Keep it Cool Under the Hood! Engine Coolant (or Antifreeze) and Why it's Important.

Keep it Cool Under the Hood! Engine Coolant (or Antifreeze) and Why it’s Important.

Why engine coolant is important in preventing your car from overheating

Ever seen a car on the side of the road with smoke coming out the bonnet? It makes you thankful that its not your car. To make sure that this doesn’t happen to you we are highlighting the importance of taking good car of your engines cooling system. The two most common reasons for engine overheating are low water and coolant levels or a leak in the cooling system. So, it is critical to regularly check your engine coolant level.

Many people only have water in their cooling system and that’s why their engines overheat. Engine coolant (or antifreeze) is a liquid that is added to the water in your engine cooling system. Coolant and antifreeze play an important role by change the boiling and freezing temperatures of your cooling system, ensuring that your car doesn’t overheat in extreme conditions. There are different types of coolant, each one is specifically formulated to keep your engine running in extreme weather conditions. It is also a corrosion inhibitor, protecting the radiator and engine from rusting.

We are more concerned about overheating than freezing in South Africa. Temperatures can be extreme, and we have a hilly terrain so make sure that your car has coolant in it! The coolant reservoir is under your bonnet and should be easy to find. You could have a coolant leak if it’s low or empty and should have it checked out by a mechanic.

Avoid overheating by regularly checking your coolant level, and make sure that you have fresh coolant and not just water.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

10 Things To Check Before Your Festive Season Road Trip

10 Things To Check Before Your Festive Season Road Trip

Welcome to Michanic’s CAR CARE SAFETY series! We are all planning our holiday road trip. So, we are sharing 10 quick DIY checks to help keep you and your family safe while on the road this festive season.

First lets pop the hood to make sure that everything engine related checks out:

1. Check Fluid Levels

This is a concern as most motorists don’t check these as often as should be done. You’ll need to check your water, oil and coolant levels. Last but not least, check the brake fluid.

Should your fluid levels be low, check for any leaks? Replenish to ensure that your car is safe to drive.

It’s also advisable to check for any leaks from various components and hoses underneath your car. If you see any oil, coolant spots or shiny texture liquids on the ground, have one of our mechanics come to you to do a diagnostic test and attend.

2. Check Belts and Hoses

You don’t want to get stuck from broken or damaged hoses, as this can cause engine overheating, loss of power steering and loss of electrical charging. This could lead to hours, even days out of your trip expensive repairs that would ruin your holiday!

Road trips may take you through unfamiliar regions of the country, with different weather and night driving conditions. So next to check are:

3. Internal and External mirrors

We all know how hectic the traffic gets during this time to year. So you must be able to clearly see your surroundings! Make sure that your rear-view mirror, external mirrors and blind-spot mirrors are positioned correctly for the driver and are not obstructed.

4. Check Lights

Check that all your lights are working correctly! This is a simple but very important test!

Headlights (including bright beam bulbs); Fog lights; Indicators and Brake lights.

5. Wiper Inspection

When using your wipers in misty or rainy conditions, they should not leave streaks on your windshield that will impair your vision of the road. Use a windscreen washer and check if your wipers are functioning properly.

If not, replace it before setting off on your trip! Click here to check out our DIY article on how to change your Windscreen Blades! (insert hyperlink)

6. Steering

Do this check while driving. Steering feeling wobbly or has vibrations? This could be a number of things, from worn tyres or brake, tyre alignment being out, worn brakes or issues in the steering rack.

You can get this checked by one of our trusted mechanics before you set off.

7. Wheel Check

Your tyres are extremely important as this is what connects the rest of the car to the road. So to ensure safe driving, your tyres need to:

  • Be inflated to the right pressure (specific to your vehicle, tyre size and weight of the car after being loaded)
  • Do NOT over inflate or under inflate to avoid side and edge wear
  • Tyre Thread depth – check that it is a minimum of 5mm thick

NB: Make sure you have a spare wheel! Don’t forget to check the condition of it and make sure it’s inflated to correct pressure.

8. Battery Inspection

Make sure your battery connectors are tightly fastened. Also, check that the battery voltage is still at an optimal level.

Should you see any warning signs such as dimming of lights while idling or clicking when starting ignition, it may be time to get the battery changed.

9. Brakes

To check brake pad wear without removing the tire, look at your brake pads through the spaces between the wheel’s spokes.

The outside pad will be pressed against a metal disc. Make sure you have at least 50 mm left of the pad.

