Your brakes are the key to being able to safely and quickly stop your car when you need to do so. Lakelands Tire & Auto wants you to have as much information as possible about potential brake issues so that you’re able to recognize them.
Soft or Spongy Brake Pedal
When the brake pedal feels softer than usual or squishy, kind of like a damp sponge, that’s not great news. Your brakes probably still work, but there’s likely air in the lines. That can happen if you’ve lost some brake fluid or there’s a hole in the lines somewhere. You do need to get your brakes checked, because this situation can get worse.
Low Brake Fluid
If you’re not checking your brake fluid levels periodically, it’s tough to know for sure when brake fluid levels are getting low. One big indicator is often that your brake light turns on. Once you’ve verified that the light isn’t about the parking brake, you need to get your brakes inspected.
Brake Pedal Goes All the Way to the Floor
It’s a terrible feeling when you press the brake pedal and it sinks all the way to the floorboards. If pumping the brake pedal rebuilds pressure, the problem could be a small one, but you can’t take chances. On the other hand, if you’re never rebuilding brake pressure, you can’t keep driving the car because this means your brakes are failing.
Vibrations in the Brake Pedal
Are you feeling more vibrations in the brake pedal when you try to apply the brakes? This can be a problem with the rotor or even with multiple rotors. As they wear, they can warp or even simply wear unevenly, and that causes the vibrations that you feel as you try to stop the car.
Brakes Pulling to One Side
Uneven braking, which can happen for a variety of reasons, is what you’re experiencing if you press the brake pedal and the car pulls to one side. The faster you’re going, the more extreme that pull is likely to feel because usually one set of brakes is doing all the work. Figuring out what’s causing issues in the other brakes is imperative.
If you’re spotting any of these signs of trouble in your car’s brakes or it’s been a while since you’ve had yours checked, contact us today at Lakelands Tire & Auto in Greenwood, SC. We’ll thoroughly inspect your brakes and let you know what they need.