Checking Your Brakes
Checking your brakes may not be something that you think about too often, if at all.
However, knowing a little something about how your brakes work can make the difference between life and death, especially if you know how to detect when something is wrong.
When I was in college, I had a fairly new car.
After a few months of being away at college, I began to notice that any time when I would prepare to slow down or decelerate, the car would pulsate to a stop rather than come to a smooth stop.
As time went on, this 'pulsating' motion only grew worse.
One day, while driving a friend home from classes, she commented on the fact that my car was acting strange.
I told her that I had noticed the problem for a while but didn't know what to make of it.
Concerned, she advised me to have it checked out by a mechanic just to make sure that it wasn't anything serious.
Already paranoid about it, I agreed and made an appointment the very next day with a local mechanic's shop.
What the mechanic told me was shocking and disturbing.
As it turned out, my brake pads were almost completely worn through and apparently, they only had a number of days left (perhaps less, depending on where I would have been driving) before they would've completely been worn through.
On top of that, my brakes were almost completely shot.
I couldn't believe it.
With shaking hands, I called my father in New York to tell him what had happened.
He then spoke to the mechanic on the phone and told me to go ahead and have the brakes replaced.
As further proof of the wear to my brakes, the mechanic gingerly produced what was left of my brake pads so that I could see the amount of wear that had actually taken place.
How could this have happened when the car that I owned was still under a year old? Perhaps it was all of the long distance driving combined with the fact that I was also doing a significant amount of local commuting.
Whatever the case may be, I learned to recognize the symptoms of wear and tear to my brake pads so that I would know in the future when or if I should be concerned again.
Whenever you are driving your car and you hear a high pitched squeaking sound, it may be an indication that your brake pads are already worn.
Another sign that your brake pads might be wearing is the same situation that I previously dealt with in which you experience a sort of pulsating motion in your vehicle whenever you move to decelerate.
Your brakes play a very important role in providing you (as well as others) with safety while driving.
The last thing that you want is to move to brake and suddenly realize that you cannot slow your car down or come to a complete stop.
Recognize the signs of wear and tear and have it looked at by a professional.
It is a small price to pay for your overall safety in the long run.
However, knowing a little something about how your brakes work can make the difference between life and death, especially if you know how to detect when something is wrong.
When I was in college, I had a fairly new car.
After a few months of being away at college, I began to notice that any time when I would prepare to slow down or decelerate, the car would pulsate to a stop rather than come to a smooth stop.
As time went on, this 'pulsating' motion only grew worse.
One day, while driving a friend home from classes, she commented on the fact that my car was acting strange.
I told her that I had noticed the problem for a while but didn't know what to make of it.
Concerned, she advised me to have it checked out by a mechanic just to make sure that it wasn't anything serious.
Already paranoid about it, I agreed and made an appointment the very next day with a local mechanic's shop.
What the mechanic told me was shocking and disturbing.
As it turned out, my brake pads were almost completely worn through and apparently, they only had a number of days left (perhaps less, depending on where I would have been driving) before they would've completely been worn through.
On top of that, my brakes were almost completely shot.
I couldn't believe it.
With shaking hands, I called my father in New York to tell him what had happened.
He then spoke to the mechanic on the phone and told me to go ahead and have the brakes replaced.
As further proof of the wear to my brakes, the mechanic gingerly produced what was left of my brake pads so that I could see the amount of wear that had actually taken place.
How could this have happened when the car that I owned was still under a year old? Perhaps it was all of the long distance driving combined with the fact that I was also doing a significant amount of local commuting.
Whatever the case may be, I learned to recognize the symptoms of wear and tear to my brake pads so that I would know in the future when or if I should be concerned again.
Whenever you are driving your car and you hear a high pitched squeaking sound, it may be an indication that your brake pads are already worn.
Another sign that your brake pads might be wearing is the same situation that I previously dealt with in which you experience a sort of pulsating motion in your vehicle whenever you move to decelerate.
Your brakes play a very important role in providing you (as well as others) with safety while driving.
The last thing that you want is to move to brake and suddenly realize that you cannot slow your car down or come to a complete stop.
Recognize the signs of wear and tear and have it looked at by a professional.
It is a small price to pay for your overall safety in the long run.
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