Your brake pads provide additional friction to slow down and stop your Chevy. These pads wear slightly each time you use the brakes. When the pads have worn down to their minimum level, they need to be replaced. As your Chevy dealer, we’d like you to know how often you should replace your pads.
Why Do You Need Pads?
Pads act as a buffer between the wheel rotors and the brake calipers to enable your brakes to work. The rotors and the calipers are metal and can damage each other if they’re in direct contact. The pad also provides additional friction resistance, which stops your car faster.
How Do They Work?
Brake fluid is forced into the brake hoses when you step on the brakes. This fluid exerts a hydraulic pressure on the calipers attached above your wheel rotors. This hydraulic pressure causes the caliper to close in on either side of the rotor, and this movement brings your car to a stop. The pads fit inside the calipers, so they directly contact your rotors when you use the brakes.
How Often Should You Replace Pads?
Your pads work by friction, and this causes them to abrade each time the brakes are used. The exact time for changing your pads varies widely between 20,000 miles and 60,000 miles. The reason for the variance is that braking habits, environmental factors, and driving conditions all play a role in the lifespan of the pads.
Your car’s service schedule details what we check at different stages of your car’s life. When you have a brake service, we routinely check the pads for signs of wear or damage.
Signs You Need To Replace Your Pads
As we’ve seen, the time for pad replacement does vary. These are some of the signs that you need to replace your pads right away.
Screeching brakes
Your pads have to be a certain thickness for them to do their job effectively. New pads are approximately 1/2″ inch thick, and when they reach 1/4″ thickness, they should be replaced. When a pad has worn down to the level that it needs to be replaced, a small piece of metal becomes visible in the pad. This metal is designed as a warning that it’s time to change your pads.
The metal piece will scratch against the rotor when you apply the brakes. The loud screeching produced by this is a reminder that you need to change your pads very soon.
Grinding Brakes
If you don’t replace the pads when they start to screech, the friction material will continue to wear off. Once the material has completely worn off, the metal caliper will grab the metal of the wheel rotor. When this happens, you’ll hear a grinding sound as the caliper will cut into the surface of the rotor and damage it. Your pads need to be replaced ASAP.
If your brakes are showing signs of wear, call us immediately at Blue Ribbon Chevrolet. Our technicians can speedily repair any braking problem.
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