If you are pulled over for a vehicle check and are found to have defective brakes you may face a hefty fine and 3 points on your licence.
Here are some common problems:

• Your brake pedal goes to the floor and doesn’t stop your vehicle or takes a long distance to stop – your brake fluid may be low, your master cylinder may need replacing or there could be air in the hydraulic system.
  
• Your vehicle doesn’t stop at all when you brake and you have to keep your foot on the pedal to stop it moving – again your brake fluid may be low, your master cylinder may need replacing or there could be air in the hydraulic system. It could also be that the brake pads and/or shoes are worn and need replacing.
  
• Your vehicle stops but then pedal slowly goes to floor – it could be that the brake shoes were incorrectly fitted or are of poor quality or the wrong type, the brakes may be overheating due to worn parts or even the wrong wheels, your brake fluid could have become contaminated or the wrong fluid has been put in, or it could be the hydraulic system has developed a leak. Your vehicle’s handbrake is part of its braking system and your vehicle should not move when pushed if it is on – the police are likely to check this if they pull you over. If your handbrake won’t release, smells of burning or your rear wheels are hot and feel like they are dragging – it could be that the cables need lubricating or replacing but it could also be a broken mechanism in the rear brakes so get it checked out. 
  

Signs that brakes need to be checked:

• your brake pedal becomes soft and mushy or very hard and resistant.
  
• your brake pedal rests too low or too high.
  
• you get a constant scraping or grinding sound when you brake.
  

BRAKES

Not only are these parts essential to the safety of your driving, if they start to fail they can impair the car’s performance and may lead to you failing your MOT.

Brakes are one of the most important parts on your vehicle. Every day you rely on your brakes dozens of times to stop a vehicle that weighs tons. Every time you press the brake pedal you are relying on a complex system to send your action from the pedal to the brakes on each wheel. Maintaining the brakes requires a good knowledge of the entire braking system on your vehicle.

We are equipped to check brake fluid, discs, pads, shoes, cylinders, pipes, calipers and ABS control valves.

A critical component of the braking system, which can sometimes be overlooked, is the Brake Fluid. It will deteriorate and is not as obvious as worn Pads or Discs.

Brake fluid can absorb moisture from the air. Once the water content of the fluid is too high the fluid will start to degrade which will affect the braking efficiency of the vehicle.

Here at New Lane Motors we use the latest digital Brake Fluid testers to determine the quality of the fluid.

Tel: 01623 554600

New Lane Motors, New Lane, Stanton Hill. SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD. NG17 3GD, United Kingdom