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Brake Repair & Service
Looking for the best brake repair and service in Winter Haven, FL? Experience top-notch brake service. The braking system is a critical component of your vehicle. Without it, driving safely would be impossible. It’s essential to maintain this system effectively to prevent accidents. At CarDi Automotive, we inspect, maintain, and repair braking systems for most makes and models.
Signs You Need
Brake Repair & Service in Winter Haven
Not everyone takes brake repair seriously as we do! As soon as you realize you have a problem with your vehicle’s brakes, make an appointment with CarDi Automotive auto repair in Winter Haven. If you ignore brake issues, you will do more damage and cost yourself more money – and you could get into an accident when the brakes stop working. Signs you need brake repair & service include:
- High-pitched squealing sounds when braking, indicating low pad material.
- Grinding noises, suggesting that the pad material is completely worn.
- A "soft" or "spongy" brake pedal, typically indicating air in the brake lines or a brake fluid leak.
- Vibration or pulsing of the brake pedal, usually signifying a damaged rotor.
- Dashboard warning lights for low brake fluid or ABS issues.
Ignoring these signs could result in further damage, higher repair costs, and increased risk of an accident.
Braking System Components
Every vehicle has an anti-lock braking system (ABS), ABS is compatible only with disc brakes. Thus, vehicles with drum brakes at the rear will have two-wheel ABS, while those with disc brakes at both ends will have four-wheel ABS.
The ABS system includes an ABS computer and speed sensors on each wheel. The rest of the braking system components have been fairly consistent for decades and include:
- Brake Pads: Brake pads consist of a metal backing plate plus material formed into a pad on the plate that rubs against the rotors to create enough friction to slow and stop a vehicle.
- Rotors: Large discs, sometimes solid and sometimes vented, ride on a spindle. They have one brake pad on the front and one on the rear. The caliper presses the brake pads onto the rotor to create friction to slow the vehicle.
- Calipers: The calipers hang over the top of the rotor and hold one brake pad on the front and one on the rear of the rotor. They have a brake hose attached as they use hydraulic pressure to press the pads against the rotor.
- Master Cylinder: The master cylinder rides against the firewall on the driver’s side of the engine compartment. The ABS computer is usually next to or below it. When you press the brake pedal, it pushes a piston into the master, which forces brake fluid through the brake lines to close the calipers.
- Brake Lines and Hoses: Most of the brake lines are metal. However, the hoses that run from the brake line to the caliper must be flexible because of the bend and the bouncing the wheels do. Brake hoses are usually six to ten inches long. The brake fluid eats the inside and causes them to collapse, so at least once during the life of a vehicle, you have to replace them.
- Wheel Cylinders: Instead of calipers, drum brakes use wheel cylinders to open shoes so they press against the inside of the drum to slow and stop the vehicle.
- Shoes: Brake shoes ride inside the drum. Rear brakes do not wear as quickly as disk brakes. Your auto repair technician can often adjust rear drum brakes.
- Drums: Drums are large, round, bowl-shaped cast iron pieces that ride on a spindle. The rear tire is bolted to them. The shoes are inside the drums.
