If you are wondering how to tell if brake discs need replacing, there are many signs to look out for. Having your brakes serviced is an important part of proper vehicle maintenance. When you take care of your brakes, they will take care of you when you’re out on the road. However, even with routine maintenance, your brakes may require professional inspection and servicing if you begin to notice certain warning signs.
Signs of Car Brakes Going Bad
My breaks are going bad. If this sounds like you, you should probably have your car inspected as soon as possible to avoid further damage and prevent an accident from occurring.
Here are signs car brakes are going bad.
Brake Light Stays On
If your brake light indicator turns on, it is either time for routine maintenance or serves as an alert to a potential problem. This light will appear on your dashboard. You should immediately turn to your vehicle’s owner’s manual for potential causes for the dashboard indicator. For example, in some vehicles, this can be caused by your parking brake. You may need to release it to see if the alert goes away.
Squeaking or Squealing Noise
New noises that are coming from your brakes are not always a sign of an issue. It could just be due to a foreign object lodged in your brakes, such as debris or pebbles. It could also be your brake pad wear indicators. These bits of metal in your brake pad come in contact with the rotor to produce a high-pitched sound when you hit your brakes. This lets you know that it is time to have your brake pads replaced.
Grinding Sounds
Whether you have disc or drum brakes, grinding noises could indicate that your brakes need to be serviced right away due to the shoe or brake pad scraping on metal contact points.
Vibration or Wobbling When Braking
If you notice that your steering wheel or vehicle begins to shake when you hit your brakes, it could be that the thickness of your rotor is not even. Brake rotors are large discs that are located right inside the wheels. When you apply the brakes, the brake pads push against the rotors, which causes your wheels to stop spinning.
Over time, it is typical for the surface of the rotor to wear down and become uneven. When you apply the brakes, braking friction comes from the transfer of pad material to the surface of the rotor. If the pad material does not transfer evenly, you may notice a vibration when you brake.
Car Pulls to One Side When Braking
This may be due to a number of issues, but it could also indicate a bad brake hose or an issue with a caliper. If this occurs on the front brakes, one brake may end up working while another is not. This will cause a pull in the direction of the side that is causing braking force. If only one rear caliper is not working correctly, it may go unnoticed.