Car Brake Pads, Discs, Calipers etc.

You never know what’s around the corner and when you might need to stop quickly and safely. In urgent situations, brakes can halt a vehicle abruptly, avoiding collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The importance of an effective braking system cannot, therefore, be underestimated.

For this reason, it’s essential to have your braking system checked regularly by professionals. If you are unsure about the condition of your brakes, at Runnymede Motor Company our friendly, expert technicians will check your braking system to identify any issues and help you stay safe on the road.

We offer two kinds of brake inspections: a Free Visual Inspection (which takes around 30 minutes to complete) and a Full Brake Inspection that takes approximately one hour.

Our brake specialists are fully trained to maintain your brakes in an expert and cost-effective manner. What’s more, all of our brake parts come with a 12-month guarantee (or 12,000 miles – whichever arrives first).

Why choose us?

• We are very transparent and give a personalised service to you.
• Our technicians are highly trained and give you the best possible and professional advice.
• We will never do any work prior to consulting/showing you that work or repair on your vehicle is necessary and agreeing to the cost with you!
• We never use cheap parts, our parts are OE quality (original equipment) – the same as the main dealer’s suppliers.
• We are highly competitive and we can beat any quote of other local garages based on same quality parts used.

How can I tell my brake pads need replacing?

Never ignore brake pads that need replacing. Some newer models of cars are fitted with wear sensors to detect when the front or rear brake pads are getting worn down, however, there are plenty of other signs to look out for too.

Warning signs to check your brakes

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We offer two kinds of brake inspections: a Free Visual Inspection (which takes around 30 minutes to complete) and a Full Brake Inspection that takes approximately one hour.

You never know what’s around the corner and when you might need to stop quickly and safely.

Your safety should never be compromised, so it’s essential that the brakes on your vehicle are checked regularly to ensure they are in optimum condition at all times.

Full Brake Inspection

Our Full Brake Inspection is an examination of your vehicles entire braking system which includes:

• Brake discs, pads and shoes
• Calipers/wheel cylinders
• Brake pipes (checks for leaks or corrosion)
• Brake lights
• Handbrake cable and linkages
• Brake drums and fluid

We automatically deduct the initial charge for the Brake Inspection should you wish to go ahead with any of the works recommended.

Signs of brake issues – What you should look out for

It’s not always obvious that your brakes need replacing but there are a few warning signs to look out for.

If you hear any unusual noise or juddering when braking, or you find your vehicle pulling to one side you may need to have your vehicle braking system inspected. Simple wear and tear can also mean that you experience a reduction in brake performance.

We offer a full brake inspection from a little as £29.99. HEMAN TO CONFIRM Our technicians will assess the condition of your brakes and inform you if anything should need replacing. If replacement parts are needed, we can source matching quality replacement parts immediately.

Our full brake inspection examines the condition of all of your brake components to keep you safe – our first priority – and to help prevent more costly repair bills in the future.

Brake Fluid Change

• Brake fluid absorbs water from the atmosphere and should be replaced every two years, regardless of mileage, as it affects brake efficiency.
• Most manufacturers recommend that you change your brake fluid every 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever is sooner.
• If your brakes get hot they can heat up the brake fluid and in extreme cases, can cause any water in the fluid to boil and vaporise.
• Though you can’t compress a liquid, you can compress a vapour and if this occurs, the brake feel will become ‘spongy’ and full braking performance will be lost.

How Much Does A Brake Fluid Change Cost?

Usually, a change of brake fluid costs from £39.99 to £55.99 HEMAN TO CONFIRM. Our technicians will refill your brake fluid level to the correct specifications. Our brake fluid change also includes a free brake inspection to ensure the health of your vehicles braking system.

Wear, corrosion, distortion and other common causes of failure

When you hit the brakes, the load is transferred to the front wheels and the front brakes do most of the work to stop the vehicle. Therefore, it’s normal to have to replace front brake discs and pads during your cars life because of wear – but rear pads and discs are more likely to fail because of corrosion.

Discs or drums?

Braking creates a lot of heat which has to be dispelled fast. The more open design of disc brakes makes them much less susceptible to overheating.

It’s normal to see discs at the front – providing most of the braking effort – and cheaper drum brakes on the rear to provide the parking brake function. Larger or more powerful cars tend to have disc brakes on all four corners.

Parking brake

Some cars with ‘discs all-round’ will have been fitted with a small drum brake in the centre of the rear hubs for the parking brake, though most now work by applying pads directly to the main discs.

Electrically operated parking brakes may take a while to get used to. The handbook will show a special release procedure to use if the car battery is flat.

Corrosion

• Cast iron is an ideal material for brake components, but it rusts easily.
• On the front, surface rust is quickly cleaned off by the action of the pads on the discs, but this may not be the case on the rear, especially on a small, light vehicle or one used infrequently and for local trips.
• Corrosion isn’t normally a problem with rear drum brakes.
• Initial, light corrosion can be cleaned off under reasonably heavy braking, but if left, this light corrosion gets worse and can lead to surface pitting.
• Pitting used to be a reason for MOT test failure, but now discs should only fail the test if they’ve become ‘seriously weakened’.
• Surface corrosion or pitting of discs isn’t a ‘fitness for purpose’ or warranty repair issue, as it mainly depends on how the vehicle is used and stored.

Wear

• Front discs wear and eventually become very thin.
• Vehicle manufacturers specify a minimum thickness, and when they reach this point the discs must be replaced (always in pairs).
• Pads must be renewed at the same time.

Distortion

• Uneven heating and cooling can change the shape of the disc.
• Distortion can be felt like a juddering back through the pedal.
• Thinner/worn discs are more likely to warp.
• Try to avoid holding the car back with the brakes on long downhill stretches as this puts a lot of heat into the discs. Use a lower gear and engine braking instead.

Run-out

If the hub isn’t cleaned properly before a brake disc is fitted, you can end up with a disc not fitted flat against the hub. This results in ‘run-out’ – as the wheel goes round, the edge of the disc moves in and out slightly, producing similar symptoms to brake distortion.

Pad wear

• There’s huge variation and no hard-and-fast rules.
• Drivers can get average 25,000 to 50,000 miles from a set of pads.
• The type of vehicle, type of use and your driving style all have an effect.
• Heavy braking from high speed causes most wear, with motorway slip roads being one of the main culprits.
• Brake discs seem to need changing more often, too.

Squeal

• Normally caused by a build-up of brake dust but not as common as it used to be, thanks to improved design.
• Anti-squeal shims fitted behind the pads can wear.
• Squeal can be reduced by applying a special grease (compatible with the rubber dust seals used in the calliper) to the back of the pads.

Scoring

• If your brake pads aren’t renewed in time then the metal backing material of the pad will run on the disc, causing scoring and seriously affecting brake performance.
• The first clue is often a distressing metallic noise when you hit the brake pedal.
• This is most likely to be simply because of a lack of care/servicing but can be caused by a sticking piston in a caliper – the part which pushes the pad against the disc.
• Discs are likely to need replacing too, particularly if early symptoms are ignored.

Type of brake pads

The type of pads you have in your vehicle can affect how long your brake pads will last:

• Organic car brake pads are generally the cheapest and won’t last too long.
• Low metallic brake pads can be noisy but have a slightly longer life expectancy than organic.
• Semi-metallic brake pads have a long expectancy.
• Ceramic brake pads last longer than other materials and are more resistant to wear. The drawback is that these are also more expensive than others.

Usually, front brake pads will wear out faster than those at the rear because the front handles more of the braking load. So it’s normal to have to replace front brake discs and pads during your car’s life because of wear – but rear pads and discs are more likely to fail because of corrosion.