It is important to go to regularly scheduled maintenance appointments for you vehicle. While we check the brakes, we will also look at the rotors. Your brakes themselves might be fine, but you may notice something like a vibrating brake pedal when you do apply the brakes. This is usually a sign that your rotors might be going bad.
Your brake system should be inspected at regular intervals to avoid a major and costly repair in the future. The brake pads will wear out and you will hear a screeching noise from the brakes. When this happens, it means the pads have worn down so much that the metal holding the pad in place is not rubbing against the rotor. This causes the rotor to have lines worn into it, and if ignored, will end up ruining the rotors.
Brake rotors are an important component in the braking system of your vehicle. They are what the brake pads clamp down on in order to stop the wheels from spinning. Some brake rotors are made with holes drilled through them. These holes allow heat and liquids to drain away. The surface of some types of brake rotors are grooved which can also help dissipate the heat. The brake rotors can become scratched and damaged if you have a vehicle with worn out brake pads. Continuing to drive with the worn out brake pads will only make things worse, and will damage more parts to your brake system and can result in a larger repair bill.
There are numerous ways that brake rotors can be damaged or wear out. A common way they can where out is by having excessive rust in the rotors. A small amount of rust is normal, but it is sometimes necessary to replace the rotor because it has an extreme amount of rust.
Another common problem is the rotor warping. When the rotor becomes warped, excessive heat can cause an uneven expansion of the braking surface. You can normally tell when this happens because you will experience vibrations in the steering wheel when you brake. There are even times where the brake pedal will vibrate when you apply the brakes.
If you do a lot of in-city driving with stop and go traffic, you may need to have your rotors replaced sooner than if you drove at a constant speed. By driving in stop and go traffic, you are heating up the rotors more often. This also wears down both the brake pads and rotors quicker than if you were driving at one speed. When the rotor is worn too thin, it can no longer dissipate the heat fast enough and this can result in a brake failure. By bringing your vehicle in regularly, we can determine if and when you would need new brake pads or rotors.
