Understanding “how often do you need new brakes?” is very important information to prevent safety issues. According to experts, you need new brakes once every 50,000 miles. Depending on many factors, some vehicles might need the new brakes before the 25,000 miles where do not need their placement until they hit the 75,000 miles.
The braking system is one of the most vital systems in your vehicle that impacts your safety. Your vehicle’s braking system must be well-maintained to prevent getting involved in major safety issues that could cost you your vehicle, if not your life.
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The braking system consists of various components, including the brake pads, the brake caliper, the brake rotor, and others. Any component could go bad, impacting the overall performance of the braking system. Thus, as a driver, you must understand when it's the right time to change the brakes and which component must be replaced more often.
This article provides you with a rough estimate about at what mileage you're expected to get new brakes, and it will highlight some of the common factors that impact the status of your brakes. Also, the article lists some of the common symptoms indicating that the brakes are going bad even if your vehicle didn't hit the mileage threshold.
How often do you need new brakes?
Although it all depends on many factors, most experts recommend changing your vehicle's brakes once every 50,000 miles. Some vehicles might need their placement even before the 25,000 miles, while other better vehicles might not need it until you hit the 75,000 miles.
Keep in mind that this race is just a rough estimate, and it does not mean that you rely on it because you need to keep an eye for plenty of factors that could indicate pretty much brake damages.
What are the common factors impacting your vehicle's brakes?
Although the mentioned mileage ranges might provide you with some idea about when to change your vehicle's brakes, it is not telling the whole story because your vehicle's brakes status depends on many factors.
Here are some of the common factors that could negatively impact your vehicles brake status and shorten its lifetime:
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Your driving habits
Some drivers tend to hit the brakes harder than others. Therefore, your brakes are susceptible to more damages the more you use them harshly. Therefore, you must understand how to drive the vehicle properly without damaging the brakes.
Things get more sensitive when you drive on city roads, and many stop-and-go situations could add a lot of pressure on your braking system. Although it's recommended that you never abruptly hit the brake system, you must use the brakes whenever needed, especially if there are some sudden situations where the drivers in front of you stopped without any warning sign.
The advice here is to illuminate treating the brake system harshly and practice using the smoothest way of engaging the brakes to prevent premature damage.
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Your driving environment
As we indicated before, some environments require hitting the brakes much more than others. For example, if you continuously drive on the highways, you won't have as many problems as someone else driving on city roads where the stop and goal situations are very common.
Weather is a big component as well in terms of impacting the life of your braking system. For example, rely on the brakes a lot in the winter season, especially if you're not practicing how to engage the brakes properly. As a result, you might add a layer of stress on the brake system, causing it to get damaged prematurely.
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The quality of the brake pads
Not all brake pads are the same, even for the same vehicle's type and brand. Different materials make up the brake pads harnesses, which means that the better the material, the longer your braking system lifetime.
This, then you replace your next brake pads, consider shopping around and learning about the types of had available in the market so you can go with the one that works best for you. But you recommended choosing one that serves your needs and goals.
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The braking system material
Aside from the hardness of the brake pads, the material making up the other components is also important. Some brake pads and rotors might last longer than others. For example, some carbon-ceramic brakes are considered the most efficient and the most durable types of brake pads that you can choose.
Therefore, when shopping for your next brakes and brake rotors, consider taking a closer look at the material and never underestimate the material making up these supporting components other than the brake pads.
How can you tell when you need no brakes?
Since they mentioned factors could impact your vehicle's braking system in many ways, it can be hard to tell how often you need new brakes. The good news is that automotive experts came up with a list of potential symptoms of brake damages where if you notice any of them, you must consult your mechanic because you most likely need new brakes.
Let's take a closer look at some of these symptoms:
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Issues with the brake pad thickness
The brake pads must have a certain thickness to perform properly. The more you use the pads, the more you use the brake pads to wear out, resulting in a reduction in thickness. Once your brake pads thickness is below a certain threshold, you must get new brakes immediately.
