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What Are The Symptoms of Bad Brake Calipers?

Mechanic performing a repair on vehicle's brakes

For the brake system to work efficiently, various parts must function optimally to achieve safe braking. However, some drivers often do not believe that braking can go wrong if one part fails. While most people often change their brake pads, they forget to check the brake calipers. Fortunately, brake calipers should last forever - but they may become damaged over time, and this may compromise your safety. Brake calipers can hide their issues to worsen the latter, forcing you to waste money on unnecessary repairs. Lucky you can monitor the following common signs to know when to replace your brake calipers. Here we go!

Watch Out For Unusual Noises, Smells, or Pulling

Your vehicle may pull to one side while braking as a sign of bad brake calipers. The latter happens because the malfunctioning causes unbalanced braking. Your car may jerk to one side when slowing down or stop completely if only one caliper works and the other does not. While many drivers ignore scrapping sounds, grinding, and squealing, thinking it is a brake pad issue, you must check whether the pads have worn thin or the caliper is causing premature failure. If you still ignore this, you may notice a smell of a burning chemical near the affected wheel. Such smell originates from a heating brake system mainly due to pressure on the brake pad by a stuck caliper.

Test Open-Wheel Resistance

You can quickly test open-wheel resistance to ascertain if the calipers relax properly for optimal braking performance. The best time to perform the test is when you are changing your brake pads. For a 2WD car, you should wait once it is jerked to test if both wheels turn with the same resistance. Check brake calipers to see if any wheel exhibits different resistance.

Inspect Caliper Guide Pins For Malfunctions

It is quite difficult to notice a damaged caliper with prior knowledge. You can begin by checking the guide pin to ascertain if they glide in and out effortlessly. Failed pins will remain attached and hard to remove because of rust, or grease in them is already backed solid.

Overall: Find Reliable Brake Repair For Your Vehicle Today

Now that you know when your brake calipers malfunction, you can plan for further inspection. If you need brake caliper repair, give our auto repair shop a call today!

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