The maintenance of a vehicle’s brakes is one of the most important elements in ensuring your safety and reliability on the road. Your well-being as well as that of the road users around you can rest on the performance of your vehicle’s brake system.

For this reason we pay extra careful attention to the maintenance of your vehicle’s brakes.

Because we understand the significance of this inspection, we offer a comprehensive check of your brakes completely free of charge.

The check covers everything in your vehicle’s brake system from brake pads to shoes and discs. If there are any abnormalities then you will be informed immediately by our mechanics.

To give an indication of just how important brake checks are you only have to look into the design of them. The process of braking (the rubbing together of two materials, the pad and brake calliper) causes friction and deceleration of the vehicle. This in turn leads to physical distress to both materials and a gradual wearing down of parts. Lubrication in the brake operating system can lead to brake failure, so inevitably the pads on your vehicle will wear down over time.

There are various ways of noticing wear to your brake pads. One of the most obvious signs of wear is ‘brake dust’, tiny metal particles that have been broken off the brake pads as they are ground down.

If there is no brake dust at all, then it may be a sign that you have completely worn down your brake pads all the way to the metal backing.

Sometimes it is possible to tell if your brakes need replacing just by listening to them operate. A screeching noise is emitted when your pads are worn down to a certain point. This is a ‘wear indicator’ designed into the pads to audibly warn you that the pads need to be changed.

If you can feel a grinding sensation as you brake then either your brake pads have been worn down or you have an alien object trapped in the mechanism.

If the vehicle lurches to one side then it is likely that you have a problem with the hydraulics in the braking system. This could lead to uneven brake wear and should be corrected immediately.

The heavier the vehicle, the faster the front brakes wear out. When checking your brake pads do not assume they are all in good condition by simply checking one rear wheel. It may be that the front has been worn down at a much faster rate.

These are all signs that our mechanics and mechanics have been trained to spot but if you are able to distinguish an issue with your vehicle before you get to the garage then it will likely save you time and our team can get straight to the root of the problem.

Accelerated pad wearing can be caused by actions such as ‘riding’ on the brakes or simply braking too aggressively and frequently. To save your brake pads, exercise good clutch control and plan your braking early, avoiding sharp deceleration.