You are inviting trouble if you don't take care of your car's brakes

You are inviting trouble if you don't take care of your car's brakes

Very often, we open the bonnet and check the engine. But we seldom bother about another important part, the brakes. Yes, it is difficult to bend over to inspect the components of the brake that are under the car. But it is necessary to ensure that the brakes are checked at regular intervals. Even if brake fluid and pads are okay, you could be in trouble if air enters brake cylinders. Hence it is necessary to get your brakes checked at least every 10,000 kilometres.

Brake fluid

Cars use hydraulic brake system these days. When you depress the brake pedal, the pressure first reaches the brake's master cylinder. Hence the cylinder needs to be maintained properly. You have to make sure that there is enough brake fluid in the cylinder. Otherwise there will be extra pressure on the brake cylinder, which could affect the brake pads, drum etc. With every engine oil change, ensure that the brake fluid level and the brake pad's wear are checked.

Inspections

If you have alloy wheels, it is relatively easy to examine the components of the brake. Also, you can see if there is too much wear on the brake pads and metal components.

An eye on dashboard

Since new generation cars are controlled by sensors, any brake issue will pop up on the dash. Keep an eye near the odometer to check if any symbols are lighting up. If the symbol related to brakes are glowing, there could be problems to your brake.

Proper wash

We wash regularly those parts of the car that are visible to us. Once in a while, you need to wash the underbody of your car. It is not advisable to keep dust and dirt accumulated on the brake pad to stay for long. When you clean it, you can also look for any issues on the brake line below.

* Sudden braking would result in the premature wear of brake components. Some have the habit of slamming the brake even while going slow. This will lead to the fast wear of the brake pads that are made of ceramic fibre and metallic parts. Using brake to control speed on slopes too is bad for the brake pads. On slopes, engine braking is a better option.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.