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Routine brake service is essential for staying safe while driving and avoiding costly repairs down the road. The more you use your brakes, the more they gradually wear down and need parts replaced. Regular checkups with a trusted technician will make sure any problems are caught early and sorted out promptly before any serious problems develop. The following are five good reasons to visit your local Subaru dealer to have your brakes inspected.
Check Fluid Levels
The first thing a technician will do is check your brake fluid levels. As with any of the fluids in your car, brake fluid serves a vital function and can gradually break down over time. Any reduction in your fluid reduces the hydraulic pressure that allows your foot on the pedal to activate your brakes effectively. If your fluid levels have dropped, you might even have a leak, which a technician will find and fix.
Replace Brake Pads
The brake pads are the parts that do the hardest work in your braking mechanism. When you press down on the pedal, the brake pads clamp onto the rotor, creating friction, which slows and stops the wheel. With so much friction and heat, brake pads inevitably wear down and require replacing every 10,000 to 20,000 miles. An inspection of your brakes will find overly-worn pads and swap them out for new ones.
Inspect Your Rotors
Rotors are remarkably tough components, and they last a good long time. Rotors are most often made of iron, but they’re sometimes made of high-tech materials like carbon fiber or ceramic. Whatever the material, rotors can become dented or warped by overheating from too much consecutive braking. The heat can even melt the resin in your brake pads, which then hardens into a lumpy layer over the rotor, which you might feel as vibrations through your steering wheel or pedal.
It’s important for any warped or damaged rotors to be repaired or replaced, as rotor faults lead to more overheating and sometimes brake fade. Brake fade is where your brakes become spongy, often leading to accidents. A good technician will make sure your rotors are in tip-top shape.
Inspect Your Clips
One small piece of the braking mechanism helps to reduce the aforementioned chance of overheating. In between the brake pads and rotor, you’ll find your brake clips, which serve to push the pads away from the rotor. In this way, the clips keep your pads cooler, help them last longer, and also reduce noise. If a clip comes loose, the other essential parts of your braking mechanism will falter faster. A quick examination will see if you need new clips or not.
Calibrate Your Caliper
The main casing of all the braking components is called the caliper. This is the least likely part of your brake system to break down, but sometimes corrosion can set in, or parts of the caliper may come loose. It’s always wise to have it checked, just to be sure.
To have friendly, highly-experienced technicians service your brakes, head down to Dulles Motorcars of Leesburg. We treat every customer, new and old, with the care and respect of family members.
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