MOST IMPORTANT

The most important safety feature of your vehicle is the braking system. Unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong with your brakes which require immediate attention. Sometimes it is easy to find out exactly what's going on with your brakes. If your brake pedal feels soft and doesn't stop the car right away, you may have a fluid leak or air in the brake system. If you hear a screeching, metallic sound when you apply your brakes, the pads are probably wearing out and will need to be replaced Finally, if your pedal feels too stiff, the vacuum booster could be failing. If you encounter any of these issues, take your car to a mechanic as soon as possible to have them fixed.

SERVICING YOUR BRAKES

Servicing brakes means servicing the brake components (cleaning, lubricating, etc.) without replacing them like Disc brakes. Brakes are serviced to make sure they function properly between replacements and the car is safe to drive.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF BRAKE SERVICES

• Brake Shoe Replacement
  Similar to brake pad replacement, for drum style brakes.
• Brake Drum Service
  Like a brake rotor service, for drum style brakes.
• Brake Fluid Service
  From routine brake fluid exchange to brake fluid leak repair.
• Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) Service
  From your ABS sensors to the system computer module.

1. If your brakes are screeching drive slowly to see if the screeching goes away. A bit of screeching is common in the morning when your car is still warming up, or if there was recently some rainy weather and the pads are wet, so it is usually nothing to worry about. Drive around your neighbourhood slowly and test you brakes normally. If the noise doesn’t persist after a few minutes, then your brake pads were still just warming up.
2. If the sound continues after the car warms up, then inspect your brake pads. Brake pads are designed to start screeching or squealing when they’re worn down as metal presses against metal. If you still hear screeching after your car has warmed up, then you probably need new brake pads.
   • The sound when your brake pads need replacing is also different from normal warming up noises. A metallic grinding noise indicates worn out brake pads.
   • You probably won’t notice much trouble stopping even if your brake pads are very worn down, so don’t rely on this as an indicator on whether you need new brakes or not. Listen for the grinding metallic sound.

3. Replace your rear brakes if the pads squeal when you apply the handbrake. Even if you know that the brake pads need replacement, you may not be able to tell which ones are going bad. To isolate your rear brakes, drive slowly, around 25 kph, and apply your handbrake. Since the handbrake only engages the back brakes, screeching can indicate that the back brakes need to be inspected.
   • Make sure no cars are behind you when you do this test.
   • Remember that this test will only tell you if the rear brakes need work, but not if the front ones are worn out too. If you replace your back brakes and still hear screeching, then the front ones may need work as well.
4. Once you’ve confirmed that the brake pads need replacement, install new pads to fix the problem. Take the car to a mechanic or fitment centre.
   • Remember to get pads that fit your vehicle. This information can be found in the owner’s manual if you aren’t sure what kind of brake pads your car uses.
   • Drive around and apply your brakes. The screeching should stop after the pad replacement. If you still notice screeching or other brake problems, take the car to a mechanic for an inspection.