How often does my car need an auto brake service?

An auto brake service is vital to your own safety, as well as the safety of your family, pedestrians and all other road users. So clearly it is essential to pay attention to your brakes and have them inspected frequently – but how often should you have an auto brake service performed?

There are no hard and fast rules about scheduling a brake inspection and service, but it is sensible to book in for an auto brake service every year. The problem is that you can’t fully inspect your brakes unless you remove the wheels, so unless you take your car in for new tyres or an alignment, no-one might check your brakes for years.

Brakes can quickly reach the point of no return, endangering yourself and other road users, particularly if they are not inspected regularly. Catching small problems before they blow out to larger problems, will always save you money at the end of the day. So always book in for a yearly auto brake service and in between your inspections, if you notice any of the following – then ring your auto shop as soon as possible.

 

Squealing noises: When your brake pads are nearly worn down and need replacing, you will hear a squealing noise. This noise is a protective measure caused by a small indicator that emits a high pitched noise when your pads need replacing. It is best not to simply wait until you hear this noise and then have your brakes inspected, because at this point your pads are so low that they could be dangerous in wet weather and might not stop you fast enough in an emergency.

Grinding noises: This is even worse than the squealing noise and means that your brakes are in big trouble. If you hear any grinding noises from your brake system, this means that your pads need to be replaced today and if you leave it too long, you might need to replace more than just the pads. Of course, safety at this stage is an even bigger factor than when you hear a squealing noise, as a grinding noise means that things have gone too far without an auto brake service.

It is always better to be safe where your brakes are concerned, so make sure to book in for an auto brake service every year.