Have your mechanic take a closer look at your brake pad thickness and let you know with her you're getting close to the due date for replacing the brakes or not. You might even want to check your vehicle's owner’s manual because it will have some information about the typical brake pad thickness and help you understand and get an idea about when you need to replace them.
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Weird noises coming from the brake system
As a rule of thumb, we always say that when you hear any weird noises coming from your vehicle, you must take these noises seriously. Sometimes the noises might be linked to a minor issue, but they are most likely related to a major big problem that could cost you the vehicle.
Like the other systems, the braking system will make weird noises as it has internal damages. Typically, a bad brake pad or braking system might make some squealing or scraping noise, indicating that the internal components are grinding against each other.
When that happens, you must have the mechanic inspect the braking system, and you will most likely need to install new brakes.
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Troubles with engaging the brakes
Finally, sometimes you'll find it a little hard to engage the brakes, and it might take you more pressure until you get the brake system to work. Again, that is a significant and critical sign indicating that your vehicle needs new brakes or pads.
Obviously, the earlier you detect the problem, the easier it is for your mechanic to resolve the issue without replacing major components. Thus, to save yourself a lot of headache and money, immediately consult your mechanic when you notice any of the mentioned symptoms of bad brakes.
Is it bad to drive when brakes are grinding?
Obviously, when the brakes are grinding against each other, it is never good to continue driving the vehicle. This is because the grinding noise indicated a sign of internal damages, which is most likely the moving components are wearing out against each other.
Thus, the longer you wait on the problem, the more severe it is and the higher the chance of getting involved in major car accidents.
Therefore, our expert team always recommends never to ignore the brake grinding noises to save your life and save the lives of other people around you on the road.
What happens if I change the brake pads but not the rotors?
Typically, when you go for a brake replacement job, the mechanic should have a closer look at the different braking system components. Thus, he will flag when the rotors are not in good shape.
However, if you decided to only change the brake pads without replacing the bad rotors, the problem will not be resolved, and you will deal with situations where you can't stop your vehicle. Unfortunately, placing the best braking pads on a faulty rotor does not allow for the right contact, and the rotor will serve as a hole puncher that could damage then no pads.
Thus, if you don't want to lose the money and effort you put in replacing the brake pads, you must change the rotors to have a properly working braking system.
Can I replace rotors and not pads?
Similarly, if you plan to replace the rotors but not the pads, you're dealing with almost the same situation we mentioned in the previous section.
You're going to install the best rotors bought the pads are not in good shape. Thus, no matter how good the rotors are, the pads will not contact the rotors properly, and they won't have the right stopping capabilities in your vehicle.
Thus, looking for ways to save on the brake job should not eliminate some of the necessary steps like ignoring replacing important parts. Usually, we recommend that you perform both the rotors and brake pads replacement at the same time unless one of these components is in good condition and doesn't need replacement.
Are new brakes supposed to make noise?
Probably yes. Since most brakes are covered with certain protective material, it's not rare to deal with strange noises immediately after installing these no brakes. However, these noises should not be a big deal unless they continue, or they got louder hearing her rough. Sometimes the noise might be linked to something else or improper brakes installation.
Thus, if you don't understand the noise is getting louder or changing over time to the worse, you must consult the mechanic or location where you got the job done and get an idea about what's going on.
If the location where you got the job done did not help you, try to get a second opinion from a different repair shop or the dealership that produced the same vehicle. Sometimes the issue might be linked to the way the vehicle was manufactured.
Conclusion
The braking system is crucial, and it must be well maintained to prevent safety problems. Since the braking system is not designed to last forever, you must monitor when to replace the different braking system components.
Most experts recommend the 50,000 miles as the threshold where you will need new brakes. However, depending on the different factors that impact your brake's lifetime, you might need to replace the brakes once every 25,000 miles and sometimes once every 75,000 miles.
Of course, the braking system is not the only component in your vehicle. If you notice some other major damages in the vehicle, it might not be worth replacing your braking system because it will be just a waste of money. Thus, consider evaluating the vehicle's value and check whether it's the right time to sell the vehicle and use its money towards a better car.
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