If you see less than 50 mm of the pad, you should have your brake pads inspected or replaced.

For further insight, click here to read our article on how to identify some signs to look for to know when to replace brake pads.

10. You!

As the driver, you are carrying precious cargo! So be responsible for the safe handling of the vehicle!

  • Get enough rest and Take breaks every 2 hrs.
  • Don’t drink or text and drive!
  • Don’t speed!

We hope this series helps keep you safe on the roads this holiday season! If you need assistance, or would like peace of mind for your upcoming road trip just click here for our special on Safety Inspection (*valid until 31st December 2019) and one of our trusted mechanics will come to you.

Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

Is my Fan Belt the problem? Symptoms of Bad or Failing Fan Belt

As part of our CAR CARE SAFETY series, we will be sharing some quick Information and DIY articles to help you get on the road quickly and keep you and your family safe while you are on holiday!

You are driving along and suddenly you hear a squealing noise from the from of the vehicle! Or the power steering and AC stops working or the engine overheats! What could it be??

All the above issues could be a result of fan belt failure. The fan belt can also be referred to as a serpentine belt, drive belt or v-belt.

It is critical to engine operating as it provides power to the drive accessories, such as the alternator, power steering, cooling system water pump and air conditioning.

The fan belt should be replaced every 80 000 km (or as specified in your Owners Manual). Should you hear or see any of the issues below, its advisable to immediately stop your car for your safety and not damage your engine any further.

  • It is a good idea to visually inspect your fan belt from time to time, to check for physical damage such as cracks and wear from heat and friction it’s subjected to on a daily basis. Check for cracks, chunks missing, abrasions, rib separation, uneven rib wear, and damaged ribs.
  • Oil on the belt will also lead to cracking and wear of the belt. If you notice any of these, it is time to  get a  replace qualified mechanic to replace the belt.
  • If you hear squealing noise from the front of the vehicle, it could be due to slippage or misalignment of the fan belt. To alleviate this issues a qualified mechanic will need to diagnose and replace the belt.
  •  The belt tensioner keeps the proper spinning of the belts’ in the car’s engine.  If you notice rust forming or bleeding between the belt tensioner are and base, it is a sign that the tensioner needs to be immediately replaced. This often arises from the excess wear in the internal components of the tensioner, which will affect the performance of the drive accessories!
  • Since the fan belt provides power to the drive accessories, its failure can cause, most critically, the alternator and power steering to stop functioning. This is dangerous as the car will loose electrical power and correct steering control. Find safe place to stop the car as soon as possible. The air conditioning and water pump can also fail, which will result in the engine not being cooled correctly.

We hope this series keeps you safe this holiday season! If you need assistance just click here and a mechanic will come to you.

THE UBER/BOLT (Taxify) DRIVER'S CAR MAINTENANCE GUIDE

THE UBER/BOLT (Taxify) DRIVER’S CAR MAINTENANCE GUIDE

If you drive a Uber/Bolt (Taxify), you rack up a lot of kilometers, which means extra wear and tear. A car in the garage is not making you any money, so keeping up with the maintenance is extremely important. If you’re doing Uber or BOLT (Taxify), driver/owner, here are tips on how to stay on the road and earn the most cash.

First off, if you drive your own vehicle for a living, you likely want to follow the severe service car maintenance schedule. You might be thinking, “Hey, I’m only taking two people to the airport. I never tow, so it’s not severe service.” Actually, it is. The average driver in the South Africa racks up around 30 000 kilometers per year, but driving full time for a UBER/BOLT (Taxify) service can bring that annual total to 90 000 kilometers. A lot of those kilometers are spent carrying passengers through stop-and-go traffic in the summer heat nor winter colds. That’s work more in line with a taxi or police car. Let’s use some tricks of the trade from those services.

ENGINE PROTECTION

Oil: While you probably know how often to change your oil in a regular daily driver, an UBER/BOLT (Taxify) car needs a more frequent oil change schedule. You’re looking at lots of idling, stop and go, long periods with the engine on, and a lot more kilometers in general, so you want to use a high-quality oil. Depending on the kilometers you cover, you may be looking at changing the oil as often as every two weeks. While that may seem excessive, it is excellent preventative maintenance.

Filters Change out the oil filter with your oil change, and take a look at the engine air filter, too. These two are key to preventing engine damage. Also change your cabin air filter more often. The usual schedule is once a year, but aim for twice a year to keep your vehicle smelling fresh.

