This article comes from Canada’s Auto Service World: The tragic limo crash in upstate New York that caused 20 fatalities last year stands as one of the most compelling case studies about brake safety on public roads. The details of the crash are painful to read, but it culminates in the horror of an extraordinarily […]
Ashtabula County in Ohio is on the edge of Lake Erie. Some winter will deliver up to 70 inches of snow that is removed by more than 30 trucks that will spread more than 25 tons of rock salt. Meandering through the county is the Grand River that is crossed by several bridges. The old […]
Question: Why are some brake caliper pistons plastic (phenolic resin) and some are steel? Answer: The plastic material is actually phenolic resin. This high strength man-made material has several advantages over steel brake caliper pistons. The first advantage is corrosion resistance. The material will not react with water and salt and rust. But, if the […]
Why is everyone chasing the cheapest brake service or parts? It often seems that new-car dealers, chains and independent shops are locked in a race to the bottom when it comes to the common pad replacement. Some marketing pros see brake jobs as cheap appetizers or happy hour drink specials that get people in the […]
Electronic brake pad wear sensors can be found on a variety of vehicles, including domestics like Cadillac and Chevy. Also, brake pad wear sensors can be found on BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi vehicles. These give a more accurate reading on brake pad depth compared to squealer metal tabs that make noise that most drivers manage to […]
This picture comes from Reddit’s Just Rolled Into The Shop and shows what can happen to an economy brake pad that has minimal corrosion protection. The corrosion has worked its way between the backing plate and friction material. This has caused the friction material to delaminate from backing plate. At least 25 percent of […]
Ford’s venerable F-Series truck has been a mainstay for the company since 1948. American’s love affair with the F-Series has continued to grow over the decades as Ford provides a dependable vehicle that can be used for all occasions today. In 1975, the F-150 was introduced as a stopgap between the F-100 and the F-250 […]
Toyota’s Synergy Drive has been used in the Prius, Camry and offered on almost all Lexus models since 2006. Below are some tips when performing a brake job on these Toyota/Lexus hybrids. Replacement Pads Toyota hybrids often get to 70,000 or 100,000 miles with the original set of pads because regenerative braking creates a majority […]
In a recent survey by JD Power, 35% of new car owners equipped with advanced safety systems reported that the automatic braking system prevented a collision within the first 90 days of ownership. This is an interesting statistic because there is no way to track accidents that never happened. But if 35% of drivers say […]