Good brakes are essential for keeping you, your car, and others safe. If your brakes work correctly, you know that you can control your speed and stop exactly where, and when you need to. A brake problem, like a slight screeching sound, may seem minor, but it can also be the start of a dangerous problem. For your safety, your brakes must always work. These are signs that you need a brake repair at your Chevy dealer ASAP.
A Soft Pedal
When you step on the brakes, you should always feel some resistance, and the harder you press, the more the resistance. If you press the brake pedal and you feel almost no resistance, there’s a problem. When you use the brakes, brake fluids are forced into the brake hoses. This fluid is under pressure, and this allows it to exert hydraulic pressure on the calipers that sit above your wheel rotors.
These calipers are designed to push against the wheel rotors. The friction generated will bring your car to a stop. When your pedal feels soft, this shows a loss of pressure in the braking system. This lack of pressure can be caused by a lack of brake fluid or an air bubble in the system. We can bleed the brakes if it’s an air bubble, and if it’s a brake fluid problem, we can find and fix the leak.
A Hard Pedal
The opposite of the soft pedal above, in this situation your pedal almost completely refuses to work. You have to exert a huge amount of effort for it to budge. Two of the main causes of this situation are a blockage in one of the brake lines or a failed brake booster. A blockage in the brake line will prevent fluid from exerting the pressure needed for the brake to work.
Your brake booster provides the extra force needed to overcome the natural resistance of the braking system. The booster operates in a vacuum, and it gives you at least 10x of your strength when you press on the pedal. Since the booster requires a vacuum, even the smallest hole or damage to the booster will break the vacuum. Without the assistance of the booster, the pedal will be almost impossible to move.
Visible Damage
You can’t visibly check most of your car’s braking system without a car lift and special tools. You can, however, see the parts of the braking system connected to your wheels. If you’re hearing strange sounds from the brakes, you may be able to see the fault by looking here. If you look between the spokes of your wheels, you’ll see the calipers, the brake pads, and the wheel rotors.
Grooves, a blue tinge, or cracks in the rotor can easily be seen. You’ll also see worn-out brake pads and any damage to the calipers.
If your brakes are showing signs of wear, call us ASAP at Toth Buick GMC.
Image via Pixabay
Connect with us