SUSPENSION & BRAKES, TIRES

Brakes Most drivers only change their brake pads every two to four years. With full-time UBER/BOLT (Taxify) work, however, you’re probably looking at every six months and sometimes every three months. Get the highest-rated pads you can afford, and save money by swapping them out and replacing the brakes yourself.

Suspension Shocks and struts are wear items that need replacing, usually only around three times in the average lifespan of a car. If you are a full-time driver, you are looking at annual replacement. No skipping out on this one, as shocks and struts are critical components of the suspension that determine ride quality. No one wants to ride in a vehicle with an overly harsh or bouncing suspension, so get it replaced on time. In addition to shocks and struts, you will probably have to replace the vehicle’s springs around 170 000 kilometers. In South Africa, there are a lot of potholes, this means that, you’ll probably need to replace the tie rods early and get to know a reliable place for an alignment.

Tires Get a super-affordable tire pressure gauge and check your tire pressure daily before starting your shift. Why daily? Tire pressure affects everything from the ride quality and tire wear to petrol mileage, so it’s an easy and quick way to save more and earn more. Rather than going out of your way to a petrol station with free air, use your own portable pump. Keep tire rotation on your calendar, too, for longest tire life. A good rule of thumb is to do so during every oil change.

LET US, HELP YOU!

We hope this information keeps you on the road so that you can make maximum cash. If you need assistance with nay repairs or juts a service just click here for and instant upfront quote and Michanic will send a trusted and qualifies mechanic to you. We operate every day of the week and after hours to make sure that our customers can get maximum use out of their cars.

If you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000. Or check what our customers say about out service on Hellopeter or Google.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

Car Wont Start inspection

My car wont start. What do i Do now?

There’s nothing more frustrating than getting dressed up and smelling nice, then getting into your car to go to work or meet u with friends and family and the car will not start. This happened to me once. My car was fine the one day and the next, it just would not start.

There are many things that can lead to a car not starting. A skilled mechanic can identify the problem within a few minutes or it can take up to an hour trying to figure out what is wrong, as it was in my case. In my case, it was initially the battery that packed up after my car was parked for month without being driven. All i thought i needed was a battery and i will be on my way, but boy was i wrong.

Before i can go into detail of all the possible causes of a car not starting, i found out that you need to make sure you buy the correct battery for your car or else it can make your starter pack up. And that happened to me and yep, as you may guess it was quite costly. So, when you car wont start, there can be a few causes which i will outline below.

Flat Battery

This is probably the most common cause of car not starting issues. This one is easy to identify, the dashboard light will either fade or will not illuminate at all. If these are the symptoms, it will be a good idea to get a new battery, and in most times the car start on the first crank.

Alternator

The alternator for those who do not know, is a device that helps run your electrics in your car while it is running and also, one of its main function is to recharge the battery. In most instances when your alternator is/has packed up, a battery light will illuminate on your dashboard informing you that there may be a problem with the charging system. If your battery is relatively new and you see that light come on, the alternator is the possible culprit. Your car will run with power from the battery and once that has been completely withdrawn, your car will not start. This will need an alternator replacement.

Starter Motor

The job of the stater motor is to crank the engine. Now, you probably ask yourself, how will i know it’s the starter. Well a process of elimination will have at this point excluded the alternator and the battery. The starter motor will display symptom of a weak crank sound, and when this motor is initiated too many times, the crank sound will start to fade and sometimes even burn out the starter completely. If you crank sound is weak and goes hlihee heee heee hee he ee ee, then the cause could be a starter that has packed up.

Fuel

Fuel is a very important element in the starting of the car. When a car wont start, but it cranks fine and healthy, the battery light is not on and the lights are not fading, the possible cause is that the fuel is not getting to the engine to initiate combustion which turns the engine. This could be as simple as purchasing petrol and pouring in into the tank, or could be as expensive as a damaged fuel pump. The mechanic will usually test if the pump is working by monitoring fuel flow into the engine from a pipe that is responsible for delivering the fuel to the engine. If no fuel comes out, one needs to first check if they have fuel in the tank and if there is fuel, then it can be potentially be the petrol pump or in some instance a filter that is blocked.

I hope this help you gain a little bit of knowledge and also save you some money and head aches.

PS: It is always good to check with a mechanic to help you get to the root cause of the problem.

