How to Test your Brakes?

A brake test requires you to completely stop your car safely if a driver in front of you brakes suddenly. You shouldn’t be hitting them, because technically it would be your fault if you hit someone from the back. Testing your brakes isn’t very complex. Even if you have no experience in repairing or maintain cars. You can easily do a brake test and inspect your vehicles’ brakes.

If you don’t know how to test and maintain your car’s brakes. This guide will help you check your brakes and test them to keep safe on the road. But before we learn a brake test, let’s first learn how to perform brake checks.

Brake Fluid

This is the most important thing to check before testing the brakes. The brake fluid or brake oil is the working fluid that moves between braking parts when you press the brake. To check the brake fluid. Align your car on a leveled surface. Open the bonnet and check for a small white-colored bottle. It will be labeled with ‘brake fluid’. The level of the fluid should be between minimum and maximum. If it is below that, you fill the brake fluid immediately.

It is also important to ensure here that you use a recommended brake fluid from a sealed container. This should be free from impurities and you should read the owner’s manual for instructions related to refilling the brake fluid.

Brake Fluid Condition

The condition of the brake fluid is also important for effective braking. Over time, the brake fluid absorbs moisture and gets heated with working. It sometimes gets oxidized as well. You should check the brake fluid bottle to see the color of the fluid. If the fluid is golden in color, it is perfect. But if it turns black. It is time to replace the fluid.

Brake Light (In Dashboard)

You should never ignore your dashboard lights. If the brake light goes on there may be several reasons for it. Hence you should start looking for the fault. There can be several reasons for the light on. It might be because of low brake fluid, unbalanced brake fluid flow, low friction in the brake pads, and even activation of parking brakes. If you cannot find the fault, try visiting a car mechanic who can help you out.

Performing the Brake Test

Now that you know some maintenance tips for the brake. It is time to learn about the braking test. There are quite a few ways for testing a brake. One of them is to press the pedal. If the pedal goes firm progressively. Your brakes are perfect. However, if the pedal feels lighter and you don’t feel any drag in it. The brakes are having some issues which you need to address.

Another test is when you are driving your car and you press the brake. Your vehicle should not move right or left. It should remain start and come to a halt. But if the vehicle gets pulled to one side, chances are that the brake pads might be at fault.

If you find that your car brakes aren’t working well. Find brake repair shops near me and get them repaired instantly to keep safe on the road.