake pads.
A common symptom of a bad brake pad is when more force is required to bring the car to a complete stop. Therefore, it is recommended to get your brake pads checked on each maintenance trip to the repair shop. The pads on car brakes must be repaired or replaced if found worn.
Check the brake rotors
Your car may swerve or skid when you brake due to worn brakes. The common signs of damaged brake rotors include a high-pitched screeching noise, grinding noise, and vibrations in the steering wheel experienced upon braking.
If you observe any of these signs upon braking, make sure to get your brake rotors replaced immediately. It is advised to replace brake rotors every 100,000 kilometres to ensure brake efficiency.
Bleed the car brakes
Sometimes, the air gets trapped in the braking system, which must be removed to improve the brake efficiency. Bleeding the car brakes simply means pushing fluid through the braking lines to remove any trapped air bubbles. It is important to bleed all four brake lines if your car does not have an independent one.
Inspect the brake lines
Brake lines are an important component of a braking system, as they transmit fluid from the master cylinder to individual brakes. Make sure to inspect the brake lines regularly for signs of corrosion. It is also one of the important steps in the brake maintenance of cars. A worn-out or corroded brake line can be easily detected through leaked brake fluid.
Clean brake dust off
Brake dust, a mixture of carbon and metal particles, is produced upon the usage of car brakes. With time, the buildup of brake dust on wheels can cause car brake failure. To clean the brake dust off, you must dust it off with a clean rag.
In case the brake dust does not come off easily with a rag, use a brush to scrub it off. Once cleaned, dry the area to prevent rusting.
Avoid overspeeding
Car brakes tend to wear when applied abruptly at high speeds. This is because the brakes dissipate more energy than is required to come to a sudden stop at high speed. It often leads to premature wear.
Instead of applying brakes abruptly before a turn, traffic light, or stop sign, practise slowing down before the stop instead.
Avoid ‘two-footing’
Some people tend to press the brake pedal with the left foot while simultaneously pressing the gas pedal with the right foot. ‘Two-footing’ should be avoided always as it is of no use and only causes premature wearing of brake pads. Moreover, having two feet on the pedals can increase confusion in emergencies and might cause you to hit the wrong pedal.
Practise the 3-second rule
A safe distance is kept from the car ahead when you practise the 3-second rule. Doing so can prevent unnecessary braking and potential collisions. All you need to do is, keep a space worth 3 seconds between yours and the leading car. This rule is friendly to your car brakes and reduces their premature wearing.
Avoid brake overheating
To prevent overheating of car brakes, use the tap method when descending a hill. You can also practise going down the hill in lower gears to keep the car brakes cool and control speed effectively. Otherwise, overheating is a major concern for car brakes and can lead to brake failure in extreme conditions.
That’s a wrap for all about brake maintenance in cars. Make sure you get your car brakes maintained timely as per the car maintenance schedule. Despite timely maintenance, it is better to switch to another car if your car keeps having issues. That said, if you are looking for an affordable car, try exploring these used cars for sale in the UAE to have your ideal pick.
Stay tuned to the UAE’s top auto blog for information on car parts and accessories information.
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