5 things your car does not need

5 Things Your Car May Not Need

Tune-up – The tune-up has been obsolete for decades. On late model vehicles with computerized engine controls, there is nothing to “tune” or manually adjust. Major engine functions such as idle speed, the fuel mixture and spark timing are all controlled electronically by the powertrain control module. In spite of this, many people still call changing their spark plugs and air filter a tune-up, when in fact what they are actually doing is scheduled preventive maintenance. Platinum and iridium spark plugs typically last upwards of 100,000 km’s, and air filters can often go several years or 30,000 km’s or more depending on driving conditions and dust exposure.

 

Chassis Lubrication – Some trucks may have grease fittings on the ball joints, tie rod ends and U-joints. The same goes for some heavy-duty aftermarket replacement ball joints, tie rod ends and U-joints. But on most late model cars and light trucks, the original equipment steering, suspension and drivetrain joints are all sealed for life and do not require any lubrication or service.

 

Fuel Filter – Replacing the fuel filter every few years or 30,000 to 50,000 km’s may be recommended for preventive maintenance, but many motorists have never had a fuel filter replaced! Unless you get dirt or rust in your fuel tank, the fuel filter should last for years or tens of thousands of kilometers. Many late model cars and light trucks no longer even have a recommended fuel filter replacement interval. Instead, they have a “lifetime” fuel filter located inside the fuel tank as part of the fuel pump assembly. Unless your vehicle is experiencing a fuel delivery problem, therefore, there is no need to replace the filter.

 

Wheel Alignment – Accurate wheel alignment is essential to minimize tire wear and to keep your vehicle traveling straight. If your vehicle has been experiencing unusual tire wear, your wheels may need to be aligned. But if the tires are wearing normally and your car steers straight with no pulling toward either side, there should be no need to have the wheels aligned. Most tire stores recommend a wheel alignment check when you buy new tires. But if your old tires do not show abnormal wear and they lasted at least 60,000 miles, chances are your wheels are still in alignment. Once set, wheel alignment should not change unless steering or suspension parts are worn or damaged.

 

Engine Flush – An engine flush circulates a cleaning chemical through the engine to remove sludge, varnish and other contaminants. If you have neglected regular oil changes and your engine is full of sludge, this would be a recommended service. However, if you have changed your oil regularly, and your engine shows no signs of abnormal deposit formation, there should be no need to have your engine flushed.

Don't Be Overcharged For Car Repairs

Don’t Be Overcharged For Car Repairs

We always dread taking our car in for a service or worse a repair for that funny noise its making. You never know how much you are going to end up paying for car repairs. And, are you being overcharged?

Why Labour Rates Are So High

The labor rate in most dealerships and repair shops today ranges from R 900 to over R 1200 per hour. Why so high? Because it’s expensive to run an auto repair business and the labour rate includes not only the mechanics hours but all the overhead expenses. These include the cost of the building and property, taxes, utilities, insurance, employee benefits, etc. Repair facilities also have to spend significant amounts of money each every year on equipment, scan tool updates, information access and other costs that are necessary to repair today’s cars. i.e a good diagnostic tool will set you back around R30 000.

Total Cost of Car Repairs

Besides a high labour rate you also need to assess what work is being done. Many car owner are taken advantage of on when it comes to the extent of the ‘recommended repairs’. Car shops make good margin on the parts they sell and some less reputable shop will try sell customers unnecessary repairs to enrich themselves. These are the guys that give the industry a bad name. Pirated parts are another avenue that you need to be aware of.

So, make sure that your replacement parts are OEM approved and always ask for your old parts so that you know it’s been replaced. Many wearing car parts are not actually made by the OEM’s. They will typically use well know manufacturers such as Bosch, Continental, Ferodo etc and just have a i.e BMW logo put on or OEM serial number. You can get the exact same part for less from the after sales parts market, but beware of pirated parts.

Consequently, when a shop quotes what seems like a very high price to change a relatively simple part, it may seem like they are attempting to take advantage of the situation and are overcharging for the repair. Maybe they are tying to rip you off, maybe not. Every situation is unique.

Michanic Offering

What we can say though, is that Michanic was founded with intention of making car ownership more affordable and convenient. Our ‘come to you’ mobile strategy takes away a chuck of the overheads associated with running a car service and repair shop. This means that not only is our service convenient but it is also at an affordably price point. Also, our upfront non-discriminatory pricing provides complete transparency. This ensuring fair pricing for all customers. You know you’re not getting charged more based on what you look like, or how little you know about cars.

