Car brakes: checks and repairs to keep them in working order

Protyre offer a free brake safety check, in which one of our experienced technicians will take a look at your braking system, providing a no-obligation quote for any work that may need to be done in order to restore your brakes to their optimal performance.

During the free brake inspection, our qualified technician will carry out a visual and mechanical inspection of your entire braking system. As a result of your inspection, you will be given advice as to the next steps that you will need to carry out. If you are given a clean bill of health, you may be advised to check back again in a suggested timescale, otherwise there will be a recommendation provided that work will need to be carried out in order to make your brakes operate safely again.

Let's take a look at some of the faults that may occur that you would want to know about.

Our years of experience tell us that any warning lights on the dashboard should never be ignored. Modern cars are equipped by an array of sensors which may well be slightly bewildering to most of us. However, our mechanics will be able to connect their diagnostic devices to your car in order to establish precisely what the fault may be and get to work on your issue swiftly.

Any experienced driver will know when they feel their brakes are not responding as they usually do. At this point, when the brake pedal moves with little resistance, it is vital to get your brakes looked at as soon as possible. This is often due to a loss of brake fluid or its contamination with water.

Generally speaking, this means that the brake could be binding on one side. Pulling to one side under braking is a very serious issue, which should be inspected and dealt with straight away by a qualified mechanic.

A squeaking noise while the vehicle is braking is generally an indication that there is an issue with your brakes. This is often caused by brake dust collecting and becoming stuck on the brake pads. Other causes for squealing brakes include rust or other debris becoming stuck to the brake pad, or it could be a sign that your brake pads are running low and need to be replaced.

The key to dealing with squeaky brakes is to have them looked at as soon as you notice the noise. Failing to do so can cause further issues, as we will see below.

Often, grinding noises tend to follow if the squeaking noise is ignored. As you may expect, the severity of the sound of grinding is worse than the squeak and as such these repairs tend to be larger and more expensive. If the squeak was an indication that your brake pad was getting to the end of its life, the grinding is an indication that it is beyond the end of its life and causing damage to other parts of the braking system.

Any juddering or pulsing of brakes could indicate that your brake disks have warped. This can be caused by a build-up of heat or friction during use. It should not be ignored but inspected by a qualified mechanic straight away.

Often, the sooner a braking problem is investigated, the cheaper it is to repair, especially in the case of squealing brakes. Delay not only potentially adds cost to the repair bill, but also makes your brakes work in a sub-optimal manner.

Dealing with brake repairs swiftly is essential to make your car work as safely as possible, helping to keep you and other road users as safe as possible.

As well as offering free brake safety checks to our customers and repairs to braking systems where necessary, Protyre stock a range of tyres from manufacturers such as Falken and Sumitomo.

If you are concerned with the effectiveness of your brakes, contact your local Protyre garage today to arrange a free brake safety check. Book online or make an appointment at your local garage to have your brakes inspected, or to have any other issue you may have with your car checked over by our experts.