What You Need To Know About Maintaining The Brakes On Your Vehicle

The brakes on your car, truck, or SUV will wear down with use and will eventually need service. Any good repair shop offers auto brake services and can maintain the system when necessary, but knowing when to take the vehicle in is essential to ensuring the brakes continue to work for you. 

Auto Brake Services

The brakes on your vehicle work by applying pressure to a brake drum or rotor attached to the wheel of the vehicle. When you push the pedal, the pads or shoes grip the steel surfaces and slow the vehicle to a stop. Keeping the brakes in good shape so they can continue to do their job is critical, and general brake maintenance starts with inspections and cleaning. 

When you take the car to the repair shop for an oil change or tire rotation, ask them to check the brakes for you if you feel like they are underperforming. Sometimes the brakes will build up brake dust from the friction material sluffing off the pads or shoes and may need cleaning. 

The repair shop can take care of auto brake services like cleaning the moving parts and checking the condition of the brake system to determine if they need any repair or adjustment. If the pads and shoes are worn too far, the repair shop can replace them for you while you are there.

Brake Performance Issues

Sometimes the brakes in your car will suddenly feel as though they are not working as effectively as they should. There are several things that can cause this to happen, and having an auto brake services center check them is vital. The pads can begin to glaze from the heat generated in the system and will lose some of the stopping power they had previously. 

Another possibility is that the brake pads and shoes have worn down, and the friction material is too thin to contact the drums or rotors. If this happens, replace the pads and shoes, but if you wait until there is no material left on the pads and shoes, you may find that there is damage to the rotors and drums from contacting the metal bases. 

If you monitor the condition of the brakes over time, you should be able to avoid these kinds of problems, but if they are neglected, damage may occur that is expensive to fix. Noises from the brakes may indicate a problem but may not always be critical.

It is still essential to have an auto brake services shop check them, and most brake shops offer inspections to get you in the door in the hope you need repairs. If you do not need any work, they will tell you, but if you do, these shops specialize in working with brake systems and are going to offer the best repair for the money. 

Contact a company like Stapley's Garage to learn more.