Help! There’s Something Up With My Brakes!

Ah, brakes. The part of the car that allows you to drive safely with our careening off of a cliff and into a ravine below, or from hitting the car in front of you. Brakes are important and they need to be taken care of no matter what. If you let your brakes go, it can be disastrous for you and those around you. Thankfully, brake repair in NH is fairly easy to come across, it is important to keep an eye on your brakes before something goes wrong.

First, your brakes are a huge contraption of parts. It starts with the pedal and continues through multiple ways so that you have control of the car. Just by pushing the pedal won’t stop a 2 ton vehicle but will start a domino effect of what does stop the car. Pressing the pedal starts two forces up. These forces are Leverage and Hydraulic force according to Explain that Stuff (they have the best basic information for you!).

When you push the pedal, it releases a hydraulic fluid that will manipulate the rest of the brake gear for you. When you press the pedal you apply the leverage needed to start the hydraulics in the car.  A piston is released into the fluid then goes into cylinders that will activate the four brakes in the car. Where the cylinders neat the brake are wider than the ones near the brake pedal, you are able to multiply your pressure in order to stop your vehicle by means of friction. That is the basics on how your breaks work.

Pistons, fluids, cylinders, brakes and pedals all work together to stop your car in order to keep yourself and others safe. In older cars, pumping your breaks were believed to help but with newer car brakes, you do not need to pump. The more you press, the more fluid is released so that you can stop your car. This is why it is important to pay attention to the warning signs that your brakes give off. We mentioned a few ways to tell if you need new brakes in Nashua, but it is always good to refresh so that you can continue driving safe.

The main things to look out for with your brakes are the following:

• Noises

  • These noises will include:
    • Squealing
    • Grinding
    • Clicking

• Pulling

  • If your car pulls to one side, always bring it into the shop whether breaking or not!
• Low or a hard pedal
  • If you need to nearly fully depress the brake pedal for them to engage, or it is too hard to press the pedal for the brakes to engage bring them into RK Auto immediately.

• Grabbing

  • This could be described as sensitive brakes. If they engage almost immediately at the littlest pressure to the pedal

• Vibration

  • If your pedal causes any sort of what you would describe as vibration, especially under normal conditions bring it in.

• Light

  • Many cars today will have a brake light that will illuminate. If everything else checks out, but you have that one, bring it in and we can figure out what is going on with your brake system.

As a part of normal wear and tear on the car, don’t worry that you need to replace your brakes in Nashua. With winter, city driving and just age your brakes will need to be repaired and tuned up.

If you notice any of these issues, reach out to RK Auto at 603-595-7575 or on our website!