Your brake pads are a vital brake part that provides the pressure and friction needed to slow down and stop your car safely. If you notice any of the following warning signs, act fast and ask the technician at your Hyundai dealer to replace the pads to ensure your safety on the road.
1. The Pads Are Worn and Thin
New pads are between eight to twelve millimeters in thickness. For the pads to provide you with enough stopping power, they must be thicker than 6.4 millimeters. If the pads are thinner than 3.2 millimeters, it’s best to replace them promptly to prevent your brakes from failing.
Look between the wheel spokes and check the thickness of the pads. If the pads look worn and thinner than a quarter of an inch, ask your Hyundai technician to replace them as soon as possible.
2. Your Car Takes Longer To Stop
When the pads are worn and thin, your brakes will be unresponsive. You will notice that you have to press down on the brake pedal harder to get your car to slow down and come to a complete stop. To avoid further reducing your stopping power and the pads from wearing down altogether and risking your safety, ask your technician to replace the pads ASAP.
3. You Hear Squealing Sounds
If you hear high-pitched squealing and screeching sounds when you step on the brake pedal, it’s the wear indicators warning you that the pads are wearing thin. The wear indicators are tiny monitoring devices built into the pads by the manufacturer. When you hear that tell-tale screech, it’s time to replace the pads.
4. There Are Awful Grinding Noises
If you didn’t replace the pads when you heard the high-pitched squealing and screeching sounds, you will soon begin to hear awful grinding noises. The pads have now worn down to the bare metal, and the grinding noises you hear are from the bare metal scraping against the steel and causing damage to the rotors.
5. You Feel Vibrations Through the Brake Pedal
When your pads get too thin and worn, it will cause vibrations that you will feel through your brake pedal when you step on the brakes. When your technician replaces the pads, the vibrations will be a thing of the past.
6. Your Car Veers to the Side
If your car veers to the side, the pads could be worn down unevenly. Your car’s pads don’t wear at the same rate, and when one side is more worn or thinner than the other, it will cause your vehicle to pull to the right or left. Ask your Hyundai technician to replace the pads to sort out the issue fast.
When you notice any of the signs mentioned above, don’t wait until it’s too late and you don’t have the stopping power when you need it. If you hear high-pitched squealing or grinding noises, feel vibrations, your car pulls to the side, or takes longer to come to a stop, visit Crain Hyundai of Little Rock today for a thorough brake inspection performed by qualified Hyundai technicians.
Image via Hyundai.
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