Brakes might be THE most critical component of any vehicle. A vehicle that won’t start is an inconvenience, but a vehicle that won’t stop is a danger to you and the people around you. Getting your brakes properly inspected regularly is part of good maintenance, but don’t settle for false peace of mind. There’s a world of difference between our brake inspection processes and a free brake check; a brake performance road test with“wheels off” multipoint brake inspection and a quick peek at the brake linings are worlds apart. Many years ago one of our clients learned this lesson the hard way when we told him that he needed brake work and a chain store said that he did not. It happened like this…
Our client asked us to inspect his brakes. We road tested and fully inspected the brake system and found that a caliper slider was causing abnormal wear and the inboard brake pad on the driver’s side front brake caliper was almost “metal-to-metal”. (“Metal-to-metal” is industry jargon meaning that the metal backing of a brake lining is touching the metal surface of a brake drum or rotor causing damage). The vehicle needed new front brake linings with calipers and rotors, the rear brakes needed cleaning and adjustment, and the brake hydraulic fluid needed to be flushed.
We documented our findings, recommendations and estimates, and then gave them to the client. He declined our recommendations and took his vehicle to a tire and brake franchise for a free brake check. Imagine how surprised I was when we received a phone call stating the other business said the brakes were OK! Their cursory brake check had missed the problem that our more comprehensive inspection had uncovered!
Now the client had the mistaken idea that we had tried to sell him unnecessary work. He called explaining exactly, and in heated and colorful detail, why he was upset. When he calmed down a little he was told to have the other shop actually remove the front calipers and look again. Surprise! This deeper look showed the problem that the cursory inspection had missed. It was an embarrassing mistake , but we were ultimately exonerated.
Before you authorize brake work make sure any estimate includes complete information. There is nothing worse than that second phone call telling you that it is going to cost more than expected to finish the job because a detail was missed. A detailed brake inspection is the only way to produce an accurate estimate. A good brake inspection should include the following:
- A road test for brake function- pedal height, brake response, noise, vibration, pull, ABS actuation, warning lights and parking brake function
- All the pertinent road test details should be documented
- Noting the age of and testing for brake master cylinder bleeding down or pumping up
- Inspection and documentation of brake hydraulic fluid level and condition
- Removal of ALL the wheels. A brake inspection requires the removal of all wheels. Never rely on a peek at the visible linings thru the wheels or an inspection from just removing one front and/or one rear wheel
- Removal of the brake drums
- Removal of the brake calipers as needed for access, lining measurement or noise diagnosis
- Inspection, measurement and documentation of all brake linings including parking brake linings where applicable
- Brake linings are measured in fractions of inches, NOT percentages. You can get percentages as guidelines in conjunction with real measurements, but don’t accept percentages only
- Inspection of power assist systems, ABS components; pumps, accumulator, valves, proportioning valves, flexible hydraulic lines and junctions
- Inspection, measurement and documentation of brake rotors and/or drums. Current measurements as well as discard or “machine-to” specifications should be listed
- Inspection and documentation of caliper mounts, sliders, caliper/drum hardware, calipers and/or wheel cylinders
- Inspection of the parking brake system components and operation
Some other brake issues you should be aware of are…
- There are lots of things to wear out in a brake system, and the lifetime of the parts varies wildly by vehicle type, location and driving habits. That’s why it’s so important to have regular, in-depth inspections of the actual condition of your braking system rather than relying on mileage guidelines or quick peek inspections.
- A quick peek at the brakes between comprehensive brake inspections is ok, but never act on information from a peek alone. Never accept a brake repair estimate from a peek.
- Some European vehicles (Audi, VW, Volvo, BMW) have very soft brake rotors and very hard brake pads and their rotors may need replacement with each brake lining replacement.
- Brake linings (pads for disk brakes and shoes for drum brakes) touch the rotors or drums to create the friction that slows the vehicle. New brake pads are between 10/32″ and 16/32″ thick and new brake shoes are between 7/32” and 12/32”, depending on the vehicle type and manufacturer.
- Most quality disk brake pads have “warning tabs” that make a high frequency squealing sound when the pads get down to 2/32″ (about 10%) remaining to warn they need replacement.
- You can reasonably expect brake linings to last about 20,000-50,000 miles. Someone with a heavy vehicle with an automatic transmission, that makes lots of stops, may wear brake linings out in as little as 15,000 miles, but someone who does a lot of interstate driving in a light vehicle with a stick, may get over 100,000 miles.
- Free brake “checks” are used to generate brake work. People may be told that they urgently need new brake linings even when they have significant brake lining remaining! Often, when we do re-inspection, in situations where clients were told elsewhere they needed brakes or were given percentages of remaining wear, the measurements seem to grow under more careful scrutiny. I’ve seen many brake lining figures grow from the subjective “under 10% and needs brakes now” to a measurements of 7/32 of an inch or more (approximately 25% remaining wear).
- Parts like brake master cylinders, parking brake components, caliper hangers, brake hardware, the need for cleaning and adjustments, and hydraulic fluid replacement can add expense to a brake job when needed, and should be checked as part of any brake inspection used to sell work.
- Whenever you have brake work done, make sure the estimate covers the entire job you’ll need. A common occurrence, as the result of a quick-peek inspection and incomplete estimate, is the phone call when the brake work has started to add major expense for the job as is needed. Brake drums and rotors under legal “machine to” limits are often sold as “surprise” needs, along with brake hardware, hoses, calipers, wheel cylinders. These aren’t acceptable surprises or mistakes!
- Some examples of legitimate issues that may evade inspection and pop up during repair are: hard spots that won’t machine out of drums or rotors, cracks or heat damage to drums or rotors, sticky parking brake cables, failed or missing brake hardware, bad master cylinders, bad wheel bearings, hydraulic line problems and more.
Not all inspection procedures, measuring devices, or even eyes are created equal. “Peek through the wheel with a flashlight and mirror” brake inspections just can’t accurately assess the real condition of your brakes. Brake work and brake estimates are too important to leave to a peek. It usually takes at least 30 to 45 minutes to do a thorough brake inspection, and few businesses are able to give away that kind of expertise and time for free. We do our best to always provide accurate estimates for work done right. You can look at our statistics at http://www.tomdwyer.com/feedback/. 98% “on-estimate” figures do not come by mistake! Even a thorough inspection can miss developing problems, and the most conscientious estimate can be off when the job is done, but without a proper inspection and documentation there is no hope!