We understand that your car plays an important part of your daily life, transporting you and your loved ones. Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

5 Warning Lights You Should Never Ignore!

5 Warning Lights You Should Never Ignore!

Oil Warning Light Flat tyre Warning Light Temperature Warning Light Brakes Warning Light Battery Warning Light

 

 

If any of the above warning lights come on while you are driving, DO NOT IGNORE THEM! Immediate action may be necessary to prevent damage to your car, a breakdown or an accident. See below for more detail on the warning light that is showing on your dash:

OIL PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT

Oil Warning LightThe oil pressure warning light comes on if your engine has lost oil pressure or oil pressure is too low for safe engine operation. Pull over, turn the engine off and check the oil level on the engine dipstick once cool.

Possible Causes: Low oil level (due to oil consumption or leaks), oil viscosity too thin, worn oil pump, excessive engine bearing clearances or defective oil pressure sending unit.

If you engine is also making ticking, clattering or rapping noises, it is not getting sufficient oil. If you attempt to drive the engine in this condition, you will probably damage it – if it hasn’t already suffered major internal damage.

TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT

Temperature Warning Light The temperature warning light will come on if your engine is overheating. Do NOT continue driving if your engine is overheating as this can cause expensive engine damage (piston scuffing, valve stem galling, failed head gasket, cracks or distortion in cylinder head). Stop driving, pull over and shut your engine off. Open the hood and check the radiator and heater hoses, radiator and engine for coolant leaks. Note the level of the coolant in the coolant reservoir.

CAUTION: DO NOT open the coolant reservoir or radiator cap until the engine has cooled off for at least 30 minutes. Steam pressure inside the cooling system can blow out and burn you!

If the coolant level is low, add coolant (a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze and distilled water).

Possible Causes: Low coolant level (due to coolant leak or bad head gasket), stuck thermostat, bad water pump, broken serpentine belt, defective radiator cooling fan, clogged or dirty radiator, exhaust restriction (plugged catalytic converter).

CHARGING SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT

Battery Warning LightThe “GEN” or “ALT” warning light, or an icon of a battery will illuminate if the voltage of your battery is low. You do not have to stop immediately, but you may only have 20 to 30 minutes of driving time before your battery goes dead and your engine stops running (or even less time if you are driving at night with your headlights on).

Possible Causes: Broken or slipping serpentine belt or V-belt, bad alternator, charging control fault, or loose or corroded battery cables.

Open the hood to see if the alternator drive belt is intact and is turning the alternator while idling. If the belt is not the problem, chances are the charging system has a problem that will have to be diagnosed and repaired. It’s always best to have a qualified mechanic take a look.

BRAKE WARNING LIGHT

Brake Warning LightThe Brake Warning light will come on if the parking brake has not been fully released, but it may also come on if the brake fluid level is low or there has been a loss of hydraulic pressure in one of your car’s brake circuits. Loss of fluid or brake pressure means the brakes may not be able to stop your car when you step on the pedal.

Carefully apply the brakes to see if they are working. If they are, pull over to the side of the road, open the hood and check the fluid level in the brake master cylinder. Should the fluid level be low, the brake system should be inspected for leaks. If there are leaks, your brake system is unsafe to drive.

If the brake pedal is low or goes to the floor, pumping the pedal may apply enough pressure to stop your car. Failing that, apply your parking brake to slow your vehicle. Also, take your foot off the accelerator and shift to neutral, or downshift and use engine braking to slow your vehicle if you have a manual transmission. If all that fails, aim for something soft like a bush or open field.

Possible Causes: Loss of brake fluid due to leaks (master cylinder, calipers, wheel cylinders, brake lines or hoses), failure of the pressure differential switch that activates the brake light, parking brake pedal or handle not fully releasing, defective parking brake switch.

WARNING: If the brake pedal feels soft, is low, goes to the floor, or you have to pump the pedal to get your vehicle to stop, your vehicle is unsafe to drive. You should have it towed to a repair facility for repairs.

TPMS LIGHT

Tire Warning LightThe Low Tyre Pressure Warning Light on your car’s dash will come on if any tyre on your vehicle is underinflated. Driving with an underinflated tyre can be dangerous and increases the risk of blowout. A low tyre can also cause uneven braking, uneven traction, uneven and rapid tyre wear, increased rolling resistance and high fuel consumption.

