Brakes are crucial to the safety of your car and everyone it. Healthy brakes can save you gas, stop accidents, and give you the most efficient control over the vehicle. However, if you never get your brakes inspected, then you may not only be wasting money, but running a high risk for accidents. Your car has many indicators to stop that from ever happening.
First of all, your car will electronically warn you when your brakes are getting worn out, or other problems related to your brakes occur. If a small indicator called the ABS brake warning light appears on your dashboard, this means that your car’s onboard computer has detected a small issue. In many cases, when the ABS brake light is on, you can still brake normally, and generally be safe to drive. However, the ABS brake system is a secondary security system in place to make sure nothing crucial can be harmed inside your car. If the light is on, this means you’re at risk — not quite in trouble, but at risk for trouble.
If the brake warning light comes on — again, this could just be a minor issue. When your emergency brakes are active the brake warning light will come on. If this is the case, make sure you’re not accidentally pressing the emergency brake. In the case that the emergency brake is not active and the brake warning light is still on, then this becomes a serious issue. Immediately pull over, because your brakes are possibly damaged to a point that could be unsafe for you. Your car might be low on brake lubrication because of a leak or other issue, which means your brakes are grinding up against each other and could lock or do irreversible damage to the car. It is best to get your car towed if this happens.
There are other issues that would not give a warning. These include: your brakes locking up completely, and/or your brakes feel unusual. Now this may take an acute driver to feel, but if your brake pedal is not snapping back up into position, and instead it is slowly moving up, there might be a brake fluid leak. If your brakes are locked, check for any obstructions underneath the pedal. If none are visible, then a broken brake fluid line could be the issue.
In any case when it comes to brakes, your safety should be the primary concern. If something doesn’t feel right, pull over and check for some of these issues. When there isn’t a visible solution, call in help and get your car towed. Brakes are such a crucial part of the safety of you and your car, so you don’t want to wait to get help.
