What a brake job covers
Brakes wear a little every time you stop, so they give warnings long before they fail. A light squeal is usually the wear indicator, a small metal tab made to touch the rotor when the pad is nearly done. Grinding means the pad material is gone and metal is cutting into the rotor.
A brake job here covers the whole corner: pads, rotors, the caliper and its slide pins, the hoses and the fluid. Winter road salt in Toronto seizes slide pins and rusts rotor edges, and a caliper that cannot slide wears one pad out long before the other.
Signs your brakes need attention
- Squealing or squeaking when you brake
- Grinding or a metal-on-metal sound
- Pulsing in the pedal or a shake in the steering wheel
- Soft, spongy or sinking pedal
- The car pulls to one side under braking
- Brake or ABS warning light on
How we do a brake job
- 01
Wheels off inspection
Pad thickness, rotor condition and thickness, caliper movement, hoses and fluid, front and rear.
- 02
You see the measurements
What is worn, what still has life and what we would do. Quote first.
- 03
Pads and rotors fitted properly
Hubs cleaned, slide pins cleaned and lubricated, hardware replaced where it is supplied with the pads.
- 04
Road test
We drive it to bed the pads in and check the pedal before it goes back to you.
From a customer
Highly recommend! Najib has been very helpful and honest. I had some work done from another mechanic and he pointed out the issues with that and the other things that I needed to fix.
Brake questions we get asked
How long do brake pads last?
It depends far more on how and where you drive than on the calendar. Stop and go city driving wears pads much faster than highway driving. The honest way to know is to measure them, which takes a few minutes with the wheels off.
Do I need new rotors every time I replace pads?
Not always. A rotor that is still above its minimum thickness, runs true and has a clean surface can stay. Many modern rotors are made thin to save weight and are close to the limit by the time the first set of pads is done, so they often get replaced together.
What is a brake fluid flush and do I need one?
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air over time, which lowers its boiling point and rusts the system from the inside. Many manufacturers call for new fluid about every two to three years. Your maintenance schedule has the interval for your car.
My European car says the brake pads need service. What is that?
Most BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen models have a wear sensor in the pad. When the pad wears down to it, the sensor trips the message. The sensor is replaced with the pads and the service reminder is reset with a scan tool.
Why does my steering wheel shake when I brake on the highway?
Usually uneven pad material on the rotor or a rotor that no longer runs true. It shows up most at highway speed. Worn suspension parts can make it worse, so we check those too.
Where to find us
GTS Auto Repair is at 133 Manville Rd, Unit 32, Scarborough, ON M1L 4J7. We look after drivers from Scarborough and east Toronto.
