Signs Your Subaru Needs Brake Service

When driving, it’s vital to know your brakes will work when you need them. Like all systems, the brakes require regular services and maintenance to perform efficiently. As your Subaru dealer, we’d like to tell you more about some signs you need to visit us for a brake service.

Signs Your Subaru Needs Brake Service

Stuck Brake Caliper

A set of brake calipers is positioned above each wheel rotor. When you hit the brakes, highly pressurized brake fluid pushes the pins out of the calipers, causing them to clamp against both sides of each rotor. The calipers contain brake pads that generate friction against the rotors, which slows and stops your Subaru.

The caliper’s position makes them potentially vulnerable to rust due to water, mud, or snow build-up. A caliper that starts rising isn’t immediately noticeable, but eventually, the rust will prevent the caliper from engaging when it should. If this happens, your Subaru turns to one side before it stops due to the failed caliper. We’ll repair or replace the caliper to fix this issue.

Screeching Noises

High-pitched screeching when you brake is unnerving, but fortunately, it’s not as serious as it sounds. As we saw above, brake pads generate friction against the rotors. They have a rough material covering that reacts with the smooth rotors to create the necessary friction. The material covering is 1/2″ thick when a pad is new, but it slowly wears down and will eventually need replacement.

Once the material thickness drops to 1/4″, a metal spike buried inside the material becomes visible. The spike scratches against the rotor when you brake, producing a screeching noise as a warning the pad needs replacement. Our technicians will check your pads and replace any worn ones, and the screeching noises will cease.

Soft Brake Pedal

When you push on the brake pedal, you’ll feel resistance increase as you exert more pressure on the pedal. It’s caused by the pressurized brake fluid. If you push down on the pedal and feel little resistance, you have a brake problem, and we advise contacting us ASAP. The lack of resistance means your brakes will work less effectively or even fail to work when you need them.

An air bubble in the system or a brake fluid leak will drop the system pressure and cause this issue. We’ll need to investigate to determine the exact cause of the problem. Air can be safely removed by bleeding your brakes, and we’ll trace a fluid leak and seal it if that’s the issue. We’ll also check the brake fluid and top it up if necessary.

Driving with bad brakes is one of the main causes of accidents. Contact our service department today at Jim Keras Subaru Hacks Cross in Memphis, TN.

Tags: Jim Keras Subaru Service, Memphis TN Subaru Service Center, Subaru Brake Service, Subaru Maintenance, Subaru Maintenance Tips.
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