Find a petrol station, and check the pressure in each tyre with an accurate gauge. Inflate your tyres to the recommended pressure (see your owners manual or the tyre inflation decal on the driver door panel or glove box). For most passenger cars, the recommended pressure is typically 2.2 to 2.5 bar.

Possible Causes: Loss of air pressure due to a leak (such as a nail or small puncture in a tyre, or a bad valve stem), loss of air pressure due to seepage (0.1 to 0.2 bar per month loss is normal for many tyres), or inaccurate or failing TPMS sensor in tyre.

Check your tyres regularly – at least once a month or before any long road trip. Do this when they are COLD and BEFORE you’ve driven far.

 

If you are having trouble diagnosing your warning light, book and inspection with Michanic and we will send out a trusted mechanic to solve your problem. We understand that your car plays an important part of your daily life, transporting you and your loved ones. Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

Mazda Issues Recall For Defective Airbags

Mazda Issues Recall For Defective Airbags

There are an estimated 28 000 Mazda’s with potentially defective airbags. Mazda South Africa has sent out a press release and print advertisements in regional and national newspapers for a recall. The recall relates to the Mazda2, Mazda6 and RX-8 models produced between 2002 and 2014.

Is my Mazda affected?

  • Visit the Mazda website and enter the unique VIN number
  • Contact the Mazda SA Customer Care Centre – 0860 983 000 / [email protected]
  • Or simply visit the nearest Mazda dealership.

The extent of the recall

The Takata airbag recall is a huge recall that affects a number of manufacturers and millions of vehicles globally. And the South African recall is due to poor production conditions and storage of the propellant in the inflator. Thus causing the propellant to ignite abnormally at the time of airbag deployment.  Potentially resulting in very high inner pressure causing a rupture of the inflator case. In a case of a rupture, the airbag might not deploy as designed and may lead to injury.

Thus far Mazda have not had an incident in South Africa and the recall is a precautionary measure. Only about 9% of Mazda drivers have responded so far. Mazda is concerned that the majority of customers haven’t come in for replacement fittings, therefore leaving many cars on the road with potentially defective airbags.

For this reason, Mazda has embarked on a recall awareness campaign. Mazda is reaching out to drivers via radio and digital platforms, and encouraging drivers to check if their vehicle is affected. Customers can visit their nearest dealership to have their vehicle airbag inflators replaced.

 

We understand that your car plays an important part of your daily life, transporting you and your loved ones. Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000.

Click here to get a quote for your next service.

When And How Often Should I Replace My Brakes?

When And How Often Should I Replace My Brakes?

How often do I need to replace my brakes? Your brake pads and disks wear out over time. The lifespan of your brakes depends largely on the quality of your brakes fitted as well as your driving habits.

Just as your fuel efficiency varies depending on your driving habits, so do the life of your brake pads. Your brake pad is the material that presses against the metal disc / rotor or drum on your wheel to bring your vehicle to a stop. Brake pads typically need replacing every 50,000 to 75,000 kilometres. Although, some brake pads only last for 25,000 kilometres, or less. To get a more accurate number for your car’s specific needs, consult your car’s manual.

Here are the common indicators that your brake pads need replacing soon:

  • Clicking, grinding, squeaking, or screeching noise when you apply the brakes.
  • Vibration in the steering wheel.
  • The Brake or low brake pad warning light is on.
  • Brake pedal is lower than normal.
  • Brake pads appear too thin.
  • The car is pulling to one side when applying the brakes.

Some further tips:

  • Have the mechanic check your brake pads remaining useful life when your car is in for a service or repair.
  • Most brake pads have small metal hairs at the very end to let the driver know that they need to be replaced soon. Try avoid driving if your brakes are making any metal on metal noise.
  • If braking becomes jittery, the disks are probably warped. In this situation you can either clean or grind down the surface of the rotor in order to make it flat again. However, it is easier and safer to just replace the brake rotor completely.
  • Good, functional brakes are the key to safe, predictable braking and safe driving. Generally, if the brakes look worn out or start losing performance, they should be replaced. If there are any unusual noises or sparks coming from the brakes, you should have them inspected by a mechanic right away.

 

If you think that you need new brakes, it’s always best to have a trusted mechanic check it out and fit them. Michanic has a team of specialist mechanics who come to you. We understand that your car plays an important part of your daily life, transporting you and your loved ones. Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team through email at [email protected]or by phone on 087 803 9000.

Click here to get an online quote to replace your brakes.

whatsapp GET A QUOTE